Mary Young: CE Blog #4
Current Event Blog 3: The Guardian
Assessment of News Source
The Guardian is a British newspaper, a part of the Guardian Media Group (which was formed to “secure the financial and editorial independence of The Guardian”), and founded by a British journalist by the name of C. P. Scott. Scott was associated with the Liberal Party in Parliament. The paper has been accused of being left-wing bias, an editor even blatantly stating that it is “no secret that we are a centre-left newspaper.”
Summary
The article by Fiona Harvey titled, “‘Tipping Points’ Could Exacerbate Climate Crisis, Scientists Fear,” discusses the IPCC report that was published after the meeting between the world’s top climate scientists. It predicted we could pass the 1.5ºC limit of warming—which is the “point-of no-return” in climate change before it spirals to new, dangerous heights—in about 2050, and we have twelve years to do it. Harvey evaluates the important topics discussed by the IPCC, but criticizes the scientists for not including all of the possible dangers in crossing this threshold. Downplaying the seriousness of this climate catastrophe may not alert the public of what is truly being endangered.
Analysis
The US and UK differ slightly between politics and this is prominent in this situation dealing with climate change. The news of this article is making headlines around the world, but I have barely seen any American news sources talk about this yet, in which the two I saw were both considered liberal sources. My weather and climate professor hinted that it was because of President Trump, who is notorious for discrediting climate change as an issue, and even pulled out of the Paris Climate Agreement. Upon further research, I found some UK conservative news sources to see whether or not they had an article on the matter and neither Daily Mail or Telegraph had mentioned the findings. As climate change has become more political, huge findings such as this one is only being exposed to certain political affiliations, which is strengthening the connotations between science and politics.
Opinion
I think the complaints Harvey has are validated, because as people begin to base climate change off of political views, it becomes more complicated for scientists to communicate such findings to the public and expect them to take it seriously. Perhaps the IPCC was trying to appeal to the general audience by giving people a more “believable” list of outcomes, but issues as pressing as this needs to be disclosed rather than sugarcoated. Scientists need to have communicators that are willing to professionally address the subject and can translate it for the public to understand. All I can say is: this depresses me to no end. My boyfriend and I have dreams to see the world in all its beauty, but now I fear we may not ever be able to. This is the future we are creating for our kids, grandkids, and so forth, and we should be ashamed of what we’re offering to them.
Works Cited
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/oct/09/tipping-points-could-exacerbate-climate-crisis-scientists-fear
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/live/2018/oct/08/ipcc-climate-change-report-urgent-action-fossil-fuels-live
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/oct/08/global-warming-must-not-exceed-15c-warns-landmark-un-report
https://www.theguardian.com/the-scott-trust
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C._P._Scott
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2004/oct/16/uselections2004.usa2
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/index.html
Assessment of News Source
The Guardian is a British newspaper, a part of the Guardian Media Group (which was formed to “secure the financial and editorial independence of The Guardian”), and founded by a British journalist by the name of C. P. Scott. Scott was associated with the Liberal Party in Parliament. The paper has been accused of being left-wing bias, an editor even blatantly stating that it is “no secret that we are a centre-left newspaper.”
Summary
The article by Fiona Harvey titled, “‘Tipping Points’ Could Exacerbate Climate Crisis, Scientists Fear,” discusses the IPCC report that was published after the meeting between the world’s top climate scientists. It predicted we could pass the 1.5ºC limit of warming—which is the “point-of no-return” in climate change before it spirals to new, dangerous heights—in about 2050, and we have twelve years to do it. Harvey evaluates the important topics discussed by the IPCC, but criticizes the scientists for not including all of the possible dangers in crossing this threshold. Downplaying the seriousness of this climate catastrophe may not alert the public of what is truly being endangered.
Analysis
The US and UK differ slightly between politics and this is prominent in this situation dealing with climate change. The news of this article is making headlines around the world, but I have barely seen any American news sources talk about this yet, in which the two I saw were both considered liberal sources. My weather and climate professor hinted that it was because of President Trump, who is notorious for discrediting climate change as an issue, and even pulled out of the Paris Climate Agreement. Upon further research, I found some UK conservative news sources to see whether or not they had an article on the matter and neither Daily Mail or Telegraph had mentioned the findings. As climate change has become more political, huge findings such as this one is only being exposed to certain political affiliations, which is strengthening the connotations between science and politics.
Opinion
I think the complaints Harvey has are validated, because as people begin to base climate change off of political views, it becomes more complicated for scientists to communicate such findings to the public and expect them to take it seriously. Perhaps the IPCC was trying to appeal to the general audience by giving people a more “believable” list of outcomes, but issues as pressing as this needs to be disclosed rather than sugarcoated. Scientists need to have communicators that are willing to professionally address the subject and can translate it for the public to understand. All I can say is: this depresses me to no end. My boyfriend and I have dreams to see the world in all its beauty, but now I fear we may not ever be able to. This is the future we are creating for our kids, grandkids, and so forth, and we should be ashamed of what we’re offering to them.
Works Cited
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/oct/09/tipping-points-could-exacerbate-climate-crisis-scientists-fear
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/live/2018/oct/08/ipcc-climate-change-report-urgent-action-fossil-fuels-live
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/oct/08/global-warming-must-not-exceed-15c-warns-landmark-un-report
https://www.theguardian.com/the-scott-trust
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C._P._Scott
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2004/oct/16/uselections2004.usa2
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/index.html
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