“Is the political agenda more important than the science itself

when it comes to reporting on the topic of global warming?”

CANDIDATE NUMBER: 0011017

Turnitin ID: 5470332
 Contents

1. Introduction……………………………………………………………………...8
1.1 Definitions……………………………………………………….8
1.2 Science Overview………………………………………………..8
1.3 Global Warming and Mass Media……………………………….8
1.4 Aims…………………………………………………………….10
1.5 Chapter Outline…………………………………………………10

2. Climate Science…………………………………………………………………11
2.1 Dating Techniques and Past Climates…………………………..11
2.2 Timescales of Climate Change………………………………….13
2.3 Climate Change Over the Last 20ka…………………..………...15
2.4 Bond, Dansgaar-Oeschger and Heinrich…………………..……15
2.5 Thermohaline Circulation…………………..…………………...16
2.6 Contemporary Global Warming…………………..…………….16

3. Theoretical Background………………………………………………………...17
3.1 The Global Warming Debate Thus Far…………………………17
3.2 News Media Coverage and Global Warming…………………...22

4. Methodology………………………………………............................................24
4.1 Time Frame, US/UK Newspaper Consideration and
Lexis Nexis……………………………………………………...24
4.2.1 Sample Size and Analytical Methods…………………………...24
4.2.2 Accuracy of Science…………………………………………….25
4.2.3 Scientific vs. Political Themes………………………………….25
4.2.4 High Profile Figure Linkages…………………………………...26
4.2.5 Ruddiman Hypothesis Investigation……………………………26

5. Results…………………………………………………………………………..27
5.1 Anthropogenic Debate and Talks for Action…………………...27
5.2 Level of Scientific Accuracy…………………………………....29

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 5.3 Policy Dominates Science in Reporting on Global Warming and
Climate Change…………………………………………………30
5.4.1 Scientists Voices go Unheard…………………………………...32
5.4.2 Ruddiman Ineffectively Propagated…………………………….35
5.5 Results Summary………………………………………………..35

6. Discussion………………………………………………………………………36
6.1 Interpretation of Results………………………………………...36
6.2 Wider Discussion……………………………………………….38
6.3 Limitations……………………………………………………...39

7. Conclusion………………………………………………………………………40

Bibliography…………………………………………………………………………….41
Appendix….…………………………………………………………………………….52

List of Figures

Figure 1: The role oxygen isotopes play in ice cores. During a glacial period, the heavier
oxygen isotope is less easily evaporated and more readily precipitated than the lighter
oxygen isotope. This leads to a build up of the lighter oxygen isotope on land and leaves
the oceans relatively enriched with the heavier oxygen isotope.

Figure 2: The Natural Carbon Dioxide Cycle

Figure 3: Model reconstructions of global temperature anomalies (departures from an

arbitrary temperature of 14.4⁰C) due to solar forcing alone, and their combination.
Observed global average temperature departures from the 1951-1980 average are also
shown (Nicholls et al., 1996..cited in Reid, 1997).

Figure 4: The Keeling Curve

Figure 5: Analytical content results for UK and US articles: Question 1

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Figure 6: Analytical content results for UK and US articles: Question 2

Figure 7: Scientific vs. political themes results for US and UK broadsheets

Figure 8: Scientific vs. political themes results for Houston Chronicle and Metro (UK)

Figure 9: The background of high profile figures linked to the articles studied in UK
and US broadsheets

Figure 10: The background of high profile figures linked to the articles studied in UK
Metro and The Houston Chronicle

List of Tables

Table 1: The main recurring themes categorised into ‘Political’ and ‘Scientific’ columns
based on the definition of the theme and the nature of the article.

Table 2: The nature of high profile figures linked to the articles studied.

Acknowledgements………………………………………………………………………5
List of Abbreviations and Acronyms…………………………………………………….6
Abstract…………………………………………………………………………………..7

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I would like to thank my supervisors for all their input and all the friends
and family who helped proofreading this dissertation

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List of Abbreviations and Acronyms

