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Max Boykoff’s media and climate change work<\/a> mentioned in a New York Times article<\/a> on climate change.<\/p>\n \u2018Neglected Topic\u2019 Winner: Climate Change<\/strong> HERE\u2019S a scary fact about America: We\u2019re much more likely to believe that there are signs that aliens have visited Earth (77 percent) than that humans are causing climate change (44 percent).<\/p>\n That comes to mind because a couple of weeks ago, I asked readers for suggestions of \u201cneglected topics\u201d that we in the news business should cover more aggressively in 2014. Some 1,300 readers recommended a broad range of issues, which I look forward to pilfering (with credit!) \u2014 and many made a particularly compelling case for climate change.<\/p>\n A reader from Virginia quoted James Hansen, the outspoken climate scientist: \u201cImagine a giant asteroid on a direct collision course with Earth. That is the equivalent of what we face now.\u201d<\/p>\n Another reader, Daria, acknowledged that the topic isn\u2019t sexy but added: \u201cWhether we \u2018believe in it\u2019 or not, all species on Earth are being subject to frightening disruptions in our weather, food supply, land.\u201d<\/p>\n You would think that we would be more attentive, with the federal government a few days ago declaring parts of 11 states disaster areas because of long-term drought. More than 60 percent of California is now in extreme drought.<\/p>\n Yet we in the news media manage to cover weather very aggressively, while we\u2019re reticent on climate. Astonishingly, coverage of climate has actually declined in mainstream news organizations since peaking in 2007, according to the count of researchers at the University of Colorado. (Coverage did increase last year after a low in 2012.) Read more \u2026<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Max Boykoff’s media and climate change work mentioned in a New York Times article on climate change. \u2018Neglected Topic\u2019 Winner: Climate Change by Nicholas Kristof HERE\u2019S a scary fact about America: We\u2019re much more likely to believe that there are … Continue reading
\nby Nicholas Kristof<\/strong><\/p>\n