NBC on Global Warming: World To End, Dems to the Rescue

NewsBusters ^ | Mark Finkelstein

[governsleastgovernsbest]

The world could be coming to an end, but not to worry: "the Democrats are now in charge of Congress." That, in a nutshell, was NBC's message on global warming on this morning's "Today."

Here's how Matt Lauer, apparently in the throes of a global-warming panic attack, kicked off the segment:

"Now to a controversy in Washington over what literally could be the end of the world as we know it."

View video here.

The segment focused on allegations, made before a hearing chaired by Rep. Henry Waxman [D-CA] by the advocacy group the Union of Concerned Scientists, that the Bush administration has pressured scientists to downplay the threat of global warming.

Andrea Mitchell narrated the segment, and began with a clip of reporters from NBC's UK affiliate ITN on a boat in Antartica making concerned noises over melting icebergs. You know they do tend to do that in the summer, which it now is in the austral.

We were then treated to clips of McCain, Obama and Hillary all making appropriately concerned noises. McCain was the most emphatic: "The argument about climate change is over. Now it's time to act."

Hillary's statement left itself open to a variety of interpretations: "Emissions are still going up."

Andrea Mitchell held out a ray of hope to an anxious world: "What has changed? The Democrats are now in charge of Congress, and there's a growing consensus that fossil fuel emissions the ice cap, with the prospect of dire consequences for the planet."

By the way, this NRO item by Ian Murray asserts that the allegations by the Union of Concerned Scientists are so much "junk science."

Contact Mark at mark@gunhill.net

[onyx]

What utter nonsense and a waste of time. Damn democrats.

[Always Right]

15 years of non-stop global warming propapaganda has worked in fooling the majority.

[governsleastgovernsbest]

World-to-end ping to Today show list.

[neodad]

the end of the world as we know it

And I feel fine.

[listenhillary]

The activities of the Union of Concerned Scientists deserve special mention. That widely supported organization was originally devoted to nuclear disarmament. As the cold war began to end, the group began to actively oppose nuclear power generation. Their position was unpopular with many physicists. Over the past few years, the organization has turned to the battle against global warming in a particularly hysterical manner.

In 1989 the group began to circulate a petition urging recognition of global warming as potentially the great danger to mankind. Most recipients who did not sign were solicited at least twice more. The petition was eventually signed by 700 scientists including a great many members of the National Academy of Sciences and Nobel laureates. Only about three or four of the signers, however, had any involvement in climatology. Interestingly, the petition had two pages, and on the second page there was a call for renewed consideration of nuclear power.

When the petition was published in the New York Times, however, the second page was omitted. In any event, that document helped solidify the public perception that "all scientists'' agreed with the disaster scenario. Such a disturbing abuse of scientific authority was not unnoticed.

From Global Warming: The Origin and Nature of the Alleged Scientific Consensus CATO 1992

[governsleastgovernsbest]

SPECIAL RECOGNITION TO POSTER WHO SAYS THE MAGIC WORD

[betsyross1776]

Wow , the Al Gore global warming rally is on. I really trust msnbc or nbc ,they are so credible. Got a question if we have it so hot out there why does my deck thermometer say 3 degrees on it and why did we get 4 inches of partly cloudy last night that I had to shove this morning to get the car out? I think they are smoking the same stuff Gore is. What ever it is it makes you sweat in 3 degree weather.

[alice_in_bubbaland]

Now that the dims are in charge maybe we should start an "Armageddon Daily Thread". You must admit, the dims are amusing when they are in a panic. :)

[groanup]

Bush's fault.

[Rummyfan]

What utter nonsense and a waste of time.

I'll second that!

[Rummyfan]

Ohmigawd! The Phantom of the Opera!

[Tanniker Smith]

World to end tonight! Film at 11.

[governsleastgovernsbest]

You're getting war-r-r-r-mer, but still no cigar.

[poobear]

Carbon Taxes=MONEY!

[Dallas59]

AL GORE!!!

[governsleastgovernsbest]

Good try, but nope!

[ilgipper]

This is clearly the orchestrated issue of 2007. I opened "Money" magazine to see an entire issue aimed at showcasing 'Green' companies for investment. Then, I received "Business 2.0" and the entire issue was about green companies and articles about the proven effects of global warming.

Amazingly, I checked the mags, and both a published by Time Inc. There is a wide-reaching propaganda campaign that has begun to turn this junk science into fact right now.

[Dallas59]

$$$?

[Dallas59]

Taxes...

[governsleastgovernsbest]

Come on, folks, it's so obvious.

[Arrowhead1952]

15 years of non-stop global warming propapaganda has worked in fooling the majority.

I've posted the same reply on global warning threads for some time.

A lie told often enough, is eventually accepted as the truth.

[JacksonCalhoun]

My local news/talk station (WBT Charlotte) presented this story on the 6PM newscast like some "bad bad big oil" lobbyist was blocking the poor widdle scientists from telling the world that is was going to end.

The media is a sham.

[mort56]

Come on, folks, it's so obvious.

You bet it is. The sky is falling, the sky is falling!

[maryz]

What utter nonsense and a waste of time. Damn democrats.

Would that it were only "nonsense and a waste of time"! We could safely ignore it (maybe snicker a bit).

The team of Waxman, whose hobby seems to be tearing down the economy and McCain, who has no objections to limiting even consitutional rights for a "higher good" (excuse me while I retch!) is downright frightening!

[wolf24]

"Hillary's statement left itself open to a variety of interpretations: "Emissions are still going up."

Hillary is contributing to global warming with her increased emissions??

:)

She could help by shutting up (this also goes for the rest of Congress)!

