GMA’s Alarmist Nightmare: ‘Will Billions Die From Global Warming?’

Photo of Scott Whitlock.
By Scott Whitlock | January 31, 2007 - 13:37 ET

"Good Morning America" weatherman Sam Champion has accomplished the impressive feat of turning the morning show’s meteorology segment into an opinion piece. On Tuesday, he approvingly reported on a new study that blames humans for the effects of global warming. During a follow-up piece on Wednesday’s edition, ABC included one of the most alarming graphics to grace American television screens:

ABC Graphic: "Will Billions Die from Global Warming? New Details on Thirst and Hunger"

Billions? Could that be a slight exaggeration?

Story Continues Below Ad ↓

Co-host Robin Roberts began the segment, which aired at 7:14am on January 31, by reminding Americans just how subjective Mr. Champion is on the subject of global warming:


[ABC Graphic: Global Warming: Global Warning]


Robin Roberts: "This morning, we're hearing new information from those landmark, closed-door sessions on climate change. Five hundred of the world's top scientists meeting in Paris, joining forces to tackle global warming. The report is due out on Friday. Sam has been following the story. You know how passionate he is about global warming. Headline news everywhere. And I think one of the big headlines is that we could feel the effects of global warming sooner rather than later."

[Second ABC Graphic: "Will Billions Die from Global Warming? New Details on Thirst and Hunger"]

Champion: "Yeah. That's what's in this report and why everyone is trying to jump this report that officially comes out Friday, Robin. There are big, new headlines and some of them are coming out of Australia in media reports. Now, they say that those scientists in Paris will estimate that between 1.1 and 3.2 billion people will suffer from water shortage problems by 2080. That's not your grandchildren, that's your children. And between 200 million and 600 million more people will be going hungry. That means a very real possibility of food and water shortages much faster than we thought and even in today's 'USA Today' paper they’re talking about, uh, that the 2001 report said fossil fuel pollution by humans, used by humans-- likely. This report will say 99 percent sure."

Roberts: "How could the U.S. be impacted by what you just said?"

Champion: "Well, there are places in the map that we've all looked at in studies that say these are the places you'll see drought and problems. And you're talking about South America and northern India, western China, north-central Africa. In the U.S., It's Colorado, Arizona and New Mexico, already suffering from low snow pack and could have water shortages by about 2080."

Roberts: "Of course, global warming, hot topic on Capitol Hill this week and a number of hearings in the House, accusations of a White House cover-up?"

Champion: "And they're saying some reports were edited by some White House staffers. And Rick Piltz's is the big one who, his report and his testimony brought it out. So let's listen to what he had to say."

Congressman Stephen Lynch: "Did you ever get a plausible reason why he would remove that warning to Congress?"

Rick Piltz: "He called it speculative musing."

Lynch: "Speculative musing?"

Piltz: "Speculative musing."

Champion: "And he's a former senior official in climate research in Washington and now has left that post, of course. Now, it is so serious to a lot of people, we'll be watching this report out, in Paris one of the neat things I think you'll see come out of this, is that they'll turn the Eiffel Tower lights out just to announce this report and kind of make that impact dramatic."

It should be noted that no one exhibited any skepticism or questioning about the study’s findings. Furthermore, Rick Piltz, who, according to an approving piece in the liberal American Prospect, is a "political scientist by training," also received no questioning. Finally, Champion commented about the "neat" fact that the Eiffel Tower will go dark five minutes before the unveiling. Click here to see the Greenpeace sign currently hanging from the tower and demonstrating once again the support that the hard-left has given this global warming push.

—Scott Whitlock is a news analyst for the Media Research Center.

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Billions, Billions...We're doomed...hhhhhaaaaahahahaha...

Billions, Billions...We're doomed...hhhhhaaaaahahahaha...

I love it.  I hope so.  I'm so happy...

<Evil Leer>

Hahahahahahaha.

ACA

...

Acaiguana says:  "I love blind Monkeys and any inference that I am making fun of blind Monkeys would be wrong.

aca. You're on to something here..

aca. You're on to something here.. After all,

Jacques Cousteau, ''Population growth is the primary source of environmental damage."

