Climate Change

Not long after the president weighed in on the National Climate Assessment, a troop of highly paid climate deniers took to the big TV talk shows to discredit the scientists who put together the report. Lisa Hymas of Media Matters tracked the egregious contradictions, distortions, and outright lies that were permitted on CNN, Fox News, and NBC. She discusses why the television networks have such a hard time booking actual scientists to discuss global warming, and the pernicious myths and omissions that continue to dog our climate discourse.

"Just after sunrise, a concrete plant located in a muddy industrial zone north of London stirs to life. Workers in orange suits and hard hats watch through a protective window as a machine presses what looks like red sand into a tray of brick-shaped blocks."

"Political leaders on Monday began arriving in the Polish coal city of Katowice where two weeks of talks have begun to revive the landmark Paris 2015 deal on climate change as dire warnings mount about a lack of action."

"Nearly two-thirds of Republicans and a majority of all Americans now acknowledge climate change, according to a Monmouth University Poll released Thursday."

"Global temperatures have continued to rise in the past 10 months, with 2018 expected to be the fourth warmest year on record."

"KATOWICE, Poland — Three years after sealing a landmark global climate deal in Paris, world leaders are gathering again to agree on the fine print."

On Monday, when asked about the [National Assessment] report’s conclusion that climate change will wreak havoc on the US economy, President Trump said “I don’t believe it.” Yesterday, the White House doubled down on its climate denial, with Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders questioning the methodology and conclusions of the climate report and saying it was “not based on facts.” That phrase is a fitting description for the talking points offered up by the White House. With one exception, none of these points is factually accurate:"

"Like the years before, U.S. utilities kept on retiring coal-fired power plants in President Donald Trump's first year in office even as the administration proclaimed an Obama-era "war on coal" was over. In 2018, they doubled their pace."

"At least seven state governments are poised at the brink of putting a price on climate-warming carbon emissions within the next year. Some are considering new carbon taxes or fees. Others are making plans to join regional carbon markets."

"Atlantic and polar cod face a double whammy as the planet warms: rising ocean temperatures and acidification could cut reproduction by nearly two-thirds, study says."