Weather Channel Honors Climate Heroes (And Antiheroes.)

December 10, 2006 – Vol. 11 No. 38

WEATHER CHANNEL HONORS CLIMATE HEROES (AND ANTIHEROES.)

Here’s a bit of climate change history.

Way back in the 1990’s when Bill Clinton and Al Gore decided they should bring their quest to mitigate global warming to the public, they invited the nation’s TV weathermen to the White House for a talk on global warming. They hoped that the weathermen and women would run home to explain the problem on the air.

The effort was a total flop.

Either the TV personalities didn’t agree with the problem, or their bosses thought global warming was a bad thing to discuss, fearing advertisers such as car companies would jump ship. The weathermen said nothing.

My, how times have changed! Weathermen frequently talk about global warming and encourage viewers to take action themselves. One of the leading proponents is cable TVs “The Weather Channel.”

Now the popular all-weather network has just announced its “One Degree Hot List; Individuals and Organizations, Making the Greatest Impact on Global Climate Change.” (The key word in the title is “Impact.” Read on.)

Here’s the list:

-- Al Gore: For the movie An Inconvenient Truth; and of course his decades-long mission to clamp down on global warming.

-- Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and California state lawmakers Fabian Nunez, Don Perata and Fran Pavley: For “for enacting the most sweeping greenhouse gas emissions reductions law in US history to date.”

-- Competitive Enterprise Institute: For being “one of the most influential contrarians to the mainstream scientific view of global climate change.”

-- President George W. Bush: For pursuing “diplomatic partnerships with countries such as China and Japan to advance technological research and cooperation, but remains opposed to the Kyoto Protocol.” But “by opposing mandatory reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, he gave states such as California and New York reason to act on their own.”

-- James Hansen, Director of NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies in New York: For assuming “the role of a trusted dean of all climate scientists rather than just an individual researcher.”

-- Senator John McCain and Senator Joe Lieberman -- “Both senators worked tirelessly to educate their colleagues on climate change science.”

-- Laurie David, Activist : For fusing “the science of global climate change with popular culture by serving as a juggernaut of activism and entertainment. “

-- Richard Cizik, Vice President for Governmental Affairs at the National Association of Evangelicals (NAE): For “spearheading efforts to persuade churches that it's their responsibility as like-minded evangelical Christians to combat global climate change.”

-- Wal-Mart Corporation: “Cutting greenhouse gas emissions joined slashing prices as a key priority.”

-- British Prime Minister Tony Blair: For his leadership to “put the UK on a path to exceed its Kyoto commitments.” (He’s not always Bush’s poodle.)

Bush? The Competitive Enterprise Institute? The word “impact” can be positive or negative depending on where you stand.

The Weather Channel now has broadband website - One Degree - and a new blog - both devoted to climate change science and discussion. http://www.weather.com/onedegree.