If billions die off, the world will be saved. It's really better than "Catch-22."

I know, Gary, the absurdity of what I see today is amazing.

I know, Gary, the absurdity of what I see today is amazing.

I'd like to see a serious psychological profile of what is going on in the 'herd' mentality stuff today.  Why people are reacting to things the way they are.  It is truly an amazing thing.

Here we are locked into a struggle against a medieval religous based fanatical group of people over the control of civilization's future; and we get Al Gore.

Perspective?

I don't see much.

ACA

...

Acaiguana says:  "I love blind Monkeys and any inference that I am making fun of blind Monkeys would be wrong.

ACAAll of the worlds problems

ACA

All of the worlds problems can be solved with one program

Selective Cannibalism

I decide - you eat

It cures:

   1) World hunger

    2) Over Population

    3) Global warming

    4) illegal immigration

    5) poverty

    6)  an overburdened social security

    7)  crowded wal-marts

    8) American Idol

etc

etc

etc

No Soup For You

Lost any islands lately?

I have a world atlas (National Geographic) from around 1980 which I noticed shows (among other things) the highest elevation of the different land masses. Some of these masses are islands and island groups. I remember seeing (years ago) that some of them had highest points of 20 feet or less. These are occupied islands (memory may not serve me correctly, but I seem to remember one of the Cayman (I may have the name wrong) islands had a high point of 14 feet). So has anyone heard of any of these islands disappearing under the great wash of melted sea ice? Any reports of great masses of people being forced to evacuate anywhere?

DSG

Want your elected reps to know what you think? Go to http://www.congress.org/congressorg/home/, it's real easy.

I was on Grand Cayman about 1

I was on Grand Cayman about 10 months ago. For diving.

I can attest that Grand Cayman was still there; at that time. And the seas around GC are not dead.

The dive masters were not complaining about global warming killing the reefs. Which looked very nice.

The only thing the dive masters pointed to as problems were the cruise ships dropping their anchors on the coral heads. And the new Hilton Hotel was built too tall. Ruining the view. (Guess they don't want windmills either.)

I should be able to verify about another island after Mardi Gras. (Belize)

Have regulator. Will dive.

"The urge to save humanity is almost always a false front for the urge to rule.”   H.L. Mencken

Billions, Billions...We're do

Billions, Billions...We're doomed...hhhhhaaaaahahahaha... 

Hmmm....  Shorter lines at, well....everywhere!  Plentiful gasoline!  Less traffic on the roads!  No crowds on vacation!  I love it!

Look at this guy's picture. W

Look at this guy's picture. Would you buy a new or used car from this knucklehead? So why would you buy anything he's selling?

America, meet Ron Burgundy's

America, meet Ron Burgundy's cousin, Sam Champion!

 . . .Goober, Gomer, and the

 . . .Goober, Gomer, and their fair-haired, store-bought suit wearing step- cousin, Sam.

In the U.S., It's Colorado, A

In the U.S., It's Colorado, Arizona and New Mexico, already suffering from low snow pack and could have water shortages by about 2080.

IOW, deserts will still be deserts. Me, I'm still trying to figure out how more water in liquid form equates with draughts. Desert vs. rain forest isn't a difference in temperature, its a difference in rainfall.

It will be interesting to see how they "compare" future worlds with and without global warming. I get the feeling they make the assumption that no effort will be made to "evolve" the way we live in order to adapt to changing conditions. Its not like we haven't already demonstrated the ability to divert rivers to soak the desert.

Hell, they can not even tell

Hell, they can not even tell me how much snow/sleet/freezing rain I am going to get tonight  and they expect me to believe they can forecast 1000 years into the future?

Good Grief Gerdy...................

Click here to see the Green

Click here to see the Greenpeace sign currently...

Check that link out, there is a big bird flying over to take a giant dump on the Greenpeace sign! If I am wrong let me know...

"There are two types of people in this country; those who provide freedom and those who enjoy it." MM says...

