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The Award for Nonexcellance in Climate Journalism Goes To ...
Posted by Dr. Joseph Romm, Climate Progress on December 23, 2009 at 4:48 PM.

Okay, I think it’s pretty obvious to regular Climate Progress readers who the winner is.  Indeed, I was originally going to ask readers to vote on the winner from the top 10 list below — but it’d be like asking readers to vote for which major sports figure fell from grace farthest this year.  As always, though, I welcome your thoughts on the “winners” and any omissions.

I do a lot of media criticism, so I thought I would end the year with an award for the major media outlet and/or reporter who has moved furthest from journalistic excellence.  Next year I might name the award after this year’s winner, but for now, it’ll be named after Citizen Kane’s “Declaration of Principles,” which publisher Charles Foster Kane idealistically enunciated early on in the film classic, but later on “Without reading it, Kane tears it up, throws it into the wastebasket at his side.”  And no, I’m not including any of the “new media” in the list because none of them has even one-tenth the impact of any of the major media outlets on this list nor do most of them claim to be journalists.

And yes the entire media deserves a dishonorable mention for its generally poor coverage of climate science, politics, and economics this year:

• The clean energy revolution will not be televised, Part 2: Kathleen Hall Jamieson lambastes MSM for under-reporting climate bill
• U.S. media largely ignores latest warning from climate scientists: “Recent observations confirm … the worst-case IPCC scenario trajectories (or even worse) are being realised” — 1000 ppm
• CNN, ABC, WashPost, AP, blow Australian wildfire, drought, heatwave “Hell (and High Water) on Earth” story — never mention climate change

Skipping the musical number I had prepared for the awards ceremony, let’s dive straight into the top ten list:

10.  Nicholas Dawidoff, the author of the NYT magazine cover profile on Freeman Dyson — not just because the piece was deeply flawed (the media does bad profiles all the time) but because the author apparently didn’t care:

• Media stunner: When asked “Does it matter, from a journalistic point of view, whether [Freeman Dyson is] right or whether he’s wrong?” his NYT profiler replies “Oh, absolutely not.”

9.  Fox News — just because they are dreadful on every subject doesn’t mean they don’t deserve to be on this list:

• Fox News on EPA endangerment finding: “Some skeptics say regulating carbon dioxide, a byproduct of burning fossil fuels, may be a difficult task, especially since people emit carbon dioxide with every breath”
• Glenn Beck proves he’s a brainless frog, warning (?) “Barack Obama has galvanized the country…. He’s forced us to think!”
• Fox News blurts out its agenda: “Now that Jones has resigned, we need to follow through…. First, stop cap-and-trade, which could send these groups trillions,” and then put “the whole corrupt ‘green jobs’ concept outside the bounds of the political mainstream.”

8.  NYT’s John Tierney — the main reason he isn’t higher is that I’m not certain many people take him very seriously and his output level in print is on the low side (the second bullet below is actually from 12/26/08):

• John Tierney makes up stuff — does the New York Times employ several know/do-nothing fact checkers
• John Tierney IS the country’s worst science writer, not Gregg Easterbrook

7.  David Broder — uninterested in the gravest problem of our time (except, that is, when he writes nonsense about it), and more interested in quick decisions, than right ones:

• David Broder is the sultan of the status quo, stenographer of those centrists who are fatally uninformed about global warming
• Status-quo-media stunner: David Broder urges Obama to make a decision on Afghanistan right now, “whether or not it is right.”

6.  Rush Limbaugh — a buffoon, yes, but his remarks in this case are far beyond the pale even for his brand of extremism:

• Limbaugh to NY Times environment reporter Revkin: “Why don’t you just go kill yourself?”
• Limbaugh rejects an apology for Revkin

5.  Newsweek — they win a special award for the single worst story of the year, and make the top 5 here because it turns out they’ve been selling access to the subjects of that story:

• Newsweek gets duped by Big Oil — for real — in worst Big Media story of the year
• Media stunner: Newsweek partners with oil lobby to raise ad cash, host energy and climate events with lawmakers — while publishing the uber-greenwashing story, “Big Oil Goes Green for Real”

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Deal Reached in Copenhagen ... And it Looks Like Crap
Posted by Tara Lohan, AlterNet on December 18, 2009 at 2:44 PM.

The first inkling of reports are coming out of Copenhagen that a deal has been reached, but it's looking like it won't be anything to celebrate. It is most definitely not a legally binding agreement either. Don't worry though, it's just the future of the planet on the line.