IPCC: International Panel on Climate Change

USA: United States of America

U.S: United States

U.K: United Kingdom

GRIP: Greenland Ice Core Project

GISP: Greenland Ice Sheet Project

MIS: Marine Isotope Stage

ENSO: El Nino Southern Oscillation

NAO: North Atlantic Oscillation

LIA: Little Ice Age

THC: Thermohaline Circulation

NASA: National Aeronautics and Space Administration

UN: United Nations

CFC: Chlorofluorocarbon

GCC: Global Climate Coalition

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Abstract

This dissertation looks into whether the political agenda is more important than the
scientific agenda when it comes to reporting on global warming, focusing on 8
(primarily) broadsheet papers from Britain and America, with equal attention being
given to each nation, between 1988-2009. Global warming is an issue that requires
accurate reporting, as the media has been identified as the prime information source for
the public and policy makers on global warming affairs. False reporting can have
detrimental impacts as it can lead to miss-shaped views on climate change and can delay
policy action. This paper aims to determine the extent to which politics prevails over
science, when reporting on climate change and at what cost. A sample consisting of 100
articles was collected and a range of investigative methods was then applied, including:
analytical content measures, accuracy of science, themes, high profile figure links and a
case-study following a particular climate hypothesis. The results exposed a dominant
input of politics with a diminutive scientific contribution: the reasons for which are
likely to be attributable to the nature of reporting and the extent of scientific
understanding amongst the general public.

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1.0Introduction

1.1 Definitions

Global Warming1: ‘the gradual increase in the overall temperature of the earth’s
atmosphere due to the greenhouse effect caused by increased levels of carbon dioxide,
CFC’s and other pollutants’ (Oxford English Dictionary, 2008).

1.2 Science Overview

In 1976, scientists started hypothesising the prospect of a warming planet. Up until this
point many of the world’s leading climatologists thought the Earth was headed towards
an ice age and temperatures were set to continue plummeting. However, the record
summer temperatures of 1976 changed this, and global warming was now on
climatologist’s agenda. The anthropogenic link to global warming was hard for many
governments to acknowledge, due to the link with western society’s economies and
lifestyles, which therefore led to climate sceptics challenging the issue and a consequent
delay in policy enforcement on the issue.

The International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) stated in their most recent report, in
2007, that “warming of the climate system is unequivocal” and “most of the observed
increase in globally averaged temperatures since the mid-20 th century is very likely
(>90%) due to the observed increase in anthropogenic greenhouse gas concentrations”.
Global warming is therefore a contemporary issue that requires more than attention, but
rapid unprecedented action from all nations.

1.3 Global Warming and Mass Media

In the last twenty years, since the end of the Cold War, ‘low political issues’, such as
global warming, have come to national government’s agendas. Public knowledge of
climate change has also been influenced by recent films; ‘The Day after Tomorrow’
(2004), ‘An Inconvenient Truth’ (2006) by ex-presidential candidate Al Gore and ‘The

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The press often substitutes global warming and climate change to mean the same thing.

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age of Stupid’ (2008). As well as television documentaries, dramatisations and radio
commentaries; lay perception of a modern climate change is heavily influenced by the
global press.

A problematic issue surrounding science journalism is the translation of expert

knowledge to lay thinking. “‘Science’ is an encoded form of knowledge that requires
translation in order to be understood” (Ungar, 2000; 308). From preliminary research
into the media reporting of climate science, it is clear that the media don’t always report
science accurately. This could be due to a lack of understanding from the journalist,
particular methods of framing; focusing on political or human-interest angles, or
tailoring reports to a particular readership’s interests and knowledge.

Inaccurate science reporting can lead to misunderstanding within a public imagination as

“it is primarily through the media that climate change is publicly represented (Wilson,
1995: Wilson 2000a: Wilson 2000b) in this sense, media construct climate change as a
social problem” (Antilla, 2005; 2).

A further possible cause for misreporting climate science is that the media is heavily
influenced by politics and although both the U.S and the U.K are democratic states,
where the media is not policed, there is still a certain amount of government influence;
“While media have tremendous potential to inform citizens about events and issues in
their world, they also have unparalleled potential for abuse by political partisans and
commercial interests” (Croteau, 2000: 99).

Additionally, if the media portrays global warming in a way that suggests confusion
within the scientific community, then the general public will be lead to believe that there
is still substantial doubt over whether global warming is occurring. Orekes (2004: 338)
looked at this issue in America and found: “One problematic trend of the US media has
been the suggestion that substantive disagreement exists within the international
scientific community as to the reality of anthropogenic climate change: however, this
concept is false”.

In my view, it will not be until the public feels the science is conclusive that global
warming is occurring, will enough pressure be put on politicians to act. In March, 2001,

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George W. Bush publicly announced, that the USA intended to reject the Kyoto Protocol
as it “exempts developing nations from around the world, and it is not in the United
States’ economic best interest” (Fleischer, 2000...cited in Boykoff & Boykoff, 2007).
Although this move prompted unilateral international opposition, he faced less hostility
at home, perhaps because of the on-going debates within public spheres that global
warming even existed.

1.4 Aims

This dissertation analyses whether the newspaper media reporting of climate change is
predominantly framed within a more political or scientific context and establishes which
is of higher importance both to the media, their audience and why. This dissertation also
analyses what implications there are, if political issues surrounding climate change are
becoming more important than climate change itself?

