The Increased Attention on Global Warming - Essay Example

Controversy: Environment: Global Warming Summary An article by Boycoff in the open exchange forum ‘CounterSpin’ studies the patterns in the global temperature. Boycoff discusses how climate change remains a highly relevant issue at the end of the ‘00s. The role of the media is very much important in the public’s understanding of climate change because they often translate technical and often alienating terminologies for the people (Boycoff, 2010). They also influence citizens and how these citizens value the world. From the years 2000 to 2009, media coverage of climate change in five US newspapers has pointed out an outward path, with some major spikes (Boycoff, 2010). The increased attention on global warming seen in 2007 is attributed to several events including the release of the IPCC Fourth Assessment Reports and the fluctuating oil prices and of Al Gore’s film ‘An Inconvenient Truth,’ which gave the news “hooks into climate change-related stories” (Boycoff, 2010). The amount of news coverage on global warming towards the end of the decade registered an increase to approximately five times the amount of attention given to the issues at the turn of the millennium (Boycoff, 2010). However, in contrast, the amount of coverage on the environment remained at 1.5% at the end of the decade and these figures were even lower in the radio and on network TV. This news coverage saw a decrease for the years 2007 to 2009 when the global economic crisis took centre-stage in the news (Boycoff, 2010). The fact that no large-scale disasters like that of the Katrina hurricane disaster also stalled the coverage of climate change. Boycoff (2010) describes how his assessment of articles on climate change published in the New York Times, the Washington Post, the LA Times and the Wall Street Journal indicate a widespread disagreement with the fact that humans play a huge role in climate change. This mismatch in information is mostly attributed to the wrong application of so-called ‘balanced reporting’ (Boycoff, 2010). And this mismatch in data has contributed to the confusion on the issue of climate change. However, this bias which was detected in the coverage was later diminished and was no longer pervasive because the media or news coverage became outdated. A new representation was actually considered, especially as George W. Bush, in the 2005 G8 Summit recognized the fact that the Earth has become considerably warmer and man’s contribution through toxic emissions is a reason for the warming global temperatures (Boycoff, 2010). Other international science bodies further supported Bush’s statements, and further went on to point out how many developed countries largely contribute to the climate change. These bodies went on to cite the case of Hurricane Katrina as an indication of the changing weather patterns largely attributed to climate change (Boycoff, 2010). However, these studies have mostly focused on the contribution of humans to climate change. In other aspects of the topic, there is contentious debate and disagreement. And all these topics and reports on climate change have all been united and grouped into the ‘global warming debate’ (Boycoff, 2010). But this type of reporting does not make for unbiased reporting and all the more that it creates confusion among the public audience. The analyses of the US media indicate that the challenge of a false balance in the reporting remains to be problematic. This is a cause for concern because of the public’s tendency in using the news for sources of information. And this ‘false balance’ is prevalent in some US TV network news. The local TV news which the public often merits with high ratings of reliability is an even greater cause for concern because of their representation of climate change. This was seen in one of the local TV reports on climate change by WJAR which is a Providence/New Bedford NBC affiliate wherein their host R.J. Heim framed his segment using the following statements: “If it is happening, what’s the cause and what effect will it have on coastal areas like here in Southern New England?...If you listen to the opponents, they say man’s not the cause of global warming, it’s the Sun. And all the hype and hysteria is to keep scientists awash in their $50 billion of research grants they receive from governments and corporations over the past two decades. What’s really going on?...We have both sides covered.” In a related article by O’Grady (2009), she discusses how President Obama gave a speech from Iowa which focused on energy and the proposed cap-and-trade program, and how carbon dioxide emissions are harmful to the health of the people in general. He proposed a market-based cap on carbon emissions as a concrete means of battling climate change (O’Grady, 2009). The debate on this cap in the United States Congress has been intense, with many legislators pointing out how it is a clear violation of freedom and liberty. The fact that utility bills were actually set to increase when the cap would be implemented is another source of contention in yet another issue in the climate change debate (O’Grady, 2009). The urgency for the protection of planetary health however is not included as an urgent action in the media and even in the US Congress. Moreover, the public is often continually exposed to global warming sceptics through Fox News and its various hosts who claim that global warming is in fact a ‘scam’ (O’Grady, 2009). The importance of the cap-and-trade debate has been dismissed in most of the news and this would have been acceptable if the public has no need to discuss and be informed of these details. This is also an alarming trend in the news considering the fact that many people still believe that global warming is a scam and they claim that no solid evidence of its existence has been presented to them (O’Grady, 2009). Corporate media has not taken a definite stand on this issue and this has made it harder for science to prove the existence of climate change and the need to implement measures – like the carbon emission cap – as a means of dealing with the global warming crisis. Conclusion The issue and debate on climate change is one which has almost the whole world on its feet. Most people have noticeably felt the increase of global temperatures in the past decade. The effects of climate change have also been manifest in many parts of the world through extreme cold and warm weather conditions; unusually strong hurricanes, typhoons, storms and other weather disturbances; droughts; floods; and the melting of the polar ice caps resulting to increased floods and decreased coast lines. The debate on global warming has been secured on the opposing end by global warming sceptics who claim that the phenomenon is a scam and they credit the current warming of our temperatures to other causes – like the Sun. Their arguments are however flimsy in the face of proof by scientists and by unbiased media and news reports. There is proof of global warming and by the simple fact that we feel the stinging rays of the sun more directly on our skin is a strong proof which indicates warmer global temperatures. These global temperatures were not the case 10, 20, or even 30 years ago. Moreover, the extreme weather conditions that have been felt in different parts of the globe are also undeniable proof of global warming. Where streets are flooded in Rio de Janeiro, we see dried up rice fields in Asia. Storms have increased in frequency and intensity. And we cannot deny these reports to be true when typhoons in Asia and hurricanes in North America damage properties and destroy lives. With barely time to recover from typhoons, yet other typhoons strike in these same parts of Asia. This was not the case 10-15 or even 20 years ago. Global warming is happening now and will continue to manifest its effects in the years to come. The signs are already there for us to see. They signify that the time to act on this issue is now. Scepticism should not delay us. Works Cited Boycoff, M. (February 2010) U.S. Climate Coverage in the ’00s: Tracking global warming’s media profile. CounterSpin. Retrieved 30 April 2010 from http://www.fair.org/index.php?page=4061 O’Grady, C. (September 2009). The Polluted Cap-and-Trade Debate: Media amplify climate change sceptics. CounterSpin. Retrieved 30 April 2010 from http://www.fair.org/index.php?page=3889 Read More