The Washington Post reports:

The deal provides a means to monitor and verify emissions cuts by developing countries but has less ambitious climate targets than the United States and European governments had initially sought, according to an Obama administration official and other sources familiar with the talks

The official, speaking earlier on condition of anonymity, said a "meaningful agreement was reached" following a multilateral meeting between Obama and the leaders of China, India and South Africa. "It's not sufficient to combat the threat of climate change, but it's an important first step," the official said.

The deal appeared to fall short of even modest expectations for the summit. As part of the agreement -- brokered after a last-minute meeting between Obama and his counterparts from China, India and South Africa -- industrialized and developing nations agreed to list their national actions and commitments in their fight against climate change, while vowing to take action to prevent the Earth's temperature from rising by more than 2 degrees Celsius. In addition, they agreed to provide information on the implementation of their actions, which would be subject to international review and analysis.

Just to be clear, "falling short of even modest expectations," is really, really bad.

Matthew McDermott reporting from Copenhagen for Treehugger summed up the immediate reaction thus far:

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Climate Talks on Verge of Collapse in Final Hours
Posted by Nick Berning, Open Left on December 18, 2009 at 9:15 AM.

There's a somber mood in Copenhagen on the last day of climate negotiations, with prospects for a strong and fair agreement feeling further and further out of reach.

A leaked UN document shows current proposals would add up to an alarming 3 degree C temperature rise and the U.S. is still refusing to budge.

Indeed, it now seems increasingly possible that rich countries' leaders may not even be able to piece together the weak, fig leaf of a "political" rather than "binding" agreement that most observers had been anticipating.

There's been some important news here over the last 24 hours.

LEAKED UN DOCUMENT EXPOSES HOW CURRENT PROPOSALS ADD UP TO CATASTROPHIC WARMING

First, a secret UN analysis of countries' current emission reduction proposals was leaked to the media. That analysis concluded that, when put together, the proposals now on the table would likely result in a global temperature rise to 3ºC above pre-industrial levels -- a catastrophic rise that would put small island states under water and cause suffering and death for millions of people.

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Peaceful Protests Turn Violent in Copenhagen
Posted by Allison Hamm, The Media Consortium on December 16, 2009 at 1:26 PM.

The United Nations Climate Change Conference (Cop15) turned ugly today when police officers beat back hundreds of demonstrators, including a group of 50 to 100 delegates that were trying to meet with the protesters.

More than 250 people were arrested, including spokespeople for Climate Justice Action (CJA), a global network of NGOs that organized a walkout at the Bella Center today. CJA’s spokesperson Dan Glall told Mantoe Phakathi at Inter Press Service that “as a condition for going back to the negotiations, we demand industrialized nations uphold the Kyoto Protocol, commit adequate funds to adaptation and reduce greenhouse gas emissions significantly.”

OneClimate has video (below) of today’s walkout.

“More than 1,000 people have been arrested, detained and released over the course of the past week,” Jennifer Prediger writes for Grist. “Some were made to sit on freezing sidewalks for six hours in a nasty version of time out. The people who threw rocks and set cars on fire were rightfully detained.  But the droves who were dragged in last night for dancing awkwardly in Christiana?  Seems like overkill to me.”

The chaos outside reflects the increasing pressure inside the Bella Center, as delegates turn to the United States and China for leadership in the final days of the summit. Together these countries account for 42 percent of the world’s carbon emissions.

In order to finalize a global climate agreement in Copenhagen, both countries need to take a big step forward, as David Doniger and Barbara Finamore report for Grist. For the U.S., this means aid for the world’s poorest and most vulnerable people; for China, this means making steady progress to meet the country’s carbon reduction goals.

The U.S. has already committed to pay its share of a $30 billion fund to last through 2012. “But to lead in Copenhagen, the U.S. needs to back even larger investments to meet these core needs for the longer-term—2015 or 2020,” Doniger and Finamore write. “China has the opportunity to enhance its standing as a responsible world leader by building global confidence in the implementation of its carbon reduction goals.”

But as David Corn reports for Mother Jones, China and the U.S. are apparently “stuck in a standoff.”

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Naomi Klein: US Lowering the Bar in Copenhagen, Doing More Harm Than Good
Posted by Tara Lohan, AlterNet on December 16, 2009 at 9:45 AM.

Negotiations at COP15 are entering into the final few days and things are clearly getting more heated as heads of state are arriving. But most activists feel not enough has been accomplished and the agreement taking shape will not match up to what scientists say we need to accomplish -- and not by a long shot.

And worse, the U.S. is gumming up the process. So many of us concerned with the future of the planet breathed a sigh of relief when Obama was elected and we were relieved by his desire for strong action on climate change, but so far the words he's been way more talk than action.

