NBC Adds to Storm of Climate Change Stories
Network emphasized controversial new study without even a discouraging word.
 

By Dan Gainor
September 19, 2005

     Political and scientific circles are still reeling from Katrina’s impact as left-wing climate change advocates try to link the hurricane with global warming.

     A new study, published in the journal Science, made the connection even though many other climatologists disagree. The September 18 NBC “Nightly News” was the latest media outlet to cover it. Anchor John Seigenthaler gave the impression of opening a balanced report with the comment “hurricanes and global warming, is there a connection?”

     However, Chief Science Correspondent Robert Bazell made it clear that he agreed with the controversial study. He said that “scientists say one storm cannot prove anything about climate change.” However, Bazell followed that quickly with a “but,” emphasizing the study’s conclusion about “a worrisome trend.”

     That “trend” claimed an increase in severe storms in the last 20 years compared with the 20 years before that period. Bazell took it at face value and didn’t even include an opposing view. Such views were easy to find. The Washington Post first found Gerry Bell, “the lead seasonal hurricane forecaster at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.” According to Bell, the hurricane trend is cyclical. “‘It’s not linked to global warming or anything like that,’ Bell said. ‘This is normal climate variability. It’s just that this trend lasts for decades.’”

     Bazell reinforced the points of the study by scaring viewers with the “sobering question” about what happens if the temperature rise in the oceans grows to several degrees. “A big question is how much is the warming of the ocean and the increased risk for killer storms caused by human activity?” he said.

     The “killer storm” theory was completely discounted by Florida State University meteorology and oceanography professor James O’Brien. The Post said “his survey of government data of Atlantic storms between 1850 and 2005 shows that ‘there’s no indication of an increase in intensity.’”