I studied the actual science reported on a number of climate themes, and assessed
whether or not it is being reported accurately and effectively, by comparing it to the
current scientific literature.

My investigation focuses on the dominant themes and influential persons that feature in
the U.K and U.S newspaper articles sampled. By doing this, I differentiated the articles
on the basis of whether they are driven from scientific data sources or political data
sources. Finally, I examined the Ruddiman Hypothesis, a scientific hypothesis that has
received respect within the climate science community, to see if the media propagated it
effectively and accurately.

1.5 Chapter Outline

In order to carry out this study successfully, one must first of all begin to understand the
complexities of climate science, which I have done in Chapter 2 (Climate Science). A
review of the global warming debate and the academic works of scholars, who have
conducted studies around the subject of global warming in the media, will be presented
in Chapter 3 (Theoretical Context). The methodological reasoning behind the study will

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be explained in Chapter 4 (Methodologies), with attention being paid to each of the 5
investigations:

1) Content Analysis Measures

2) Accuracy of Science Reporting
3) Scientific vs. Political Themes
4) High Profile Figure Linkages
5) Ruddiman Hypothesis

The results will follow in Chapter 5 (Results) with interpretations being made and my
conclusions being presented in Chapters 6 & 7 (Discussion and Conclusion
respectively).

2.0 Climate Science

To be able to critically analyse news pieces within the media, it is vitally important to
gain an understanding on the up-to-date climate science, whilst establishing what the
current scientific consensus is on the issue of global warming.

Climates of the past were characteristically unstable, fluctuating between warm and cold
times, over varying time scales. “During the last million years, climate was for most of
the time somewhere in-between the extreme cold of glacial maxima and interglacial
warmth, and present day conditions only existed for about 10% of this time” (Wilson et
al., 2007: 113).

2.1 Dating Techniques and Past Climates

Climate archives, such as ice cores, are capable of keeping a record of historic climates
going back hundreds of thousands of years (a million year record is still being pursued in
Antarctica) and they are one of the most accurate archives available as they keep
laminated records of past climates. The ice cores from Greenland (GISP and GRIP2)
hold a 110,000 year record that shows a 90,000 year slide from a warm period (similar
to our own), into the cold, dry, windy conditions of the last ice age. There was a 10,000

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year climb out of the ice age and back to present day warm conditions which have
remained for a further 10,000 years (Alley, 2002). Observation of Greenland ice cores
reveal the Holocene climate has been remarkably unstable and confirm the occurrence of
rapid climatic variation during the last ice age (Gow et al, 1997). A range of different
proxies can be found within ice cores, including oxygen isotopes, which are also
observed in deep-sea sediments.

During glacial periods, the cold air is not as capable at evaporating the heavier O 18
isotope from the ocean. Consequently, the oceans become relatively more enriched in
O18 whilst the ice sheets become relatively more enriched in O 16 (Lowe & Walker, 1997)
(Figure 1). A record of sea surface temperature (sometimes spanning the length of the
Quaternary (Lowe & Walker, 1997)) has been kept through the constant pile up of
calcium carbonate laid down in the shells of marine organisms (e.g. foraminifera). This
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is because the lower the temperature of the water, the greater the proportion of O
relative to 16O incorporated in the shell (Wilson et al., 2007). It is therefore also possible
to estimate previous global ice volumes based on the oxygen isotopic composition of
foraminifera shells. The study of dipsticks (ocean sediment cores) has revealed features
in the Earth’s orbit have caused ice to expand/retreat, in response to summer/winter and
north/south distribution of solar radiation.

Figure 1: The role oxygen isotopes play in ice cores. During a glacial period, the heavier
oxygen isotope is less easily evaporated and more readily precipitated than the lighter
oxygen isotope. This leads to a build up of the lighter oxygen isotope on land and leaves
the oceans relatively enriched with the heavier oxygen isotope.
Source: http://www.geog.ucsb.edu/~williams/Isotopes.htm (03/11/09)

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The present interglacial conditions are most similar to those expected of MIS
11(410,000 years ago), which is the only interglacial that may have been as long and as
warm as the present one (White, 2004). The Vostok ice core in Antarctica reveals the
previous three interglacials have been in the region of 4,000-6,000 years long, whilst the
present is 12,000 years and still going (Petit et al. 1999).

Ruddiman (2003) believes we have been saved from going into an early ice age as a
result of early human agricultural practices based on comparisons of CO2 and CH4 from
the Vostok ice core during the (Holocene) and the (natural) drops in the previous three
interglaciations. Ruddiman’s early anthropocene hypothesis states humans have been
affecting the natural CO2 balance for 8,000 years, when our agrarian ancestors started
practicing intensive farming methods. Ruddiman states it was at this time that
atmospheric greenhouse gases stopped following their natural pattern, which can be well
explained by Milankovitch cycles.