Katherine Goldstein for Huffington Post interviewed Naomi Klein and Klein's assessment of the U.S. involvement is grim:

The US negotiators have squandered a tremendous amount of goodwill. Tremendous ... the Democrats have squandered so many opportunities. We've seen these huge outpourings of support of the US -- we saw it after 9/11 and we saw it when Obama was elected. So many were so happy about the US re-engaging in the climate process. But I think it has done way more harm than good. It's given countries the opportunities to weaken the targets they are putting on the table, like Japan. The US has lowered the bar and set goals so low, it's been destructive. I think it would be better if the US had continued to stay out of it. I don't see any point in US politicians coming here.

When chief negotiator Jonathan Pershing offers for the US to pay $1.5 billion to help with climate change and says, "the US only has so much largesse," Americans have no idea [how insulting this is to the rest of the world.] US emits so much and has caused this problem. This is NOT about charity. This is about moral responsibility.

Obama arrives on Friday. And while I don't agree with Klein's assessment that the U.S. should just stay home, I think we need to demand that he live up to his promises and the U.S. live up to its international responsibilities.

Flip Flop Alert: Sarah Palin Just Recently Decided to Join the Idiot Ranks of Climate Deniers
Posted by Tara Lohan, AlterNet on December 15, 2009 at 1:19 PM.

So take a guess who wrote these words:

Alaska's climate is warming. While there have been warming and cooling trends before, climatologists tell us that the current rate of warming is unprecedented within the time of human civilization. Many experts predict that Alaska, along with our northern latitude neighbors, will warm at a faster pace than any other areas, and the warming will continue for decades.

Believe it or not that was Palin in 2008. Thanks to Eugene Robinson for bringing this up in the Washington Post today. And no better place to do so, considering the op-ed the paper ran by Palin last week where she said we did not have "trustworthy science" on climate change and perpetuated the myth of a climate science scandal.

Let's recap some other tidbits. Here's the old Palin:

"Climate change is not just an environmental issue. It is also a social, cultural, and economic issue important to all Alaskans."

And here's the new Palin:

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Residents of Upstate New York Fight Gas Drilling...With Zombies (Video)
Posted by Byard Duncan, AlterNet on December 15, 2009 at 8:36 AM.

Citizens of Upstate New York have found a unique way to voice their concerns about natural gas drilling in the area: they’ve made a zombie movie.

"Frac Attack: Dawn of the Watershed" is a 17-minute film that employs many of the genre’s signature characteristics -- cannibalism, festering wounds, protagonists who can’t seem to run seven steps without falling down -- to raise awareness about hydraulic fracturing (hydrofracking for short), a controversial drilling technique. In the film, residents of Ithaca, NY find that their well water has been contaminated with foul smelling, "proprietary" fracking chemicals. After drinking it, they turn into moaning, brain-hungry monsters.

Essentially a zombie PSA, "Frac Attack" was made with the help of 70 community volunteers and with a budget of about $300. Shira Golding, the film’s director, said the horror genre was a perfect vessel to raise public awareness.

"The situation itself is so ridiculous on so many levels that the film itself is kind of echoing that shock and ridiculousness,” Golding said. “How could we even consider this?"

The film was shot over the course of two weekends in October, according to McKenzie Jones-Rounds, its leading lady. Approaching the issue of gas drilling with an eye toward creativity, she said, was a way to make the advocacy side of it more accessible.

"It’s an outlet for people who may not have one," she said. "It’s such a good metaphor for the unfortunate apathy much of the public has about these issues."

New York is currently embroiled in a debate over drilling in the Marcellus Shale, an enormous rock formation that’s believed to hold the largest cache of natural gas in the continental United States. Were Marcellus drilling to begin, the state’s southern tier would be ground zero for exploration. Many in the area have already leased their land to gas companies.

"We can see very clearly that there are really strong forces at work to try to get this drilling happening," Golding said. "The Department of Environmental Conservation is really not calculating for the cumulative effects of this drilling."

"The spirit of this film is very much supposed to be by and for the community, to spark involvement in the community," she added.

"Frac Attack" debuted last Thursday at a local theater in Ithaca. Both its R-rated and PG-13-rated versions can be watched here. Teaser after the jump.
 

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African Nations Lead a "Walkout" at Copenhagen; Talks Continue
Posted by Alex Pasternack, TreeHugger on December 14, 2009 at 11:00 AM.

African countries raised the "nuclear option" this morning in Copenhagen, suspending climate talks in protest of wealthy nations' resistance to discuss binding emissions reductions. Though African nations have walked out for the day, they are not leaving the talks permanently.

