NBC Scare Tactics: Climate Change May Put Statue of Liberty Underwater

In yet another example of climate change fearmongering following Hurricane Sandy, on Monday's NBC Nightly News, anchor Brian Williams hyped a fantasy illustration from the New York Times: "...an artist's depiction of the Statue of Liberty submerged in New York Harbor, a kind of what-if warning about climate change and our new coastlines up and down the east coast." [Listen to the audio or watch the video after the jump]

In the report that followed, environmental affairs correspondent Anne Thompson used Sandy to bolster the case: "...train stations in New Jersey inundated  by torrents of water from Superstorm Sandy....scientists say this kind of destruction could become far more frequent because of the heat-trapping greenhouse gases warming the planet."

Thompson made to sure to only cite evidence that promoted the man-made global warming theory. A sound bite played of Climate Central's Ben Strauss: "We could see, by the end of this century, storms with floods as high as Sandy's as much as once every 15 years or more often, because storm surges in the future will start from a higher sea level."

Thompson followed: "How high? A recent study published in the Journal Nature Climate Change suggests we are in line for a five-foot sea level rise, given all the fossil fuels we've already burned." Like Williams, she made a dire prediction of New Orleans soon being underwater and declared: "That risk dramatically spreads along the coast at twenty five feet, the ocean swallowing more shoreline in a few hundred years if nothing is done."

Adding to the one-sided data, Thompson announced: "This month, a report from the World Bank said it's not just sea level rise, but heat waves that could become more common..."

Wrapping up the environmentalist propaganda, Thompson pleaded: "Now, all of this gives new urgency to the United Nations annual climate change conference opening today in Doha, still pursuing the ever-elusive goal of global agreement to reduce greenhouse gases."

Here is a full transcript of the November 26 segment:

7:00PM ET TEASE:

BRIAN WILLIAMS: Underwater. A month now after Hurricane Sandy. Tonight, our first look at what our new coastline might look like.

7:12PM ET SEGMENT:

WILLIAMS: It's been a month tonight since the monster storm named Sandy roared into the east coast. Tonight is another cold, dark night for the folks living in the affected zone, where nothing is the way it was. For those wanting comparison to other storms, we've had a lot of questions about this. Consider this, Sandy damaged more dwellings in just New York State than all of Katrina across the entire Gulf region.

And this got a lot of people's attention this weekend when it appeared in the New York Times, an artist's depiction of the Statue of Liberty submerged in New York Harbor, a kind of what-if warning about climate change and our new coastlines up and down the east coast. Our report tonight from our chief environmental affairs correspondent, Anne Thompson.

ANNE THOMPSON: These are the images few ever expected to see. The PATH train stations in New Jersey inundated  by torrents of water from Superstorm Sandy. Yet scientists say this kind of destruction could become far more frequent because of the heat-trapping greenhouse gases warming the planet.

BEN STRAUSS [CLIMATE CENTRAL]: We could see, by the end of this century, storms with floods as high as Sandy's as much as once every 15 years or more often, because storm surges in the future will start from a higher sea level.

WILLIAMS: How high? A recent study published in the Journal Nature Climate Change suggests we are in line for a five-foot sea level rise, given all the fossil fuels we've already burned. Look at the projections for the Gulf coast, a five-foot increase puts New Orleans underwater. That risk dramatically spreads along the coast at twenty five feet, the ocean swallowing more shoreline in a few hundred years if nothing is done.

This month, a report from the World Bank said it's not just sea level rise, but heat waves that could become more common, with average summer temperatures rising almost eleven degrees here in the U.S., as well as the Mediterranean, North Africa and the Middle East. Now, all of this gives new urgency to the United Nations annual climate change conference opening today in Doha, still pursuing the ever-elusive goal of global agreement to reduce greenhouse gases. Brian.

THOMPSON: There are already new coastlines here in the east. Anne Thompson, thank you for your reporting tonight.