CNN Predicts Possible 'Century of Fires' Due to Global Warming
CNN exploited a national tragedy on October 23 by finding a way to blame global warming for wildfires.
During the October 23 “Anderson Cooper 360: In the Line of Fire,” Cooper reported from Southern California saying, “People are wondering if these fires are a result of global warming in some way.”
Although Cooper admitted that, “no one really knows for sure,” the broadcast still took the time to predict the future with CNN’s Tom Foreman who warned of a possible “century of fires, just like what we're seeing now” as a result of global warming.
"Climatologists say, while we can't blame on fire on climate change, we can say that these factors are combining in that area [Southern California] to set up what could be a century of fires just like what we're seeing now," said Foreman.
Foreman cautioned viewers that, “greater periods of rain” that fuel “increased vegetation growth” over the next century may provide a “potential link between these fires and global warming.”
He then pointed to a map showing “plant growth is expected to double or even triple as a result of greater periods of rain, driven by climate change.”
Earlier in the broadcast Cooper also plugged CNN’s documentary:
“At the top of the next hour, as I said, the big picture. These fires are really a piece of it. Fire, drought, global warming, climate change, deforestation, it is all connected, tonight, 9:00 p.m. Eastern…‘Planet in Peril’ starts in just 30 minutes.”
But was there a source refuting the claims that global warming was to blame for the fires in
Alan Zarembo’s story in the Washington Spokesman-Review that was attributed to the Los Angeles Times asked a similar question to Cooper’s broadcast, “Are the massive fires burning across
But, Zarembo came up with a much different answer:
“Scientists said it would be difficult to make that case, given the combustible mix of drought and wind that has plagued the region for centuries or more,” said the reporter.
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A climate scientist at the
"Neither can be attributed to climate change," said the UC Merced professor.
The
Related Links:
BMI's Special Report "Fire & Ice: Journalists have warned of climate change for 100 years, but can't decide weather we face an ice or warming"
Climate of Bias: BMI's page devoted entirely to global warming and climate change in the media.
