On any other day, NBC "Nightly News" would be attacking coal for being a dirty pollutant and advocating reliance on other forms of energy.
But on Nov. 15, as it began the first of its "Our Planet" segments for green week, the network used coal power as part of the argument in favor of destroying manmade dams.
"This is what the dams harness: the power of the Elwha to generate electricity. Impressive, even vital 100 years ago. But today the dams are no longer needed. Now with coal, wind and solar power, repairing the dams is just too expensive," said chief environmental correspondent Anne Thompson.
Thompson has often attacked coal power on NBC. On Feb. 21, 2009 she offered viewers plenty of reasons why building a much needed coal plant in Nevada was a bad idea. She has also supported the idea of capping carbon emissions, which would increase the cost of coal power.
But in this segment, Thompson presented the destruction of hydroelectric dams as a positive thing, bringing rivers back "to their natural state" for the sake of fish.
"The Chinook salmon in Washington State's Elwha River are between a rock and a hard place. The hard place is this 108-foot high dam - one of two dams on the Elwha - blocking the salmon's journey upstream to spawn. Not for much longer," said Thompson.
Thompson reported that about 40 dams per year are being torn down in the U.S., but failed to mention that many tear-downs are controversial, and included no criticism of plans to tear down the Elwha dam.
That's in keeping with network practice. In 2007, the Business & Media Institute found the network news ignoring such dam removals, which were being promoted by left-wing environmental groups like Environmental Defense, the Sierra Club and others.
A BMI Special Report found that in 13 months of coverage, not one network story touched on the subject of dams coming under siege by environmentalists. During that same time, the top five newspapers did 65 stories on the controversy surrounding just one of the potential tear-downs.
Hydroelectric power is a renewable energy resource according to the Environmental Protection Agency, so the form of power should be embraced by environmentalists who want to end reliance on fossil fuels and end global warming. Yet those are the very people crusading to destroy these dams.
—Julia A. Seymour is an assistant editor for the Business & Media Institute.
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Comments Policy
The hardcore
Mon, 11/16/2009 - 13:53 ET by MidAmericaThe hardcore environmentalists are against all forms of power generation. In fact they are against civilization. They feel that humans are an unbalancing factor in a 'natural' world. In other words, they seek a idealistic Eden, a form of heaven on earth, untouched by exploitive humans. The earth is their godess and we defile her perfection with our presence.
end of defilence
Mon, 11/16/2009 - 13:57 ET by jon_torlinSo let them take the first step to end the defiling of earth. Please, show us the way! (not that we'd follow, that is)
-Jon
You are right. They don't
Mon, 11/16/2009 - 15:48 ET by buddycYou are right. They don't want solar or wind because they destroy large areas of the environment. They oppose the transmission lines to bring solar/wind and natural gas produced energy to the cities.
MidAm
Mon, 11/16/2009 - 17:21 ET by NorthCoasterWe would all have to go back to fig leaves...........not a pretty sight in my mind.
I'll take power generation to avoid the visuals if nothing else.
Sunday Night Football
Mon, 11/16/2009 - 18:32 ET by CaringwhiteguyThe irony was just too good. Last night the "Green" network broadcast the NFL game featuring New England at Indianapolis. The new Colts stadium is domed, as was the old one. This makes for bad night-time shots from the obligatory blimp.
Solution? Victory Field, home of the Indianapolis Indians AAA baseball team is close by. I don't think there was a baseball game going on (I say with tongue in cheek), but all the lights in the baseball park were turned on last night, as well as virtually every other light in downtown Indianapolis. This made for some great blimp shots for the "Green" network, but surely didn't help reduce Indiana's "CARBON FOOTPRINT".
Lesson learned? NBC is indeed the "Green" network. This means all the rest of us schlubs must follow their instructions to conserve energy. The network itself, however, has issued itself an exemption.
We have been dealing with
Mon, 11/16/2009 - 15:46 ET by buddycWe have been dealing with this same problem for 40 years. Had we the political will independent of special interests the solutions are expensive but easy to identify:
1. Increase wind/solar to 30%
2. Increase nuclear to 30%
3. Build 2-4 new Hoover Dams and don't tear down any effecient dams
4. Increase the use of natural gas
5. Spend LOTS of dollars on innovative new technologies
6. drill drill drill in the US
Ethanol is a disaster. Tearing down dams is a nice enviromental decision but will push up food costs and eliminate an important source of energy.
Natural gas usage increases will be clean burning until we get the nuclear plants completed and the solar plants finished. Solar is VERY expensive and not cost effective and requires subsidies but over 15 years we could get to the 30% with some sacrifice.
Only has been hollywood liberals prevent more nuclear. Environmental extremists prevent building more dams and drilling and crazy people prevent more use of natural gas.
The number one way to cut
Mon, 11/16/2009 - 18:29 ET by Willis_Leon_JohnsonThe number one way to cut greenhouse gases and cut pollution would be to disconnect all 'environmentalists from the grid.
That would necessarily also remove them from any sources of man-provided sources of energy such as petroleum based fuels, anything moved or produced by those fuels, and any products or structures built, manufactured or produced using those man-provided sources of energy or power.
That includes any clothing manufactered by man, hospitals or medicines manufactured by man, grocery stores that provides, store, or refrigerates foods.
No houses, automobiles or bicycles or jogging shoes or shorts.
No diamond ankle bracelets. No weapons or ammunition or knives manufactured by any means other than a blacksmith and a forge.....uhoh, nix that it requires coal or wood flames...
Darn! there' going to have to walk to the nearest cave and eak out whatever living they can...
Provided that it isn't on private property, or 'government property' because I don't want naked vermin living on my land and killing game out of season.
Just think of the airtime NOT USED to shove their endless preaching of their religion down our throats....
"no matter how low you set the bar, liberals can never quite measure up." -Me
http://gjresult.com
No continuity of thought . . .
Mon, 11/16/2009 - 16:28 ET by GalvanicNBC demonstrates the Left's inherent lack of a capability to string two or more concepts together coherently.
where NBC HQ gets its power
Mon, 11/16/2009 - 16:40 ET by spepperdoes NBC in NYC even realize where the power comes from to power their studios there? From the ConEd hydroelectric plant at Niagra Falls-- I suppose there could be an unexpected benefit there, if for a brief insane moment they seriously considered dismantling it, making NYC, and therefore, NBC, go dark........
Anne Thompson
Mon, 11/16/2009 - 17:18 ET by NorthCoasterQuick, you choose....the fish or green energy from the hydroelectric generators at the dam?
I'll give you a clue....You can't have both!
Stumped?
Try this choice...the fish or fresh produce from southern California. What, you don't like the high prices for your arragula?
What about the jobs of all the workers and owners in California whose livelihood was cut off by shutting the spigot?
Fresh Water
Mon, 11/16/2009 - 17:56 ET by ScottyDogJust as a side note, Dams also store fresh water for agriculture as well as drinking.
Where the hell is all the fresh water going to come from when they start tearing down the dams?
I do not trust anything that is broadcast on the Green Network as it will only be in the context of supporting GE and its monopoly industries in partnership with the federal Government.