Grrr… irresponsible reporting in The Citizen
I saw a headline on the poster today that said “Global Warming is a Myth“, and was forced to buy a newspaper I normally stay well clear of - The Citizen. The article to which the headline referred was an opinion piece by David Carte, which made the usual claims that there is actually much scientific dispute over the issue of global warming and that dissenting views are being sidelined by hysterical leftist prophets of doom. He even goes as far as citing a Big Oil-funded think-tank as “evidence” against global warming. Needless to say, I was pretty peeved at Carte and The Citizen so I wrote a letter to the editor.
David Carte claims that “alarmist” proponents of global warming are fuelling “hysteria” when there are more pressing issues such as HIV/AIDS to worry about (May 16). Unfortunately, Carte makes the common mistake of giving credence to rogue theorists that fall well outside of the scientific mainstream. There is, in fact, scientific consensus that global warming is not only a reality but that humans are the cause. A study by the International Committee on Climate Change of 968 refereed scientific journals between 1993 and 2003 revealed that all major scientific bodies in the United States whose members’ expertise bears directly on the matter argue in favour of global warming. The Fraser Institute, to which Carte attributes much authority on the matter, is funded by, among others, ExxonMobil and The Scaife Foundations, whose wealth is built from the Gulf Oil Corporation, Alcoa and Alcan, and the Carborundum corporations. Is there any wonder that the Fraser Institute is critical of global warming when they are funded by oil and other big industry?
What I find even more disturbing is the fact that The Citizen then chose to plaster the headline “Global Warming Is a Myth” along our streets. This is highly irresponsible “journalism” that seriously undermines the public’s perception of the most serious event in human history. Would The Citizen have ever posted headlines saying “AIDS is a myth”, given the views of a few ridiculed pseudo-scientists? I think not. The Citizen owes South Africa an apology for this appalling piece.
Considering how critical the issue of global warming is, and how easily many people will believe what’s printed in the mainstream media, this article and headline are bad news indeed for South Africans who care about our planet.
For a concise and well-written response to climate change skeptics, please read TreeHugger’s The Four Stages of Global Warming Denial.
Oh, and don’t read The Citizen.
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Comments
[…] to their credit The Citizen published my rather snotty letter (pictured above). Thanks to Mark S. for cutting out the article. These icons link to social […]
I don’t think anybody believes what is written in news papers/sites any more. The SA media has ‘miss-quoted’ so many times the last two years that I take everything coming from them with a pinch of salt.
So in your mind science by consensus rather than by proof is the way to go. The problem is not global warming but overpopulation.