Global Climate Changing of the Guard
It's been a long time since Rolling Stone was relevant as a music magazine. It probably hasn't been relevant the entire time that I've been reading. Gone are its days of being on the vanguard of rock reporting, gonzo journalism, and the counter-culture. However, somewhere between the Ashley Simpson and the Good Charlotte you can still find little nuggets of insightful political reporting. I used to skip the articles by P.J. O'Rourke and Matt Taibbi when I was a kid, but that was probably a poor choice. If those articles were anything like the ones in Issue #987, then I really missed out.
The November 17th issue of RS has a fantastic series of articles on what they call, "The Planetary Emergency." It really cuts to the crux of this environmental crisis that I've been discussing. Are there more reputable sources for this information? Probably so, but the collection of articles here are a pretty valuable resource for anyone who wants to educate themselves about this vital issue. There's even a discussion of the major players involved in the effort to mislead the public and downplay the serious impact of global climate change that is already being felt in many areas of the world.
The one major problem with Rolling Stone's coverage of this issue is that the magazine persists in using the phrase "global warming." If there was one thing I could change about the majority of media coverage in support of environmental stewardship, it would be the use of "global warming." I hate that phrase because it is an oversimplification that makes environmental neglect and ignorance of greenhouse damage too easily defensible. Global climate change* is a much more accurate description of the looming environmental disaster.
What happens every summer when you have 3 or 4 really hot days in a row? Everyone starts talking about it being a sign of "global warming." The problem, according to the University of North Carolina's Dr. Sarah Nash, comes six months later when you have a record snowfall. "Everyone who was complaining in the summer now has a chance to scoff at the notion that our planet is actually getting warmer." Those that vowed to get a hybrid in July can enjoy another blissfully guilt-free winter in their Escalade. Using "global warming" (instead of global climate change) as the term for a very complicated series of events leaves out almost all of the consequences of continued ecological negligence.
This may sound strange, but the environmental movement needs to improve its marketing of global climate change to the American public. It's more than just semantics. "Warming" isn't menacing enough. Everybody likes to be warm. It's not the warming we should worry about. For some, global "warming" could actually trigger the onset of a new ice age. For others, warming could have catastrophic epidemiological consequences. Malaria will flourish in warmer weather. Global climate change will affect everyone, not just those in the way of the increasingly common Category 5 hurricanes. If people see global climate change as a real threat, they will begin to realize that George Bush is doing about as good a job keeping us safe from ecological disaster as he is keeping us safe from terror.
*Global climate change is the increasingly preferred academic term for the wide and varied effects of a buildup of greenhouse gases in our atmosphere. I didn't want this to sound like I invented the phrase.
It's been a long time since Rolling Stone was relevant as a music magazine. It probably hasn't been relevant the entire time that I've been reading. Gone are its days of being on the vanguard of rock reporting, gonzo journalism, and the counter-culture. However, somewhere between the Ashley Simpson and the Good Charlotte you can still find little nuggets of insightful political reporting. I used to skip the articles by P.J. O'Rourke and Matt Taibbi when I was a kid, but that was probably a poor choice. If those articles were anything like the ones in Issue #987, then I really missed out.
The November 17th issue of RS has a fantastic series of articles on what they call, "The Planetary Emergency." It really cuts to the crux of this environmental crisis that I've been discussing. Are there more reputable sources for this information? Probably so, but the collection of articles here are a pretty valuable resource for anyone who wants to educate themselves about this vital issue. There's even a discussion of the major players involved in the effort to mislead the public and downplay the serious impact of global climate change that is already being felt in many areas of the world.
The one major problem with Rolling Stone's coverage of this issue is that the magazine persists in using the phrase "global warming." If there was one thing I could change about the majority of media coverage in support of environmental stewardship, it would be the use of "global warming." I hate that phrase because it is an oversimplification that makes environmental neglect and ignorance of greenhouse damage too easily defensible. Global climate change* is a much more accurate description of the looming environmental disaster.
What happens every summer when you have 3 or 4 really hot days in a row? Everyone starts talking about it being a sign of "global warming." The problem, according to the University of North Carolina's Dr. Sarah Nash, comes six months later when you have a record snowfall. "Everyone who was complaining in the summer now has a chance to scoff at the notion that our planet is actually getting warmer." Those that vowed to get a hybrid in July can enjoy another blissfully guilt-free winter in their Escalade. Using "global warming" (instead of global climate change) as the term for a very complicated series of events leaves out almost all of the consequences of continued ecological negligence.
This may sound strange, but the environmental movement needs to improve its marketing of global climate change to the American public. It's more than just semantics. "Warming" isn't menacing enough. Everybody likes to be warm. It's not the warming we should worry about. For some, global "warming" could actually trigger the onset of a new ice age. For others, warming could have catastrophic epidemiological consequences. Malaria will flourish in warmer weather. Global climate change will affect everyone, not just those in the way of the increasingly common Category 5 hurricanes. If people see global climate change as a real threat, they will begin to realize that George Bush is doing about as good a job keeping us safe from ecological disaster as he is keeping us safe from terror.
*Global climate change is the increasingly preferred academic term for the wide and varied effects of a buildup of greenhouse gases in our atmosphere. I didn't want this to sound like I invented the phrase.
posted by adelino @ 11:59 AM
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