2.2 Timescales of Climate Change

Climate change has been occurring over varying time scales for billions of years. There
are four distinct time-scales that I have identified. 1) The longest operates over literally
billions of years. Through the analysis of sedimentary rocks, it is possible to identify the
natural CO2 cycle (Figure 2).

Figure 2: The Natural Carbon Dioxide Cycle

Source: http://www.vtaide.com/png/images/carbonCycle2.jpg (02/11/09)

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 2) Over hundreds of millions of years, continental drift has rearranged the
continents all over the globe and hence altered atmospheric circulations and ocean
currents (e.g. the thermohaline circulation (Critchfield, 1966)). During the Cretaceous
period, Earth was ice-free. It was attributed to atmospheric rates of carbon dioxide,
which were thought to be 4 times higher than modern levels (Kump, 2008: cited in
Wayman, 2008) and not to the continents bundling around the equator. The present day
is currently in one of the colder times within this cycle, with lots of ice and little CO 2,
but the Earth is thought to be near the end of the 100 million year slide from the
Cretaceous and on its way back towards warm conditions.
3) Over hundreds of thousands of years, colder and warmer climates have oscillated
as the Earth’s orbit has varied. The variation of the Earth’s orbit (first identified by
Milankovitch, 1941) does not increase/decrease the total amount of solar radiation
reaching the Earth but it does alter where the sunlight is received on Earth and at what
time in the year. Milankovitch claimed ‘changes in the intensity of the seasons in the
northern hemisphere controlled the waxing and waning of northern high latitude ice
sheets’ (Wilson et al., 2007).
4) Over mere years to a few decades, climate can alter due to coupled atmosphere-
ocean oscillations, the most familiar being the El Nino Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and
the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) with the effects being felt in many parts of the
world. When El Nino is in effect, the western Pacific waters are warm, and the surface
pressures are high. The strength of the Asian monsoon is weakened by El Nino events;
whilst, in contrast, the Pacific coast of the Americas experiences heavy rainfall in
seasons that are normally relatively dry (Wilson et al., 2007). When the cold phase, La
Nina is in effect, the surface pressures in the western Pacific are low, leading to a cold,
dry climate in the America’s whilst Indonesia is humid.

However, the Earth’s climate is riddled with complexities and feedback systems that can
ultimately affect the impacts of the aforementioned factors that drive climate change.

Changes in the Earth’s climate over millions of years have not been too much larger than
changes over mere years/decades. This is because feedback systems acting over long
time period (negative feedbacks) act to oppose forcing, resulting in large forces having
small overall effects. However feedbacks acting over short periods (positive feedbacks)
appear to amplify forcing, resulting in small causes having large effects.

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2.3 Climate Change Over the Last 15ka

The transition out of the last ice age and towards the modern warm period was not a
smooth one, with several abrupt warming and cooling stages. One of the best known of
these abrupt climate changes back towards the ice age was the Younger Dryas, which
lasted from 12,900 to 11,600 years ago (Lovell & Kelly, 2008).

There have been multiple smaller and slower climate changes over more recent years,
which appear to becoming more and more amplified. ‘The Little Ice Age’ for example
was a period of cooling primarily effecting Europe and parts of North America, however
Grove (1988) argues it was felt across much of the globe, with greatest influence in the
high latitudes and high altitudes. The LIA occurred after the Medieval Warm Period
(1550-1850), and has been linked to: decreased solar activity (Maunder Minimum),
increased volcanic activity, thermohaline circulation slowdown, and anthropogenic
activity (Ruddiman, 2003). One study concluded the LIA was the result of the most
recent expression of a 1-2ky cycle that can be traced back 80ky (Bond et al., 1999).
Bond et al., (1999) also suggested the same cycle drove Heinrich events and Dansgaard-
Oeschger cycles during the Pleistocene. These recent climate changes were on a
significantly smaller scale than the Younger Dryas (~12,800 - 11,500 yrs ago). However,
they were still thought to have forced human civilizations to migrate towards lower
latitudes as indicated by the apparent disappearance of Viking settlements from Iceland
& Greenland (Mandia, 2009).