From an interesting article b

From an interesting article by JR Dunn talking about the Medieval Optimum, The population of Europe rose from 27 million in the seventh century to 70 million in 1300.

So if the population almost tripled due to Global Warming back in the 1100 and 1200s, why would Global Warming now be bad? 

“The object of life is not to be on the side of the majority but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane.” – Marcus Aurelius

Will Billions Die from Global

Will Billions Die from Global Warming?

Sam Champion sure won't, with his nice big air conditioned studio and his personal assistants and make up artists to make him look pretty.

Dutch

So what have we learned from

So what have we learned from this? One, billions will be short of water. I find this puzzling sence the sea levels will rise, causing more surface area to be readly exposed for evaporation, causing more rain. Two is that the only place on earth that they would dare reveal the report is Paris. Go figure. And three, turning out the lights adds drama to any event. No wonder I have such a hard time falling to sleep at night. The setting it to dramatic...

Save a SeAL, club a liberal!!

bass, if turning out the lights add drama, why not use N. Korea?

bass, if turning out the lights add drama, why not use N. Korea?

Gotta be one of the most dramatic places in the world.

ACA

...

Acaiguana says:  "I love blind Monkeys and any inference that I am making fun of blind Monkeys would be wrong.

ACA...good idea, for one flee

ACA...good idea, for one fleeting moment in time, one brilliant flash, then the lights in NK are out and the drama can begin. I like it aca..

I take it your in favor of Paris leaving the lights on? Think of how many people walking on the tower will be placed in danger for this. Millions will die when they turn out those lights.

Save a SeAL, club a liberal!!

I think its just one light Bass...

I think its just one light Bass...:-)

I can't think of any time in my long life when I've cared one way or another what they do in Paris.

ACA

...

Acaiguana says:  "I love blind Monkeys and any inference that I am making fun of blind Monkeys would be wrong.

I've heard there is only one

I've heard there is only one nite-lite in North Korea, and it is a knock off made in PROC.

"A communist is someone who reads Marx.  An anti-communist is someone who understands Marx."  Ronald Reagan

Not to be outdone NBC will pr

Not to be outdone NBC will probably release a similar headline tomorrow projecting that trillions could die by 2150 from global warming.

Every time I heard people in the news media precede an outrageous claim with words like "could" "might" "perhaps" "maybe" I shudder. In this instance it's posed as a question as a "possibility". This seems to be a common tact to hyperbolize what would otherwise be a "boring" story. They sex up the story by projecting the worst possible scenario.

The reality is that seasons of rain and seasons of drought have occured in the past and will continue to occur in the future. People will adapt, and history has shown that people adapt better in warm weather than in cold weather.

edited to add:

I guess I spoke too soon. Matt Lauer said today on NBC, "Now to a controversy in Washington over what literally could be the end of the world as we know it." Honestly, I'm more scared of what these people are doing than global warming itself.

From Newsbusters linked story

From Newsbusters linked story:

"Two-thousand of the world's leading scientists add the planet will see an increase in extreme weather, including storms, droughts and heat waves."

Don't tell they're all liberals.

blarsen..

blarsen.. simply the law of averages would suggest that we'd see an increase in regular weather also, inluding; regular record storms, regular record hurricanes, regular record droughts, regular record heat waves, regular record snow storms, regular regular rainfall, regular record ice melt, regular record mini ice ages .....

Weatherman: ".. this is the longest drought in W. Texas since the 1940's."

Anchor: "Wow, Bob. We're in "uncharted" terrority here."

There is no such thing as a "

There is no such thing as a "law of averages". The probability of any given action happening at any given time is always 50%.

&quot;There is no such thin

"There is no such thing as a "law of averages". The probability of any given action happening at any given time is always 50%"

That may be the dumbest thing I have ever seen posted on NB. No wait... let me think... Yeah that's it!

"There are two types of people in this country; those who provide freedom and those who enjoy it." MM says...