[onyx]

My hope is that they'll all run for their party's presidential nomination and leave the senate chamber without enough members for a quorum.

[The Great RJ]

Some 20,000 years ago the spot where I'm sitting was under the Columbian Ice sheet which covered most of North America. Somehow without human intervention the climate warmed to the point of melting all this ice ...obviously a more significant climate change that the few debatable degrees we are supposedly seeing today. Similarly this spot was a few million years ago a semi tropical savanna which cooled over time to allow the formation of continental glacial ice sheets again without any human intervention. Major climate change has always been part of our planet's history so why do we think today that only humans are the cause of catastrophic climate change?

[maryz]

LOL! Throw House members into the race too, and we'll have a situation little short of perfect! ;-)

[onyx]

Exactly! Let Grandma Evita Piglosi give Hitlery some competition.

[polymuser]

Kyoto?

[governsleastgovernsbest]

Please try again ;-)

[polymuser]

Gore?

[rollo tomasi]

This Global Warming media hype has me scared to death.

I am selling my stocks, cashing in my 401k/IRAs etc... and saving the planet by having my surroundings be the smallest carbon foot print I can live in.

It might be expensive to convert and live in a mud hut but at least I will be saving the planet.

My neighbors need to do the same thing, in fact I am going to plead to the government to force your dwelling to be converted into a small carbon foot print that won't impact our environment.

Of course bureaucrats can live in huge mansions because frankly, they work harder and deserve that right.

[governsleastgovernsbest]

I see people need a hint, so here is one: Rush.

[wayoverontheright]

I like to ask them how they happen to have completely ruled out solar activity as a cause of warming. In arguing with these people, it is not essential to prove that global warming is or isn't happening, the trick is to get the ball in their corner, to place the burden on them to prove the warming is anthropogenic.

"How do you explain the fact that Greenland was, well, GREEN in 1100 AD when the vikings farmed there?"

"How do you know that the natural warming isn't caused by solar activity?"

"The oceans release carbon dioxide as the waters warm, how do you know that CO2 levels in the air aren't a RESULT of warming, instead of a cause?"

"In the twentieth century, the earth experienced a three-fourths of one degree fahrenheit rise in temperature. How do you explain the fact that 70% of this rise came before the year 1940, before the bulk of smokestack industry emerged?"

Source material: see Fred Singer's site.....

http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=S._Fred_Singer

[kevinm13]

The 15 years of propaganda (it started in the '70's with the Indian and the tear ads on TV talking about pollution an early form of global warming) haven't fooled me and I think of myself among the conservative majority. The lame media have bought into the garbage because it is supported by hippies and losers like Algore. Real science is what should prevail.

Remember that despite the lies of losers like John Kerry about the Kyoto treaty (he tried to blame President Bush for failures in stopping global warming by saying he was responsible for the failure of the US to ratify the Kyoto protocol but forgot that he voted against it as 88 other Senators did (89-0) in 1998 during the Clinton administration) we are still doing more to help the environment including having more people employed as Forest Rangers, environmentalists, biologists and others than any other country in the world. We also spend more money than others and shouldn't be forced by Dims catering to their way-left constituents to spend any more than we already do.

[Condor51]

I've posted this before but it needs repeating, this "Union of Concerned Scientists" org is a FRAUD.

Of all their 'experts', NOT ONE has any degree even CLOSE to what would qualify them as experts on climate. Hell they aren't even 'scientists'.

For instance, the President, Kevin Knobloch, whose 'expertise' is "global warming" (among other junk) has a BA in English and journalism and an MA in Public Administration. Oh, Kevin is also and 'expert' on .. ARMS CONTROL (like I said, 'other junk').

Now how does one get to be an 'expert' on "global warming" and "arms control" with a English & JOURNALISM Degree?!?!

I'm series, I'm not making this stuff up, these people are complete FRAUDS. And 'Scientists', they ain't.

[Matchett-PI]

?

bttt

[Bob Buchholz]

Junk Science

[Matchett-PI]

Junk Science it is, but that constitutes "two" magic words, not one.

[Matchett-PI]

Consensus.

[The Chid]

We're DOOMED!!!

[governsleastgovernsbest]

Rush's first half-hour having come to an end, the contest to name the Magic Word is now over, with no winner.

Magic Word was . . . Nostrilitis!

PS: Here is the lovely prize that would have gone to the winner: http://cgi.ebay.com/TWEEZERMAN-NOSE-HAIR-CLIPPER-TRIMMER-2909-FREE-SHIP_W0QQitemZ330058907349QQcmdZViewItem

[Uncle Hal]

Folks, the scary part is that these people are serious. I believe 50 years from now people will look back at this hysteria over global warming and laugh, but unfortunately we have to live through it and put up with these clowns.

[onyx]

You've said a mouthful there and you're right!!!

[governsleastgovernsbest]

DING! DING! DING!

Rush, albeit a bit belatedly, won the contest! He just spoke of Henry 'Nostrilitis' Waxman!

[Bob Buchholz]

50 years from now, they will have accomplished their goal. The industrialized nations will have been paying the underdeveloped countries billions of dollars per year for their unused carbon credits resulting in the largest transfer of wealth in the history of man.

[Political Junkie Too]

Wow! It must be quite a feat to take credit for stopping something that was never going to happen in the first place (human extinction due to global warming).

It's like the old middle school joke about the boy leaning against the wall. "What are you doing?" the boy is asked. "Keeping the elephants away," the boy says. "I don't see any elephants," the questioner replies. "See? It works!" the boy exclaims.

-PJ

[Tolerance Sucks Rocks]

Doomage.