2.4 Bond, Dansgaar-Oeschger and Heinrich

The aforementioned Dansgaard-Oeschger events, are examples of rapid climate change

that took place throughout the last ice age (25 in total). They consist of an abrupt
warming followed by a period of slower cooling, both of which are then repeated. Each
Dansgaard-Oeschger cycle was cooler than its predecessor until a Heinrich event
occurred and a mass of sea ice, from the Laurentide Ice Sheet, was dumped into the
north Atlantic at Hudson Bay. There are thought to have been 6 Heinrich events, which
were characteristically followed with an especially large period of warming. There was
debate over whether or not the Younger Dryas should also be classified as a Heinrich
event, and it is now generally considered to be the last one (Labeyrie et al., 2007). Bond

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(1997) has identified what could potentially be the equivalent of Dansgaard-Oeschger
for the current interglacial and has found “the Holocene events appear to be the most
recent manifestation of a pervasive millennial-scale climate cycle operating
independently of the glacial-interglacial cycle” (Bond et al., 1997: 1).

2.5 Thermohaline Circulation

The THC has been identified as a fundamental system, within the Earth’s oceans, for
modifying climates. If switched off (unlikely), or slowed down (more likely) the warm
equatorial waters, which usually flow towards the poles in an attempt to distribute heat
around the globe will no longer, function efficiently (Rahmstorf & Ganopolski (1999).
According to models, the continuation of the THC is affected by temperature and
salinity so a change in either of these can result in catastrophic global impacts. However,
some studies suggest the THC weakens with cooling and strengthens with warming, as
indicated by previous records from the LIA and Medeival Warm Period (Lund et al.,
2006).

2.6 Contemporary Global Warming

Global warming is the ‘regional- and global-scale climate change due to human
activities’ (Harvey, 2000; 15). The present day release of CO2 into the atmosphere is
primarily linked to the combustion of fossil fuels and could be the influential push factor
that forces our climate to change in an abrupt, intense and widespread manor, resulting
in widespread crop failure and social disruption (Alley, 2007). Greenhouse forcing has
been increasing exponentially since the end of the 19th century, which coincides, with the
start of the industrial revolution.

Many sceptics deny global warming is happening as a result of anthropogenic forcing.

They believe the recent warming can be accounted for through natural variations, such
as sun spot activity, that has caused significant changes in the past through amplified
positive feedbacks (Geel et al., 1999). However, Be 10 evidence from ice cores shows
when the sun is more active, the solar wind is more effective at protecting the Earth from
cosmic rays and so reducing the impact of solar forcing.

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Reid (1997) modelled natural climate change and was unable to account for the current
level of warming we are experiencing. However, when Reid combined natural climate
change with human warming, the model is able to explain current overall warming
(Figure 3). It is important to identify the fact that the model is based on the Holocene, an
epoch that is starting to behave like no previous interglacial.

Figure 3: Model reconstructions of global temperature anomalies (departures from an

arbitrary temperature of 14.4⁰C) due to solar forcing alone, and their combination.
Observed global average temperature departures from the 1951-1980 average are also
shown (Nicholls et al., 1996..cited in Reid, 1997).

The International Panel on Climate Change (2007) stated the evidence of modern day
warming is “unequivocal” in their fourth and latest assessment report with “most of the
observed increase in global average temperatures since the mid-20 th century is very
likely due to the observed increase in anthropogenic greenhouse gas concentrations”.

3.0Theoretical Background

3.1 The Global Warming Debate Thus Far

In the 1960s and 1970s, many scientists believed the Earth was headed towards a global
ice age largely due to the soot being emitted by coal power stations which, was

17
originally thought to form a layer in the Earth’s atmosphere that blocked incoming solar
radiation (Schneider, 1971). However in 1976, when the global cooling issue was
starting to break into the press, a significant, heat wave struck the U.K, and scientists
decided to rethink what the climate was doing. Scientists now started thinking about
global warming.

There has been much controversy as to whether or not anthropogenic global warming is
occurring, particularly throughout the 1990s. Boykoff & Roberts (2007) state how the
beginning of the 1990s saw an “increasingly complex politicisation of the triple interface
of climate science-media-policy (Trumbo, 1996; Boykoff & Boykoff 2004)”. This
complex politicisation is partly attributable to a small number of influential
spokespeople and scientists who appeared in the press to be disputing scientific findings
regarding human contributions to global warming. These people are referred to as
‘sceptics’ and they have been known to receive funding from carbon-based industries,
(e.g. Exxon Mobil). Sceptics have argued apparent flaws in climate scientists research,
findings and logic, it can therefore be argued that they have delayed significant action
taken to cut greenhouse gas emissions. Cynics started out by arguing that the climate
system was simply too vast to modify and any modifications would be small and we
would have time to adjust. “Through the 1990s, government officials, who were often
armed with the findings of the global warming sceptics, became the most cited source in
prestige-press articles, surpassing scientists, who were the most cited source in 1988
(Wilkins 1993; McCright and Dunlap 2003; Boykoff & Roberts 2007).

