Newsweek hyping Global Warming scare?

Question

If you wanted to see an example of biased journalism, a good place to start would be the Aug. 13 cover story in Newsweek about global warming.

The issue’s cover says “Global Warming Is A Hoax,” but there is an asterisk, which leads to the statement “Or so claim well-funded naysayers who still reject the overwhelming evidence of climate change.”

In other words, Newsweek has an agenda to promote global-warming hysteria, and they don’t feel any need to give equal time to a point of view they disagree with. Indeed Newsweek’s author Sharon Begley denounces global warming skeptics as “deniers,” a term which I think establishes the pseudo-religious quality of the global warming crusade as well as anything.

See link - http://www.dailyinterlake.com/articles/2007/08/12/columns/columns01.txt

Question - What are your thoughts ?

Answer 1

That's incredible! I found it astounding that they believed people would think their article was factual. It brings into question the rest of their articles.

Answer 2

Global warming has been observed using over a dozen different tests I can think of (thermometers, satellites, weather balloons, sea level, tropopause height, seasonal arrival times, animal migrations, melting ice, expanding tropical Hadley cell, boreholes, ice cores, outgoing radiation etc). So it's pretty much beyond doubt that it has occurred. Other research has concluded that human activity is the most likely cause. As for polar bears; there is some discussion over that. In some places where melting has happened a lot, polar bears seem to be doing quite badly and populations are going down. 1 or 2 populations are increasing though. This may be explained by how there is still ice, and melting/thinning ice gives them more area to hunt in. To be honest, the impression I've got is that polar bears are doing ok at the moment and it'll be decades before they might see serious decline. People who concentrate on the imminent destruction of the species are probably exaggerating.

Answer 3

Global warming as a problem caused by man is of course a myth. Democrats are pushing this false science to give a reason to raise taxes, which is something they always love to do. Always remember to follow the money when something seems dubious. It has become a religion to many of the liberals throughout the world.
In my home town lately, it has been in the high nineties and over a hundred. but that's not unusual. I have a copy of a local paper from July 52 that says the temp has reached 108 and in 1965,I remember working in temps of over 105 for a week or more. In 1983 it was unbearably hot for all summer; stayed in the hundreds for days on end. This has happened over and over again throughout history.
Remember the B-17 found about 10years ago in Greenland , under 250 feet of Ice and snow? Does that sound like global warming when after landing there during WW2, Snow and ice covered the B-17 bomber over the next 50 years to the height of 250 feet? Prepare for your taxes to be raised if a Demo gets to the White House. If its Hillary, God help us.

Answer 4

Why should they give "equal time" to a conflicting point of view? If a magazine writes an article about how the earth is round, are they obligated to give equal time to the opposing point of view. (yes, there are people that believe the earth is flat). Scientists are pretty much unanimously in agreement that global warming is real, and Newsweek is reporting this.

Answer 5

Ask Paul Ehrlich what he thinks. I am sure he enjoys Newsweek.

Al Gore (A disciple of Paul Ehrlich's in spite of all reason) best demonstrates the faith-basis of the AGW movement.

Just as the schedule for the born-again Apocalypse is repeatedly amended, keeping a zealous few on board, so is the horizon for the AGW Apocalypse a'la Paul Ehrlich. And people like Gore seem to stay right on board.

They probably do this to maintain their dignity in some fashion. Better to make a premature prediction (over and over) than be flat-out wrong.

The Ehrlich-style zealots of the world will never go away and there will probably never be a shortage of rubes to follow them in spite of proven ineptitude.

Of course now, given the reach of the AGW faith, sandwich boards reading "The End Is Near" are replaced by well funded 'documentaries'.

Answer 6

You seem to be making a common mistake about the media and their responsibilities as far as being unbiased. People today often feel that news outlets should tell both views on a certain topic. However, some issues (like global warming), while they may spark debates and be hot button issues, are simply black and white. That is to say that Newsweek, as a publication that deals with reporting the news factually, does not have a responsibility to tell every opinion of a certain topic but rather to report the truth. In this case, global warming has been proven to be a true crisis that an overwhelming majority of experts find to be true. To report otherwise would be disguistingly unprofessional

Answer 7

In a country where 50% of the people don't accept evolution, I don't expect many people to know enough about Climate Change to even answer this question, let alone have a valid opinion on the subject. The Newsweek article does seem bias, but is it probably attacking people with geunine ignorance and lack of scientific knowledge. I for one have stopped beating around the bush, and when I find someone scietifically ignorant, I tell them.

Answer 8

Well the situation with our environment is seriously bad, because even if we tried to reverse it, by planting more trees and reducing carbon emissions. It still would not take away from the fact we have been burning up our atmosphere at a higher rate than the planet can recover. So as much as you do not think the global warming issue is not important it is something the whole world needs to be concerned about. But quick-fix-its just will not do it anymore. We have to completely change our lifestyles and it has to be a combined effort on all sides. Do not think about this issue as just a liberal tree hugging issue, because it is something that effects everyone.

Answer 9

The trouble is, the global warming issue keeps getting reported as one scientific issue, when it is really two. First, is global warming a real phenomenon? I'm sure it is. We've been warming since 10,000 BC when glaciers covered most of North America. The second component is, is it human caused or just part of a natural cycle. That's where the controversy comes in.

Do we want to downsized our human life style... go back to the caves.. on speculation that we are the cause, rather than natural forces.

Answer 10

This is not even the worst, their was an article this weekend where those who did not believe in global warming were traitors and should be prosecuted. A scientist was also threatened that he would be ruined if he kept saying that global warming was a myth.