Floods in China: Where's the Global Warming Connection?

Floods in China: Where's the Global Warming Connection?

By Pam Meister (Bio | Archive)
July 26, 2007 - 12:49 ET

Is it just me, or is there something missing in the coverage of the terrible flooding happening in China? Let’s see:

Destruction of life and property? Check.
Daring rescues? Check.
People fleeing their homes? Check.
Floods a result of man-caused global warming? Er…

In all the stories I’ve read from major news outlets about the devastating flooding in China, I have yet to see that the floods have been linked to the phenomenon known as man-caused global warming. Meanwhile, recent flooding in Britain has been connected to it on more than one occasion, as Newsbusters has reported.

What's the difference? I'm not sure. Could it be due to the fact that China is on the list of "developing" countries that was exempt from pressure to abide by the rules of the Kyoto protocol, even though the country ratified it and now produces the most greenhouse emissions of any other country (including the U.S.)? Or perhaps that China's government isn't likely to bow to pressure in the form of journalistic hype about a topic that is still in the infancy of debate?

It's an interesting question, but I'm not sure the answer is forthcoming any time soon.

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China gets a 'by'

July 26, 2007 - 13:10 ET by Galvanic

You're right, Pam. The GWers and UN don't want to anger China, so they remain mum. On the otherhand, they know that the UK -- being an open society with a free press -- can be influenced by claims of Global Warming-induced flooding. No better time to win over converts to the Church of Global Warming than while Mr. and Mrs. Public are standing waste deep in water in a pool that used to be their kitchen.

Besides, Beijing has already declared that they have been reducing GHGs (despite recently surpassing the US in global production of GHGs) via their one-child-per-family population control policy. Fewer people = less CO2.

I think the reason china is

July 26, 2007 - 13:37 ET by rob6677

I think the reason china is exempt from global warmongering is because they co-authored the handbook of propaganda.

"Time flies like an arrow, fruit flies like a banana!" Groucho

"developing"

July 26, 2007 - 13:58 ET by drillanwr

I'm sorry, I may be in the minority, but I have a very difficult time calling a country, such as China, that has a massive and well equipped military, thousands of multiple warhead nukes that could primarily screech the world into devastation, and is one of the world's TOP product producers and exporters ... NOT to mention their own technology ... a "developing" country. Might just be me, though ~shrug~

It's the bathrooms, stupid!!! To paraphrase

July 26, 2007 - 14:07 ET by dagda

Not to be insulting, if you try to go to the bathroom in China, especially outside of a major city, even inside a major city sometimes, you will know exactly why it is called developing. :)

Our real problem, then, is not our strength today; it is rather the vital necessity of action today to ensure our strength tomorrow. Dwight Eisenhower

So, what you're saying is

July 26, 2007 - 14:13 ET by drillanwr

So, what you're saying is ... Communist China is full of crap?

Not quite, drillanwr

July 26, 2007 - 14:17 ET by dagda

Communist China is more covered in crap, then full of crap. The leaders are full of crap, if that makes you feel better.

Our real problem, then, is not our strength today; it is rather the vital necessity of action today to ensure our strength tomorrow. Dwight Eisenhower

Ah, well, at the end of the

July 26, 2007 - 14:20 ET by drillanwr

Ah, well, at the end of the [day] it's all nuclear fall out ...

full of crap?!?!

July 26, 2007 - 18:50 ET by DontFeedTheTrolls

Remind me not to dig a hole to China.

I don't support our liberals or their mission.

Pam, there's truth in what you tell..

July 26, 2007 - 14:50 ET by Gary Hall

Pam, there's truth in what you tell.. I believe that there is indeed much resistence in the media in exposing the Kyoto shortfalls. In the moment, I'd been having that same curious thought on the news out of China.

However, Just give them [MSM] a bit of time, and they'll slip it in again. (;~> gary

Just about a year ago, I picked up this one from the AFP, Global Warming Behind Typhoons in China. It was a dandy:

Global warming is contributing to an unusually harsh typhoon season in China that started around a month early and has left thousands dead or missing, government officials and experts say.

OK. Then they begin to pile it on.

Against the backdrop of global warming, more and more strong and unusual climatic and atmospheric events are taking place.

The strength of typhoons are increasing, the destructiveness of typhoons that have made landfall is greater and the scope in which they are traveling is farther than normal.

To this day, that last one is one of my favorite lines.

It should have been easy to

July 26, 2007 - 15:06 ET by mattm

It should have been easy to include the APGW angle and still manage to blame capitalism for it. They could have said something like "China has been importing capitalism from the West for many years, but now they have to contend with an import from the West they didn't plan for: devastating floods caused by global warming..."

How could they have missed such an easy trick? It must be the heat.

China or Cooperstown

July 26, 2007 - 20:01 ET by Curt

China is a secondary story. I heard a promo tonight for story coming up on how GCC will change baseball because the trees needed for the best baseball bats are having problems.

Does insinuation count as much as accusation?

July 26, 2007 - 15:39 ET by AGW Heretic

Pam, this Reuters article comes close (second paragraph).

Tim
http://agw-heretic.blogspot.com

Of course the Chinese are going to get a break.

July 26, 2007 - 15:59 ET by Dave R

The reason the "climate change" crowd is giving China a pass is the same reason they got a break on Kyoto as well, and it has nothing to do with China being a "developing" nation.

China is a communist country.

Help Fred defeat everybody.