The Keeling Curve (based on air samples collected by Keeling (1961)) is a graph
showing the increasing atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide from 1958 to the
present day (Figure 4) which, when first published, made the sceptics aware of the
impact humans were causing on atmospheric concentrations, due to their lifestyles. What
sceptics still questioned was whether or not the increase in carbon dioxide was directly
linked to increased observed temperatures.

Oreskes and Renouf (2008) showed when people began to realise global warming was a
real event that required attention, certain people purposely avoided the issue. The US
government commissioned a total of 3 reports in the late 1970s and early 1980s on
global warming.

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Figure 4: The Keeling Curve
http://icestories.exploratorium.edu/dispatches/wpcontent/uploads/2008/05/keeling_graph
.jpg (17/01/10)

The initial 2 reports were

carried out by elite scientists of the US, the first by the Jasons (MacDonald et al., 1979),
a secret US science organisation and the second by the National Academy of Sciences
(Charney, 1979). Both reports informed the Whitehouse that carbon dioxide levels were
set to carry on increasing which would result in increased average global temperatures
and therefore would have frightening impacts to civilisation. This clearly indicates that
by the early 1980s, the world’s leading climate scientists were already confident that
they knew what rising carbon dioxide levels would mean for the future.

Ronald Reagan, former president of the USA (1981-1989), was pro-business and pro-
America. He was aware the USA was a key contributor to a global acid rain problem and
that it was also by far the world’s largest emitter of greenhouse gases. If global warming
became a prominent issue then the USA was going to be seen as the key country for the
allocation of blame. Reagan went on to employ Bill Nierenberg to produce the 3 rd report
about global warming. The report, released in 1983, was different in that each chapter
was written by different authors, many of which reported mainstream scientific findings
(similar to reports 1&2), however the final synthesis chapter, written by Nierenberg
himself, somewhat neglected the scientific consensus.

Nierenberg told the public to ‘calm down’ as climate change would undoubtedly impact
our planet but that was nothing new and he highlighted how humans had successfully
adapted in previous centuries (The Climate Wars: Fight for the Future, 18 Dec 2009). He

19
also claimed that time was on our side and the impacts would not be noticeable for at
least another 40 years, by which time, technological advances would be able to cope
with climate demands (Oreskes & Renouf, 2008). The topic of global warming was to be
forgotten about until a time when it actually required attention; Nierenberg appeared to
have won the battle at a political level.

The number of climate sceptics has fallen considerably as time has gone on and the
mounting evidence on global warming becomes increasingly incontrovertible. Evidence
that counter-acted the sceptic’s arguments came in a variety of forms. Firstly, ice core
analysis showed the climate was capable of changing drastically and rapidly and doing
so on multiple occasions.

Secondly, a gap in the ozone layer that covers nearly the whole of Antarctica has been
attributed to the release of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), which are leaked, from aerosols
and refrigerators, into the atmosphere. This gap exposes the Earth to harmful solar
radiation that the ozone layer would have otherwise protected us against. This shows
that the human race is capable of having a significant and detrimental impact on the
environment. Finally, multiple heat waves have occurred since 1976, which have led to
records being set and broken many times over.

In 1988, a leading NASA scientist called Jim Hansen, expressed his view; that humans
were responsible for climate change in front of congressional committees, and within a
few months the UN set up the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).

The earth has warmed by 1 degree over the last century according to global temperature
data. It started warming in 1910 with global temperature records being broken
continuously. This period of warming lasted until the 1940s when the warming paused.
The warming continued in the 1970s and was more dramatic than the first period at the
start of the 20th century. These observations in temperature were based on data from a
series of thermometers situated across the globe. Sceptics argued they were inaccurate
due to the urban heat island effect and it was the growth of cities that the increasing
temperatures represented, and not a change in climate.

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At the start of the 21st century satellites collected temperature data that showed the earth
had been cooling for the last 10 years. This was a huge victory for the sceptics; however
it was revealed at a later date that the satellite data was riddled with errors. Once these
errors were amended, the satellite data revealed a warming trend of ever-increasing
amounts.

Septics went on to argue that the Earth had been this hot in the not so distant past, during
the Medieval Warm Period. However, Mann (1998) produced the famous ‘hockey stick
graph’ which brought together all the available proxy data on past climate temperatures
over the last 1,000 years, however, it is not actually accepted by all in the climate
community. The Medieval Warm Period did not feature on his graph, which then went
on to be reconstructed in a similar fashion by many other scientists. All of the data
shows that the temperatures observed in the second half of the 20th century has not been
replicated at any point over the last 1,000 years.

