Networks Ignore U.S. Agreement on Global Warming
Networks Ignore U.S. Agreement on Global Warming
Partnership includes
energy-hungry China and India, but media arent interested.
By Amy Menefee
August 10, 2005
Its been about two weeks since the United States joined a new
international pact on energy and global warming. But the major
networks havent mentioned it at all.
President George W. Bush announced the U.S. joining the
Asia-Pacific Partnership on Clean Development and Climate on July
27. None of the three broadcast networks mentioned it in aBusiness & Media Institute survey of coverage since July 20. But during that
time period, CBS and ABC both found time for a new study linking
strong hurricanes to global warming. On two occasions, reporters
passed along the studys findings without any critique of the
results.
Unlike the medias adoration of all things
warming, the six-nation pact is major news. Thats because it
includes the high-emissions countries of China and India, which had
no emissions caps in the media-favored Kyoto treaty. But the pact
doesnt include mandatory regulation of greenhouse gases, which the
media have consistently indicted as causing global warming. Instead,
it embraces free-market solutions to the future of the worlds
energy consumption. As Margaret Kriz reported in National Journal
August 6, the new pact allows private innovation to pave the way for
cleaner, more efficient energy technologies.
According to the White House, the six countries aim to
reduce harmful air pollution and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Considering European nations failure to comply with the original
greenhouse gas controls of Kyoto, a new agreement by the worlds
major emitters is significant news. The media have not let audiences
forget that America didnt sign on to Kyoto, and in
coverage of the June Group of Eight (G-8) Summit, they blamed
Bush for the U.S. position. The Senate, however, voted 95-0 against
joining Kyoto a treaty estimated to cost the United States upwards
of $400 billion annually if implemented. Those costs are rarely
mentioned in media reports, as the Business & Media Institute found in its
earlier studies,
Crazy 8s and
Destroying America to Save the World.
The Bush administration continues to oppose any policy
that would achieve reductions by putting Americans out of work or by
simply shifting emissions from one country to another. For
journalists who usually jump at the chance to cover American job
losses, that should be good news. Unfortunately, broadcasters have
ignored the free-market approach to advancing the worlds energy
policy.
For more information:
White House Fact Sheet: Asia-Pacific Partnership on Clean
Development
Crazy 8s: Live 8, G-8 coverage cheerleads sending billions of U.S. dollars to Africa
Destroying America to Save the World: TVs Global Warming Coverage Hides Cost of Kyoto Treaty
