NYT's John Broder Calls Climate Change Skeptics 'Deniers,' Some Are 'Relatively Uninformed'
New York Times reporter John Broder used the East Coast snowstorms as a hook to
discuss political prospects for “climate change” legislation -- and
made clear where he stood on the issue -- in Thursday's front page
story, “
Climate Fight Is Heating Up In Deep Freeze.”
As
millions of people along the East Coast hole up in their snowbound
homes, the two sides in the climate-change debate are seizing on the
mounting drifts to bolster their arguments.
Skeptics of global
warming are using the record-setting snows to mock those who warn of
dangerous human-driven climate change -- this looks more like global
cooling, they taunt.
Most climate scientists respond that the
ferocious storms are consistent with forecasts that a heating planet
will produce more frequent and more intense weather events.
....
Speculating
on the meaning of severe weather events is not new. Hurricane Katrina
in 2005 and a deadly heat wave in Europe in the summer of 2003 incited
similar arguments about what such extremes might -- or might not -- say
about the planet’s climate.
But climate scientists say that no
single episode of severe weather can be blamed for global climate
trends while noting evidence that such events will probably become more
frequent as global temperatures rise.
In his conclusion, Broder leaned toward the view that climate change was real and posed a danger:
A
federal government report issued last year, intended to be the
authoritative statement of known climate trends in the United States,
pointed to the likelihood of more frequent snowstorms in the Northeast
and less frequent snow in the South and Southeast as a result of
long-term temperature and precipitation patterns. The Climate Impacts
report, from the multiagency United States Global Change Research
Program, also projected more intense drought in the Southwest and more
powerful Gulf Coast hurricanes because of warming.
In other words, if the government scientists are correct, look for more snow.
Broder's previous reporting has assumed as undisputed fact
the alarmist claims of climate-change advocates.
In
an accompanying “Back Story” podcast, Broder called those who don't
believe that man is causing the planet to dangerously overheat
“deniers” (a hostile term in the context of the running debate) and
suggested some making the argument were “relatively uninformed.”
John Broder: “Well, naturally the skeptics and those who are, you know, relatively uninformed about the climate debate
will look out the window and see two or three foot of snow and more
coming down, and ask themselves, “What's with all the global warming?”
But the scientists will reply that their models have shown over quite
some period of years, decades even, that the relatively slow warming of
the planet is putting more moisture into the atmosphere, and their
models have shown that rainstorms, snowstorms, will become more
frequent and intense as a result of that And that's what they say
you're seeing out your window right now.”
Asked later to discuss the political impact of the debate, Broder responded:
Broder: “Well the climate skeptics and deniers
who tend to be, at least in Congress, tend to be Republicans, are
having a field day with this. In Virginia, the state Republican Party
has put up a web ad against two Democrats from Virginia who voted for
the global warming bill in the House. Asking them, you know, 'How many
inches of global warming are outside your window?' and write your
representative and ask them to come and shovel your driveway.”
Host: “Which is pretty amusing, actually.”
Broder: “It is mildly amusing.”
Host: “And on the other side?”
Broder:
“Well, on the other side, the climate-change advocates and those who
are pushing for legislation are basically saying, look, these are the
kind of weather events that you have to begin in expect over the next
few decades as man continues to pour carbon dioxide into the atmosphere
and heat the planet. And that is going to require quite a bit of
adaptation, whether it's moving towns inland from rivers and seacoasts
that are going to be flooded, or buying more snow-shoveling equipment
in the Northeast.”