Sunspots were the next reason critics used to argue that the climate was naturally heating
up, supported by studies such as Wilson’s (1997). They claimed that when the sun is
active, it sends out waves of charged particles known as a solar wind. Records of
sunspots even showed that the LIA coincided with the Maunder Minimum, where there
were limited sunspots. It was later established that the total amount of heat given off by
the sun is fairly constant, regardless of sunspots (Wang et al., 2005). A new theory,
relating to sunspots, implied cosmic rays from outer space interact with the atmosphere
to create clouds (Svensmark, 1998). However, when the sun is active it sends out a
powerful solar wind, which blows the cosmic rays away. Therefore an active sun results
in fewer clouds and a warmer world.

Sceptics still existed despite the fact that their key arguments kept being rejected. This is
because there are numerous people who don’t want to face the realities of global
warming because it has the potential to adversely effect modern ways of life.

For major businesses in the energy sector the reality of pro-global warming government-
imposed policies may affect their profits. ‘The Global Climate Coalition’, formed of
American businesses, and backed by George W Bush, was created in order to oppose
immediate action on reducing greenhouse gases in 1989, after the IPCC produced a

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series of reports. The GCC has been deactivated since a large membership loss in 2001
when the IPCC produced a report explaining the severity of global warming which the
members were no longer able to deny.

Bush was informed by his Republican advisors that there was still a “window of
opportunity to challenge the science” (The Climate Wars: Fight for the Future, 18 Dec
2009). The obvious aim of the Bush administration was to avoid taking action on climate
change. They appear to believe that; for as long as the public believe scientists disagree
on the issue, they won’t demand any action.

In recent years, one of the leading climate sceptics, Pat Michaels has revealed even he
now thinks humans are partly to blame.

3.2 News Media Coverage and Global Warming

Humphrys & Williams (2005) state how the media plays a vital role in highlighting
environmental issues of concern through the news. To further amplify the role of the
media, they also state that according to public surveys, the news is the public’s main
source of scientific information.

Therefore, we can conclude with relative confidence that the news media is a powerful
tool, capable of influencing the public’s opinion on contemporary modern issues, such
as climate change.

Liu et al. (2008) believe there are two key processes adopted by the media to influence
public opinions and policy agendas. First, through the use of repetition, the media are
able to emphasis the relative importance of a particular issue by repeating news coverage
over time. Second, by portraying stories through different lights, they are able to
influence the readership’s opinion. Carvalho (2005) also believes the media can actively
control the possible approaches taken towards tackling a particular issue.

Many scholars have identified that the media publish news articles, which are an
essential source of information to leading political figures and the public. A number of
studies have been published that analyse the way in which global climate change has

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been reported over the last 2-3 decades. A wide variety of media factors that could
influence climate change coverage have been focused upon including the media
attention cycles of global warming (Ungar, 1992; Trumbo, 1996, Liu et al 2006) whilst
(Bell, 1994) looked at how science often becomes misinterpreted through the media.
Boykoff & Boykoff (2004) focused on journalistic norms (e.g. neutrality, personalisation
and objectivity) and found journalists were falsely reporting climate change by obeying
these norms.

One study looked at how certain sets of values can affect news coverage on climate
change and the actions that ought to be undertaken (Carvalho & Burgess, 2005). The
aforementioned study was reported to have “revealed changes in the way British
newspapers framed climate change risk that seemed to stem from changes in both
climate science and governmental policy positions” (Liu et al., 2008: 380).

Weingart, Engles & Pansegrau (2000) observed the changes in climate discourse in
scientific, political and news media in Germany. Their results revealed a convergence
over time with an initial recognition of the predicament in the scientific literature,
followed by political discourse, which pointed the issue to elements that the state had a
degree of power over. The news media then went on to emphasize agreement as opposed
to debate within the scientific community (Liu et al., 2008). On the other hand, Zehr
(2000) observed how climate change uncertainty being reported through the media,
coincidentally led to public uncertainty and an alteration of the public’s opinion. A study
focusing on the frames and themes surrounding global warming in the media was
conducted by Antilla (2005) with results that showed the articles were expressing far
more uncertainty and controversy with in the scientific community than actually exists.

The work of climate sceptics has been promoted through the orchestrated efforts of
climate change opponents according to McCright & Dunlap (2000,2003) and this has led
to a greater sense of controversy than actually exists within the climate science
community.

After reviewing the literature, I have concluded that a gap exists as no one has
previously attempted to establish whether politics is more important than science when it
comes to reporting on global warming.

