Science, Politics and Journalism
Wednesday, April 11, 2007
In my previous post, an anonymous reader directed me a page on BBC. It says on the page "Billions face climate change risk." It seems like a stark reminder telling me to face the fact.
"Hello! Global warming is definitely an environmental issue. No questions about that."
Perhaps I should rephrase my thesis.
There is no argument about how a warmer global climate is going to affect lives around the world. However, the question is whether human activities have been made a scapegoat for global warming by politicians. Of course, there is no denial that human activities affect the climate. But is it significant enough to cause global climate changes? Or are there other reasons for the global warming we are experiencing.
Let me point you to a very simple alternative possibility about why we are experiencing warmer climate. Look up the sky. Do you see that glowing spot about 150 million km away? How about me telling you that the sun is responsible for our warmer climate? It makes absolute sense. The weather is cooler at night when the sun is out and the weather is freaking hot in a sunny day. If solar activity increases, I think that is going to be a strong reason for global warming. And it has been proven, there has been increased solar activity over the last 1000 years judging from the increased number of sun spots. Here's a page to our favorite BBC that reports this.
Not convinced? A report announced by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory provided further evidence. In short, a group of NASA and university scientists have turned to historical Egyptian records of the annual water level of Earth's longest river - the Nile for research. Together with historical aurora records in the Northern Hemisphere, which is a reflection of the strength of solar activity, they found a correlation between water level and solar activity. And the conclusion is simple and intuitive: "When solar activity is high, conditions are drier, and when it is low, conditions are wetter."
The whole issue made me reflect on journalism. It's simple. Secretive power will hate journalists who do their job: who push back the screens, look behind the facades and turn-over rocks. However, I think genuine journalism is under threat today. In these days of corporate "multimedia" being run by a powerful few and fueled by greed for profit, many journalists are part of a propaganda apparatus without even consciously realizing it. Together with a censorship in free societies, like Animal Farm author, Orwell says: "unpopular ideas can be silenced and inconvenient facts kept dark, without any need for an official ban." The situation might exactly be the same like in The Great Global Warming Swindle.
At the back of the book Tell Me No Lies - Investigative Journalism that Changed the World by John Pilger, there is a quotation by American journalist T. D. Allman. This quotation is one of my favourites.
"Genuinely objective journalism not only gets the facts right, it gets the meaning of events right. It is compelling not only today, but stands the test of time. It is validated not only by reliable sources, but by the unfolding of history. It is journalism that ten, twenty, fifty years after the fact still holds up a true and intelligent mirror to events."
posted byWilliam at 10:00 PM
Point noted. But that still doesn't mean we shouldn't do anything to slow down the destruction of our environment.
Of course, I definitely agree with you on this point.
My main concern is that Science, as an objective subject, is clouded by political agendas.