"Africa has pulled the emergency cord to avoid a train crash at the end of the week," said Jeremy Hobbs, Executive Director of Oxfam International. "Poor countries want to see an outcome which guarantees sharp emissions reductions yet rich countries are trying to delay discussions on the only mechanism we have to deliver this - the Kyoto Protocol."

At this point, early in the final week during which world leaders arrive in Copenhagen, officials were playing down the suspension as a strategic measure to get talks back on track for tomorrow. A similar tactic was used during recent climate talks in Barcelona.

"This not about blocking the talks - it is about whether rich countries are ready to guarantee action on climate change and the survival or people in Africa and across the world," said Jeremy Hobbs, Executive Director of Oxfam International.

Friends of the Earth International's Nnimmo Bassey said: "We support African countries' demands for Kyoto targets and mandatory emissions reductions for rich countries. We denounce the dirty negotiating tactics of rich countries which are trying to change the rules and tilt them in their own favor. Developed countries are stalling these negotiations as Africa attempts to move them forward."

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God Promises 30 Percent Increase In Global Warming By 2012 While at Copenhagen
Posted by Lee Camp, AlterNet on December 14, 2009 at 6:40 AM.

As the Copenhagen Climate Conference enters its second week, how many of us are paying attention?

Social Action in Copenhagen Rivals Seattle Protest
Posted by Bill McKibben, Mother Jones on December 13, 2009 at 9:57 AM.

It felt, at the start, a little like Seattle at the start. The same kind of joyful spontaneity that marked the first hours of the WTO protests, before the cops and the bandana-clad anarchists started trading blows. People gathered in front of the Danish Parliament building in the first sunshine seen for days (and it doesn’t last long at this latitude in December) to march to the conference headquarters about four miles away. The crowd—as many as 100,000 strong—was incredibly diverse: young people from around the world have swarmed into Copenhagen for the week, and they were dressed as penguins and polar bears and dinosaurs, singing, dancing to stay warm against the cold breeze. There was one other odd thing—many carried photos of other protests from the year past, ones they’d helped organize in their home countries. We saw shot after shot from our Oct. 24 350 rallies; it was as if people were delegates to some kind of global convention, carrying the hopes of their friends back home.

And meanwhile, back home: there were some 3,000 vigils around the world, organized by 350.org, Avaaz, and other members of the TckTck coalition. Most were candlelight affairs, solemn gatherings from people filled with hope and faith that something may yet be accomplished in these fractured talks. That’s what was different from Seattle: this gathering was just the tip of the iceberg, and a very large berg it was. By the time the long line had reached the Bella Center (mostly avoiding the few clashes with police taking place in other parts of town) the sun had, of course, gone down, and the candles had come out here as well. The pictures are quite beautiful, and they merge with the images from all over the world. A global movement is a beautiful thing.

Glenn Beck's Climate Czar Called for Quarantining AIDS Patients "For Life"
Posted by Jeremy Schulman, Media Matters for America on December 11, 2009 at 5:00 PM.

Study Says Eco Shoppers More Likely to Cheat, Steal
Posted by Tara Lohan, AlterNet on December 11, 2009 at 12:10 PM.

Slate recently reported on a study by Nina Mazar and Chen-Bo Zhong of the University of Toronto who found that "virtuous shopping can actually lead to immoral behavior. In their study (described in a paper now in press at Psychological Science), subjects who made simulated eco-friendly purchases ended up less likely to exhibit altruism in a laboratory game and more likely to cheat and steal."

OK, so keep in mind this is all a "laboratory game," they did not follow around a bunch of greenies waiting for them to skimp on the tip somewhere. But, their results do make a eco-geek like myself pause a bit. Here's how the study worked:

In an experiment, participants were randomly assigned to select items they wanted to buy in one of two online stores. One store sold predominantly green products, the other mostly conventional items. Then, in a supposedly unrelated game, all of the participants were allocated $6, to share as they saw fit with an anonymous (and unbeknownst to them, imaginary) recipient. Subjects who had chosen items from the green store coughed up less money, on average, than their counterparts. In a second experiment, participants were again assigned to shop in either a green or conventional store. Then they performed a computer task that involved earning small sums of cash. The setup offered the opportunity to cheat and steal with impunity. The eco-shoppers were more likely to do both.

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Report from Copenhagen: Negotiations Heat Up, Tuvalu Fights for Survival
Posted by Karen Orenstein, Open Left on December 11, 2009 at 9:39 AM.

