Friday, July 22, 2011

Click here to turn up the heat on FOX News

Tenney,
072211FoxNewsHeat.png 
The heat wave most of us are experiencing this week is a continuation of weather extremes we’ve seen in many parts of the country this year. As Mother Jones noted, “We're seeing records fall in all directions this year -- wettest, driest, warmest, coldest, snowiest, stormiest, fieriest -- across the globe.”1
While no particular weather event can be blamed on global warming, science has shown that global warming is indeed contributing to the changes in weather and temperatures that we’re experiencing.
But you wouldn’t know that if you watched FOX News.
According to a Media Matters for America report, Fox News has not mentioned human-induced climate change or global warming while reporting on or discussing the current heat wave at all over the past week.2
Apparently FOX News only discusses global warming when it helps to advance the network’s climate science misinformation agenda.
For example, during the February 2010 blizzard, FOX News personalities like Sean Hannity, Glenn Beck and others seized on the storm to mock Al Gore and climate science.3 And as you may remember, that same winter, FOX News Washington managing editor Bill Sammon ordered his staff to cast doubt on climate science.4 Additionally, FOX News also aggressively promoted the bogus climate-gate scandal.5
Across the globe, scientists have predicted that unmitigated climate change would cause more extreme weather events, including more severe heat waves, more intense droughts and stronger deluges. Al Gore talked about this in his recent essay for Rolling Stone:
“These extreme events are happening in real time. It is not uncommon for the nightly newscast to resemble a nature hike through the Book of Revelation. Yet most of the news media completely ignore how such events are connected to the climate crisis, or dismiss the connection as controversial.”6
There’s no doubt that FOX News is the biggest source of climate misinformation amongst a news media that, as a whole, is largely failing to provide solid coverage of the climate crisis and its impacts. In order to mobilize public support for strong climate action, we need to fight back against climate smears in the news media -- and that starts with not letting FOX News’ anti-climate agenda go unchallenged. Click here to send an e-mail to FOX News.
Thank you,
Mike Palamuso
Vice President, Communications
League of Conservation Voters
P.S. Intense heat waves can be dangerous, so please be safe. Remember to stay cool, stay hydrated and take appropriate precautions when going outdoors.

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