Blarsen, who the hell failed

Blarsen, who the hell failed to teach you probabilities?  That was one of the most asinine statements I have read in a long time.  For example: you have a standard deck of cards.  You desire to turn up the ace of diamonds in one turn of the cards.  Your probablility of turning up the ace of diamonds is one in 52 (or 0.0192307) not 1 in 2 (0.5).  Your probability of turning up a card not the ace of diamonds is 51 in 52 (0.9807692).  Your probability of turning up any card is 1.

As for there not being a "law of averages", perhaps not, but insurance companies use the law of large numbers, which is pretty much the same thing, all the time.  Before you make a statement, you might want to make sure you know what you are talking about.  As it is, your credibility is sh*t right now.

"A communist is someone who reads Marx.  An anti-communist is someone who understands Marx."  Ronald Reagan

MikeB...hilarious!

Hahahahahahahahahaha, I busted a gut reading what blarsen said, and he was SERIOUS! Hahahahahahahahahahahaha, just one of the many members of the Cult of Global Warming who worship the Clown God named Global Warming.

No such thing as a law of averages...hahahahahahaha The probability...is always 50%...hahahahahahahahahaha Gawd do they get any dumber?

If you claim to be a conservative, please don't disgrace yourself and conservatism by thinking and arguing like a liberal. Go Rudy!

This is not an accurate state

This is not an accurate statement. The probability of drawing the Ace of Diamonds from an open deck depends on several other factors including:.

  1. How many cards are already exposed.
  2. Is the ace up the dealers' sleeve.
  3. Was the deck randomly reordered from some prior order?

Number two is a particularly interesting scenario since it also represents the liklihood of choosing the shell with the pea under it as the pea is often in the palm of the croupier.

NL, when I said you wish to t

NL, when I said you wish to turn up the ace of diamonds in one draw, that pretty much means no other cards have been turned up.  I was assuming a thorough shuffle and an honest trial, even though that was not stated.  Those two assumptions are always assumed in any book on probabilities and statistics I have seen.  I was also assuming sampling with replacement.  So my statement was correct.  Your statement is also correct: if other cards have been turned up previously, and they were not the ace of diamonds, and they were not replaced into the deck, the probability of turning up your chosen card increases each turn.  If the entire deck but two have been turned up, and the ace of diamonds was not turned up, then on the next turn the probability is 0.5.

"A communist is someone who reads Marx.  An anti-communist is someone who understands Marx."  Ronald Reagan

You would be surprised how ma

You would be surprised how many people do not understand this problem.  Monte's Dilemma is a classic formulation.  This is the Monte Hall deal at the end of his show.  He choses one contestant and offers him the choice of  one of three doors. Behind one door is a large prize, behind the second a modest prize, and behind the third, a billy goat or some such booby prize.  After the contestant has mad a choice, Monte exposes one of the remaining doors which will always be either the booby or modest prize.  Then he offers the contestant the opportunity to trade his door for the remaining one Monte has. 

Which is best?   Most people fail to recognize the two events are not independent and think that it is a 50-50 lottery.  It is not.  The likihood that Monte's door is the grand prize is still 67%. 

Say what???

Say what?? Isn't this the same dude who screwed up on the definition of median last week???

So Blarsen, does this mean yo

So Blarsen, does this mean you only play the lottery every other day? By your definition, I will win tomorrow, geez, I can't wait.

Too broad of a reference IMO, care to try and specify the details, hummm?

"Too bad Ignorance isn't painful to the Ignorant"

Ahh,thank you oh wiseone blarsen

Ahh, thank you oh wiseone blarsen.

Therefore, the probability of AGW driving the overall climate and temperature up on earth is exactly 50%.

 So, I guess the debate is not over.

BWAHAHAAAAAAAAA

Thanks for sharing dialog. E

Thanks for sharing dialog. Even if it is notional, it tracks with many similar comments I've been hearing lately. The gist of which boils down to, "If it didn't happen during my lifetime it really isn't important."

"Fighters are fun but bombers make policy"

beel-yons ? beel-yons? we don

beel-yons ? beel-yons? we dont got to show you no steenk-keen

beel-yons !

This just in.... If the glo

This just in.... If the global warming threat is unheeded, within 200 years, every single person that is currently inhabiting this planet will be dead. Every single one. No exceptions. Countless billions... oh the humanity...

