When Telemundo reports on Climate Change, the statements range from laughable to terrifying. So when Telemundo's morning show “Un Nuevo Dia” made an incomplete segment on how Climate Change affects our mental health, it should not come as a surprise that the ultimate goal was to “Create radical changes on how we behave towards the planet.”
Host Daniel Sarcos cited a study from the Imperial College of London as showing that there was an increase in heat strokes, vehicular accidents, assaults and even suicides during the past 38 years. The driving factor for these tragedies? You guessed it: climate change.
James Tahhan added that the greater victims for these deaths are men, ignoring other factors men may face such as work environment, societal pressures or even their economic status. In addition, Tahhan also believed that it was important to include that the states with the most casualties due to weather are California, Texas and Florida. Coincidentally, these are also the three most populous states in the nation.
The research mentioned by Sarcos and Tahhan was performed by Dr. Emma Lawrance from the school's Institute of Global Health Innovations. The research showed that temperatures of 30°C (86°F) had an increase in reports of mental health issues. However, Dr. Lawrance admits that “There are still few statistics and we need much more insight.”
This segment can teach us is that correlation does not always lead to causation, which is something that many news networks have forgotten when selling their agenda. Only when such bias gets called out may we see an honest and fair representation in the mainstream media.
Click “expand” to view the full transcript of the aforementioned report, as aired on Telemundo’s Un Nuevo Día on Tuesday, January 14, 2020:
Daniel Sarcos: Let’s talk with my dear James about an important, troubling topic now that
climate change is a tangible threat to the United States, this according to new research that
claims that hundreds of people could die due to lesions caused by the environment.
James Tahan: Yes, as a matter of fact, researchers at Imperial College London that analyzed 38
years of health data within the American Union basically found that the average increase of
about three degrees fahrenheit may result in 1,600 additional injury deaths each year.
Sarcos: How impressive as most of these deaths could be caused to listen well, heat stroke,
car accidents, hold-ups and even suicides, when you think one thing has nothing to do with the
other, right?
Tahan: Exactly, the worst thing is that most of the victims would be young men in the states
where the highest number of deaths caused by the weather are California, the State of Texas
and Florida.
Sarcos: Very well, as scientists used the parameters established by the Paris Climate
Agreement, where an increase between 2.7 and 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit to the current
temperature in our planet is predicted.
Tahan: Experts believe that climate change presents a health problem beyond the physical that
affects the behavior and mental state of people. That is why what we were talking about hold-
ups and other things that you say “what do they have to do with climate change?”
Sarcos: Well, hopefully this, in addition to what we already know, will allow us to make radical
changes in the way we behave towards the planet.
