Sunday's stories

Sadly there wasn't much in yesterday's papers that interested me too much to write about. I had News Of The World (like I buy that pap[er]) and The Observer (with free CD!).

News Of The World had next to no news in it at all. I could read about Macca making homeless jibes at his ex-wife (Paul MacCartney to you and I), but frankly I don't give a toss.

The Observer (obviously) had the proper news in it, reports, spotlight reviews etc, but it made me want to put my feet up and read under a lampshade, the laid-back Sunday paper that it is.

A bit of flicking through brought me to one article that interested me, "Don't exaggerate climate dangers, scientists warn."

And, my fellow scholars, its all too true.
Don't you hate it how Hollywood makes you think some things are true? Blockbuster special effects, landscapes of an apocalyptic nature, and a script that has been meticulously researched to make it as scientifically legitimate as possible?

According to leading climate change experts and findings from the charitable trust Sense About Science, Hollywood confuses the idea of global warming too much in its films. The Guardian named the blockbuster "The Day After Tomorrow" as an example.

It is only too true, when you concentrate on these films properly. How exactly is a huge catastrophe really going to happen overnight? A small breeze turns into a tornado that becomes a hurricane that stirs a tsunami that wipes out New York City? Only on a Hollywood set!

The argument put forth is that films make out "catastrophic events were likely when this could not be proved." So, scientifically, with all the research behind it, its fictional fact, if you can excuse my oxymoron.

Alas, journalists cannot escape the criticisms either.

The media, like Hollywood are "appealing to fear" to push more dramatic headlines and grab readers' attention. Recent reporting on the recent study written by the UN International Panel on Climate Change used the words 'devastating,' catastrophic and 'terrifying' even though the study does not use such terms.
Here I quote Hardaker, one of the experts who wrote the report (download here):

"Once you begin to exaggerate the science in either direction the debate gets out of control"

So we are getting confused by what we see or read, because scaremongering and fact gets mixed up. What we watch or read about is in fact removed from reality, as Sense About Science puts
some claims to rest at the bottom of The Guardian's article.

What have I got out of this article? Firstly, newspapers, the industry I'd someday like to make it into exaggerate a bit too much. I mean, I knew that anyway. But the urgency it puts into these headlines - STOP CLIMATE CHANGE NOW! - it makes me wonder how they come up with the next day's news if that's all that can be reported on! Today: sunshine and clear skies, tomorrow: APOCALYPSE!
Finally, I learned of a new word, "Hollywoodisation"


What the bloggers said:
Some news bloggers are so lazy.
Mrs Doyle copied-and-pasted the Guardian article straight into her blog (probably too busy making tea for Father Ted), but she managed to research Sense About Science (copying-and-pasting their the text) from their donors and funding policy page.
She types (throughout, rarely!):

"Sense about Science is largely funded by industry and corporations from it’s own website"

"It also lobbies government on other controversial issues such as GM, nuclear, renewable energy, and endeavours to becoming a leading source for the media in these and other issue."

Good findings.

Peter at Junkk Male has thrown in the towel with blogging on global warming, linking to the Guardian's article. Good for him, he points out we can probably never win with global warming, therefore blogging about it is a waste of time!

Which rounds off today's blog.

PEACE