Reporting of Climate Change on TV News

ITV News's "three degrees from disaster" has particularly annoyed me.

It always amuses me how climate change is blamed for everything, and it's ALL OUR FAULT! Over 95% of C02 in the atmosphere is from volcanoes, so the amount humans contribute is negligible.

Secondly: Erosion of peat in the UK releases more CO2 than all car exhausts do in the UK over a year.

Thirdly: While Henry VIII was on the throne, we had far hotter summers. The country was covered in vineyards-- no cars or power stations then

Fourthly: Whilst ice in the Arctic is melting, ice shelfs in Iceland are actually getting thicker (apparently).

Climate changes all the time, there is nothing we can do about it. Experts can't even agree if the UK will get hotter or cold when global warming takes hold. I'd be sceptical of all the experts' claims... meteorologists can't even predict the weather accurately for the weeks ahead-- let alone years!

The only way humans can influence the earth's climate is through a nuclear winter... not many people would be around to worry about that though!!

I do concede we need to cut down on car use. Petrol releases (when burned) carbon monoxide which is toxic and causes smog. Diesel releases sulphur dioxide, which contributes to acid rain (as does coal). From a health perspective we could all do with walking around more.

I am also annoyed about how news channels never point out there other alternatives to fossil-fuelled power stations other than nuclear and wind. What about hydro-electric or wood-burning power stations (of which there are not enough)? Why do news programmes never investigate these things?

I'd rather live next to a forest or a lake than ugly turbines and nuclear reactors.

Rant over... Carol McGiffin eat your heart out. What does anyone else think?

Yes, I agree. Although I do agree we shouldn't be wasteful with fuel, we should also be careful to blame global warming on our increase in CO2 emissions.

Have you, par chance read "State of Fear" by Michael Chrichton?

PS, shouldn't this topic be in The Lounge?

Oh completely agree with the original poster. ITV News not looking at both sides of the argument, or in other words a round the world holiday for Lawrence McGinty who went diving yesterday. Humans are a cause of climate change to an extent! They don't look at the scientific things like 'the little ice age' or CO2 emissions from organisms on earth that can't help emitting what they emitt. ITV News are too concentrated on dumbing down controversial topics like this for their audience, that they don't consider other factors. There are two sides to this argument.

The problem I have with the original posters view is while CO2 emmissions are still mainly natural, Methane (CH4) emissions are a much more potent greenhouse gas (we're talking in hundreds of times worse than CO2 here) - and there's been a 200% rise in the past 100 years.

Sadly CH4 and NOx emissions are largely ignored by the media. And driving less isn't going to help you much... blame the farmers! This is really a topic for the lounge.

Yeh agreed. If I want to post in the lounge, do you have to register again there? I tried to sign in with my name but wouldn't let me in.

It's easy to read a post like the original here and just think "idiot" - but providing your info is correct (I have no reason to doubt you - but none to believe you either!) you have a point.


All I can say is ten years ago when I was in school the teachers were telling us certain things would happen within the next decade due to dwindling supplies and our environmental actions - and they were completly right. Oil and gas prices are up, the weather is changing and things like landfill sites are taken for granted.


On the news side of things I'm not sure it's so much balance required in the ITV reports - but more factual information rather than opinion.

I must admit watching the other night with Lawrence going on about how tourists travelling in by plane are damaging the environment the first question that sprung to mind was "what about you world tour?"

I think I read somewhere that for all the CO2 emitted over the course of Lawrence McGinty's journey, ITV would be paying for the planting of trees to make up the difference. Doesn't sound like the strongest argument to me though but I suppose it does lessen the hypocrisy of the ITV News jetsetting/global warming season.

That's right - ITV News and their so called 'carbon neutral' expedition.

So if ITV News are reporting that climate change is such a big problem, no doubt in their usual sensationalist style, are we to presume that trees have been planted to make things like driving a 'bird flu bus' around the country carbon neutral? Somehow I doubt it.