How ironic that one of the last of the dying breed of global warming deniers in America is welcomed into our family home every night. They're your local TV weathermen (yes, mostly men) who despite their careful tracking of weather disasters and trends are hell bent on denying that global warming is happening. That's why today I have to take my hat off to veteran meteorologist Bob Ryan at Washington DC's NBC4. On WashingtonPost.com, Ryan speaks honestly and frankly about weather forecasters who can't see the truth about global warming.
Ryan tells the Post:
"We all have political views on what should, or should not be done, but we should be able to keep that separate from what the current scientific research is telling us," Ryan stated. "If we have reached some political conclusion first and then look at science to find weaknesses in some studies or cherry pick some study to support our political view, we shouldn't be representing science, meteorology or climate science."
Don't underestimate how brave this is. There are hundreds of meteorologists on TV and very few ever mention the words global warming. Even the founder of the Weather Channel denies climate change. When the Weather Channel's former climate expert Heidi Cullen expressed views similar to Ryan's, Rush Limbaugh accused her of Stalinism. The Weather Channel has since eliminated that position. CNN's Rob Marciano says that tornadoes will not necessarily get worse because of global warming, a contradiction of highly respected weather models which scientists say prove severe weather fluctuations from climate change will produce wild weather the likes of which will make Dorothy and Toto's plight look like a walk in the park.
So bravo Bob Ryan. And what about your local weathermen? It's worth paying attention. And it can't hurt to let the folks at the American Meteorological Society know how you feel about weathermen trying to masquerade as climate experts who clearly don't know what they're talking about.
Laurie David, NRDC Trustee
NRDC.org