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4.0 Methodology

4.1 Time frame, Newspaper Consideration and Lexis Nexis

The form of analysis will come from reading a series of newspaper articles from
American and U.K papers, between 01/01/1988 – 01/01/2009. I selected 1988 as a
starting point due to a number of factors: First, leading NASA scientist, Jim Hansen,
came forward and testified to US Congress that he believed anthropogenic global
warming was occurring; second, Margaret Thatcher made a speech to the Royal Society
in London where she stated that with global warming, “we may have unwittingly begun
a massive experiment with the system of the planet itself” (Leggett, 2001: 10..cited in
Boykoff and Boykoff, 2004); and third, a major heat wave hit North America, leading to
severe droughts. Humphrys and Williams (2005) also state the late 1980s are often
referred to as the heyday of media environmental coverage.

The 4 US newspapers were The New York Times, The Washington Post, USA Today and
The Houston Chronicle. The 4 UK newspapers I focused on were The Guardian, The
Times, The Independent and Metro (UK). These papers have been selected for a number
of reasons including: politics, geography, prestige and the readership demographics.

Articles from these papers were accessed through an advanced search engine known as
Lexis Nexis, the world’s largest collection of public records, unpublished opinions,
forms, legal, news, and business information. Their database has been used by many
others (Antilla; 2005, Boykoff & Boykoff; 2004, Liu et al.; 2008 etc.). The search I
conducted was “global warming” OR “climate change”, to appear in the headline, for
articles that were published between the aforementioned dates and the results were
categorised by relevance.

4.2.1 Sample size and Analytical Methods

In this study, a significant sample of 50 articles for each country (100 in total), were
studied and compared. The sample was collected from the results of the search outlined
above, with the first 50 being used in the study. However, each article was required to be

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answer 2 questions, in order to qualify for the study, as the answers to these questions
were needed to form the quantitative results. If an article was unable to address the
necessary questions, it may have been disregarded completely from the study, unless it
was able to offer any useful qualitative information. An additional article would have
been substituted in, in order to keep the 50-article sample intact, for quantitative
purposes. Certain articles were excluded from the results including: letters to the editor
and book reviews.

There were two questions asked of each article studied. These were:

1) Does the article debate of the existence of anthropogenic global warming?

2) Is there any mention of taking action against global warming?

This provided me with quantitative data to support my qualitative findings, which will
come from reading the articles and noting key points and quotes. The investigation
should provide an insight into the attitudes of the British and the American press on the
topic of global warming.

4.2.2 Accuracy of Science

Themes were identified based on the main scientific subject fields that feature in the
newspaper articles. Within these themes I then attempted to scrutinise the science in an
effort to assess whether or not the newspapers were effectively reflecting the up-to-date
scientific literature.

4.2.3 Scientific vs. Political Themes

To determine the proportion of articles that were based on science and how many were
based on politics I looked at themes, which were provided through Lexis Nexis.

As my search was global warming OR climate change, they featured as the main themes
in each article, therefore I looked at the next most prominent theme. I recorded the
theme and decided whether it is more readily linked to policy or science, based on the
themes definitions.

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4.2.4 High Profile Figure Linkages

I expected specific high profile figures, of both scientific and political backgrounds, to
be referenced in many of the articles that I reviewed. Lexis Nexis records the extent to
which certain people feature in the articles and records their input as a percentage, which
was provided alongside the themes at the end of each article. If there wasn’t anyone who
featured prominently in the article then there wouldn’t be a person linked. Often, more
than one high profile figure was linked; in this case, I recorded the person with the
largest involvement in the article, determined by observing the given percentages. A list
of the high profile figures was constructed and analysed in order to determine the
affiliation, whether it be scientific or political, of the persons in question.

4.2.5 Ruddiman Hypothesis Investigation

The Ruddiman Hypothesis (explained in chapter 2) is a topic that has received much
attention from the scientific community. I attempted to determine whether it has
received a similar level of attention from the media by using Lexis Nexis. I conducted
the same search as previously outlined, except for replacing “Global Warming” OR
“Climate Change” with “Ruddiman” in the search engine.

However, the likelihood of this search returning many results was low as it is rare for
scientist’s names to appear in headlines. I therefore conducted further searches that were
more likely to return results. In the previous search, results were restricted to appear ‘in
the headline’. I changed the search criteria so the search is widened to results that appear
‘anywhere’ within the article. The results were sorted in terms of their relevance and
analyzed with the intention of establishing whether the articles reflected the true science.

I also looked at the two leading journals; ‘Science’ and ‘Nature’. A study published
within Science or Nature is worthy of attention and the leading newspapers of today
should be reading them, with the intention of following up on articles published within. I
used the online archive for each magazine and searched between the same date ranges as
the earlier study (01/01/1988 – 01/01/2009) and the search was the same as in the
newspapers (‘William Ruddiman’).

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