Of course, if my dog pees on the carpet again, every single person alive today will be dead in 200 years also. Maybe we should be just as concerned about Carpet Peeing.

When asked if he went to war with Iraq to derail the impeachment
vote: “I don’t think any serious person would believe that any
President would do such a thing." - President Clinton (Dec 1998).

In North Korea, they kill then eat the dog. No problem.

In North Korea, they kill then eat the dog.  No problem.

Of course, I hear there are no dogs left right now in N. Korea.

:-)

ACA

...

Acaiguana says:  "I love blind Monkeys and any inference that I am making fun of blind Monkeys would be wrong.

Mmmmmmm.... hot dog..... f

Mmmmmmm.... hot dog..... fresh off the grill.... Here boy, heerree fido, come here boy...

When asked if he went to war with Iraq to derail the impeachment
vote: “I don’t think any serious person would believe that any
President would do such a thing." - President Clinton (Dec 1998).

Tamales!  Yum.And, then, the

Tamales!  Yum.

And, then, there is the Chinese cookbook: 101 Ways to Wok your Dog.

"A communist is someone who reads Marx.  An anti-communist is someone who understands Marx."  Ronald Reagan

No knocking the DPRK

We can't knock North Korea now!  They, after all, are 100% Kyoto compliant!!!  I bet blarsen LOVES that country just for that alone!

:-)

"HAV3 TH3 BRIDG3S OF INSANITY B33N CROSS3D AND FOR3V3R R3TRACT3D???."  - Meshuggah, "3ntrapm3nt", from Catch Thirty Thr33 (2005)

If we can't knock them, can we nuke them?

If we can't knock them, can we nuke them? At least Kim Jung Mentally-Il and his yes-men lackeys in Pyanyong?

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
"One thing that seperates liberals from conservatives is that liberals are craftier and work without the hinderance of a conscience." --Lynn Wooley

water

I was chokin mad with thirst  An' the man that spied me first Was our good old grinnin', gruntin' Gunga Din.   'E lifted up my 'ead, An' 'e plugged me where I bled, An' 'e guv me 'arf-a-pint o' water—green;  It was crawlin' an' it stunk, But of all the drinks I've drunk, I'm gratefullest to one from Gunga Din.

Gunga is going to have to walk a long way to get that water.

I might as well get some fun out of it.

I might as well get some fun out of it. What a bunch of false alarmists. Worse, what about the fools who believe them??

Water, water, everywhere,
And all the boards did shrink;
Water, water, everywhere,
Nor any drop to drink.

Trade

I said I have no water,

He said I'll trade my daughter,

I said , you have no glass

He said my daughter has no (water??)

I get so confused because of my fears for our planet. When I take my wife out for a drive, she sits in the car and I push it.

Billions Dying

Well, I'm hear to offer hope to those who believe that billions are going to die, because of a shortage of water.  Since the Global Warming crowd has talked about the oceans rising, over 40 feet, and given the fact that we've been getting drinking water from salt water for years, my guess is we'll have to increase our supply of desalination plants and just nip this little problem in the bud.  SInce a global rise of 40 feet of sea water is probably more than we can drink, I'd say we're pretty safe. 

Just two observations:1. Wit

Just two observations:

1. With all of the recent predictions, warnings and newstories concerning GW, it's almost as if the Global Warming nuts are frantic to try and convince us about this supposed impending doom.  It reminds me of a child who tries to get their parents attention by throwing a tantrum or holding their breath.  These GW wackos just seem too desperate to get us to believe this without serious debate.

2. At the same time, all of this hype and hysteria will ultimately have just the opposite affect that the GW proponents hope.  It's like the boy who cried wolf.  You get concerned initially, but after weeks and years of newstories about impendng doom caused by GM, you just stop listening.  People see that the earth continues to thrive and exist.  Good grief, I thought Ted Danson warned us that our oceans would be completely dead by the turn of the century?  He made these predictions in the late 1980's.  Hey Ted, the oceans look pretty good!

These people are trying too hard, and we're listening to them less!