Elliott Negin used to be a foreign news editor for National Public Radio. Now he’s a "director of news and commentary" for the leftist Union for Concerned Scientists, one of the nation’s leading advocates of panic about global warming.
In Friday’s Washington Post, Negin wrote a letter to the editor complaining that the news media is confusing the public by allowing global warming skeptics to gain a media platform when “There is no other side.” Only the leftist truth. The Post editorialized about a “devolved” debate, which meant the capitalist side isn't surrendering:
The editorial failed to mention one other key reason: The Koch brothers, Exxon Mobil and other fossil-fuel interests have bankrolled a multimillion-dollar campaign to confuse the public about the reality and seriousness of man-made global warming. The news media have played a role in spreading this disinformation. Since the early 2000s, news organizations have provided a platform for fossil fuel industry-funded think tanks, advocacy groups and politicians to make spurious claims about climate science. Reporters have relied on these public officials and groups to provide the “other side.” There is no other side.
Fortunately, The Post has been citing climate-change contrarians less frequently these days. But the paper is still publishing columns by Charles Krauthammer and George F. Will and op-eds from others that distort the science. If The Post is serious about clearing up confusion about global warming, it would follow the lead of the BBC and stop publishing scientifically indefensible statements.
