When I wrote my first post about the more things change, it was concieved as a one time thing. But as I continue to do some reading and listening to the issues that are being covered today, and how they are being covered, the idea keeps calling me. So I am thinking of making it a semi-regular feature at the Spade. I hope you all enjoy it!

This entry of  The More Things Change comes from a book that I am currently reading, The News Manipulators by Reed Irvine, Joseph C. Goulden, and Cliff Kincaid. They are the founders and driving forces behind the Accuracy in Media (AIM) watchdog group and this particular piece was originally written on June 5, 1992 and is found on pages 138-140 in their book.

     "On the eve of the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, The Washington Post punched a hole in the global warming balloon with an excellent article by Boyce Rensberger pointing out that the alarmist claims that we are going to fry if we don't curb the emissions of greenhouse gases are not supported by empirical evidence. Rensberger pointed out that the climate scientists don't differ about what the data show. They agree that there is a grenhouse effect produced by the earth's atmosphere that has been keeping the planet warm for billions of years. They agree that some of the gases which contribute to this effect, notably carbon dioxide, have increased since the industrial revolution began some 200 years ago.
     They also agree that the increase in the earth's mean surface temperature over the last hundred years of about one degree Fahrenheit is within the range of normal climate variability, but they then divide into two groups. One group believes that the warming is due to the increase in greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, not to natural causes. They cite the increase in the percentage of the carbon dioxide component of the atmosphere from about .00028 percent in 1800 to about .00036 percent today, warning that if the present rate of increase continues, it will lead to a heating of the globe unprecedented in human history."

     "The netwoks prefer Michael Oppenheimer, the scientific spokesman for the Environmental Defense Fund. Oppenheimer has been all over the tube lately ladling out panic-promoting misinformation. On ABC's This Week With David Brinkley he said "there's no question" about the long term warming trend continuing. He cited a White House report that said that there is a consensus among a broad range of scientists that the build-up of greenhouse gases will lead to a warming of the earth in the range of three degrees to eight degrees Fahrenheit over the next century. Oppenheimer said, "That would make the earth warmer than at any time in the history of the human species...That's a threat we need to act on now."
     The same day, Resenberger in the Washintgon Post reported that climate scientists are divided into those who want immediate action to curb greenhouse gases and those who don't. He said, "Most of the scientists who specialize in the subject still can't figure out whether anything unusual is actually happening to Earth's climate...Scientists generally agree that it has been getting warmer over the last hundred years, but the average rate of change is no greater than in centuries past, and there is no consensus that human activity is the cause. And while there is no doubt that continued emissions of 'greenhouse gases' tend to aid warming, it is not clear that cutting back on emissions could do much to stop a natural trend, if that is what is happening."
     Dr. Fred Singer, a scientist who opposes panicky action, says the White House paper cited by Oppenhiemer is a misrepresentation of the 1990 report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). This report observed that the future warming rate could accelerate and increase by as much as 5 degrees by the year 2100, but it did not claim that there was any consensus that this would occur. The IPCC report said: "It is not possible at this time to attribute all, or even a large part, of the observed global-mean warming to the enhanced greenhouse effect on the basis of the observational data currently available."
     Why was Fred Singer allowed only a few seconds in the taped introductory segment of the Brinkley show while people like Michael Oppenheimer and his think-alike, Sen. Albert Gore, are featured guests? Rensbereger supplied this answer, "They are the most visible because many are backed by large, activist organizations and because the news media traditionally give alarm calls prominence."
     Tom Murphy, the CapCities/ABC chairman, claims that ABC wants to give the public all the facts. He has said, "We would like to think we are discussing all these major issues of our time with all the scientific community, and we're tryin to do the best we can." Try a little harder, Tom. You can do a lot better."

Change a few names and dates, and the debate hasn't changed a whole lot. Only now, there are hardly any media voices that do not subscribe to the fear mongereing, "the earth is gonna burn" mindset found when the topic is global warming!

Global warming fear mongering: Built to last and going strong since 1992!