This post is part of Friends of the Earth sponsoring Open Left. Please check out the Friends of the Earth website here.

****

Over the last day in Copenhagen, heated debates and surely thousands of conversations here in the conference center have focused on what the legal outcome of the climate negotiations should be -- and how to get there.

You may have seen some news stories over the past two days talk about actions by delegates from the tiny Pacific nation of Tuvalu -- whose existence as an island above sea level is literally at stake in climate talks. Here's how Rachel Morris at Mother Jones described Tuvalu's move:

On Wednesday Tuvalu's longtime climate adviser, an Australian named Ian Fry, grabbed the spotlight at Copenhagen by halting talks until negotiators considered a new, legally binding climate protocol that Tuvalu wants adopted instead of merely a political agreement. Tuvalu's alternative treaty outlines more drastic emissions reductions aimed at preventing temperatures from rising by more than 1.5 degrees Celsius.

Some stories describing Tuvalu's move (including the one above) have suggested that it's caused a rift to open between developing countries. A lot of this coverage is missing a key point: the differences of opinion between developing countries are about tactics, not substance; they're about how to get the best legally binding deal out of Copenhagen. Jargon aside (and there is a heck of a lot of jargon here – I think of UN climate negotiations as “acronym city”) -- developing countries remain firmly united in demanding (1) that rich countries commit to binding emission reductions targets in line with science and justice, and (2) that rich countries provide adequate funding for developing countries to address climate change.

Read on for more about the tactical implications of Tuvalu's move and some footage of the powerful action by African activists and parliamentarians from Tuesday.

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Oil Lobby Photoshopped Minorities Into Stock Photos to Add Diversity to Anti-Clean Energy Pamphlet
Posted by Lee Fang, Think Progress on December 11, 2009 at 8:26 AM.

In August, The Wonk Room’s Brad Johnson noted that the coal industry had contracted a PR firm to promote its “FACES of Coal” campaign. To attack clean energy reform, the campaign featured pictures of seemingly normal individuals opposed to cap and trade legislation. However, the Appalachian Voices’ Front Porch blog revealed that the “FACES” of the coal campaign were actually stock images purchased from iStockPhotos.com.

The oil industry, under the umbrella lobbying group American Petroleum Institute (API), is copying that strategy. In a newly-released pamphlet, API fear-mongers that “hard working Americans,” like ordinary “valets,” “painters,” “day care providers,” and “rocket scientists,” will lose their job and be “hurt” by clean energy reform. To show the great diversity of those affected by the legislation, API decided to buy a stock image also from iStockPhoto.com. Apparently, the stock image was insufficient for API’s purposes. Upon close examination, it’s clear API photoshopped two of the people to turn them into minorities. One of the minorities, the individual on the left, is poorly photoshopped though — his face is brown, yet his hands are still white:

The original iStockPhoto:

The edited, API version (click here to view the pamphlet):

The PR firm representing the oil lobby, Edelman, clearly did a shoddy job in creating this marketing effort. But this pamphlet reveals a fundamental truth that the oil industry is paying lobbyists to literally manufacture support. (HT: Astrotruth)

Right-Wing Junior Sleuth Discovers Climate Science Skulduggery!
Posted by Tintin, Sadly, No! on December 10, 2009 at 7:39 AM.

The announcement at Copenhagen by the World Meteorological Organization that the current decade will be the warmest on record and that 2009 will be the fifth hottest year since 1850 has been met by, well, deafening silence in Wingnutlandia. Jonah the Whale and some of the other Cornerdomites are busy speculating on the geopolitical significance of a black golfer schtupping white, blonde women. Mark Steyn is, naturally, still complaining about the excessive number of brown people in Europe. Poor Mona Charen, bless her heart, having apparently decided to completely ignore the dispatches from Copenhagen, is still declaring that global warming is over.

So it truly takes a brave wingnut to stride directly into the coliseum and take on the lions with his bare Funyun-encrusted hands. Sadlynauts, meet Terry Trippany, who, when he’s not out on a Geek Squad call, keeps himself busy as a super-duper NewsBuster.

The media that couldn’t bring themselves to report on the growing scandal surrounding falsified data is all on board with reporting this latest news. Yet it is clear that the Huffington Post, CBS News, the New York Times and others didn’t even bother to check the data that was released from the the UK MET (UK Government Department of Climate and Weather Change).

Uh oh. It looks like little Terry has whipped out his Captain Bozell’s Funtime Sleuthing Set, complete with kerning scale, decoder ring, magnifying glass, snub-nosed junior detective scissors, invisible ink revealer, mini-flashlight and rear-view glasses.

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