The new lies spreading about climate change
Rather than flat-out denying the mountains of evidence that show that humans are causing climate change, more recent talking points aim to mislead people by casting doubt on potential solutions. Renewable energy has started to take off as a more affordable and sustainable alternative to coal, oil, and gas. Fossil fuel industry leaders and their allies — perhaps seeing themselves backed into a corner — have pivoted to more sly ways to keep selling their products and stymy the competition.
One of the clearest pictures yet of how this is all going down was just published by the International Panel on the Information Environment (IPIE). 'What emerges is a picture of strategic disruption—carefully designed to appear moderate, reasonable, and data-driven, while quietly obstructing action,' IPIE says in its summary for policymakers.
'Strategic disruption—carefully designed to appear moderate, reasonable, and data-driven, while quietly obstructing action'
Delay tactics can be considered the 'new denial,' the report notes. It might manifest as inaccurate claims about renewable energy's impact on the environment, or falsely blaming power outages on renewables. And we're not just talking about trolls on social media — misinformation can stem from even the highest levels of power. The report names President Donald Trump, whose campaign accepted $74 million in contributions from oil and gas interests, as a 'key influencer' when it comes to climate misinformation.
Trump was already calling climate change a 'hoax' during his first term in office, and has more recently fixated on stopping any new windmills from being built in the US. Since his inauguration this year, he's attempted to undo progress toward his predecessor's commitment to reach 100 percent carbon-pollution free electricity in the US. He's described wind farms as 'bird cemeter[ies],' even though they're far less deadly to birds in the US than collisions with buildings or vehicles. The president similarly repeats misinformation inaccurately linking whale deaths to offshore wind turbines without any evidence.
There are legitimate concerns about where to deploy renewables and how to source materials used in solar panels and turbines, as well as steps that can be taken to minimize damage from mining and building new infrastructure. But like we see with any kind of rumor, kernels of truth can be blown out of proportion or twisted into a lie.
'We are dealing with an information environment that has been deliberately distorted,' Klaus Bruhn Jensen, a professor at the University of Copenhagen and chair of IPIE's Scientific Panel on Information Integrity about Climate Science, said in a June 20 press release. 'When corporations, governments, and media platforms obscure climate realities, the result is paralysis.'
The IPIE report synthesizes 300 studies comprising a decade of research on climate misinformation. It was limited to papers written in English, however, and reflects a dearth of investment in studies outside of affluent western countries.
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Yahoo
7 minutes ago
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Readers sound off on maligning Mamdani, ending mail-in ballots and training teachers
Manhattan: By failing to endorse Zohran Mamdani for mayor, New York State and national Democratic Party leaders are making a grave mistake. They want to keep the governorship and take back Congress next year. All they are doing by lecturing Mamdani and failing to endorse him is showing disrespect for the city's Democratic Party voters! Rep. Hakeem Jeffries lectures Mamdani about 'broadening his outreach.' Maybe Jeffries should take his own advice, or give it to Andrew Cuomo instead (too late for that, though). If he thinks younger Democratic voters will turn around and support party candidates next year by not endorsing Mamdani, maybe he should think again. Maybe it is the top Democratic leaders who should be expanding their outreach and including Mamdani, his voters and other candidates like him around the country instead of attacking them. The same is true of Gov. Hochul. She says on TV how she can 'control the city' with her powers as governor once Mamdani is elected mayor. Sorry, but if he wins, he should be the one to do that! She will need his voters in her own election. Democratic leaders need to focus more on what the President Trump-MAGA regime is doing to the country than worry about Mamdani. In fact, they need to think about and develop programs like his that help all working and poor people, and stop worrying about offending the billionaires, who don't care about us. Democratic leaders should do what grassroots Democrats have done all over the city and endorse Mamdani for mayor. Ralph Palladino Brooklyn: To Voicers Thomas and Constance Dowd: You folks hit the nail on the head. When Mamdani's lips move, it's almost always a lie. Josie Oliveri Copiague, L.I.: To Voicer Wallington Simpson: To avoid embarrassment, maybe you ought to keep what you think you know — your Simple Simon, bigoted notions about 'Islam' — to yourself. 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I guess that by circumventing the courts for the last eight months, Trump is showing that he doesn't give a whit about America. How does he expect us to have free and fair elections? By raising our hands? Vincent Sgroi Brooklyn: Trump wants to ban mail-in voting. People with disabilities, who can not physically get to the polls, would have their right to vote taken away. Our servicemen and women stationed away from home would have their right to vote taken away. When Volodymyr Zelenskyy said his country could not hold elections while being attacked and fighting a war, Trump thought this was something to think about. I guess he's liking the idea of no elections and just staying in office. He's deploying the National Guard to our cities against the will of the people. He makes laws and levies tariffs without the consent of Congress. The checks and balances issued by our forefathers are gone. This is the road to dictatorship. Democracy was nice while it lasted. Andrea Allen Bronx: Trump has decided to ban mail-in ballots and do away with voting machines on the advice of the head of the KGB, Putin. I guess Trump doesn't want the votes of the military personnel who are stationed overseas, the disabled or anyone in a hospital, or senior citizens who cant leave the house. The aforementioned use mail-in ballots only. This idea came from the advice of the most corrupt country and leader and, of course, Trump's fear of losing an election that he can't rig because of safe, secure and reliable elections. Lydia Milnar Brooklyn: To Voicer Michael Rosenkrantz, who writes that the most violent cities are in Republican states, I ask: Aren't New York, Chicago, Philadelphia, Los Angeles and San Francisco all in Democratic-run states? And D.C. has a Democratic mayor! What cities are more violent than those? Glenn Brown Brooklyn: The braindead people who run NYC are cute. In a city overly congested with traffic, they made it worse by allowing Uber and Lyft to operate, putting thousands more cars on the road. They narrowed and eliminated traffic lanes by installing bike lanes, bike racks and outdoor dining sheds. Then they have the gall to expect the public to pay for what they caused via congestion pricing. Gov. Yokel along with the politicians who wanted this should have 'Dishonorable' on their desk IDs rather than 'Honorable.' As for the MTA bigs who are always crying for more money, they never explained why they had two sets of books. Last but not least are the news outlets that are in cahoots with the above. When are they going to wise up to the fact that NYC runs on vehicular traffic, not bicycles? As for outdoor dining, that's OK for Paris, not NYC. Dominick Delasandro New Brunswick, N.J.: To Voicer Robert Iulo: Cheers for pointing out my violation of correct usage in 'Navigating the rules of our pronoun dysphoria' (op-ed, Aug. 18). 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I and many other true crime fans love learning about criminals of the past. Please bring it back! Francis Thomas
UPI
10 minutes ago
- UPI
Britain, Russia trade sanctions amid Western push to end war
U.S President Donald Trump (R) leads, (From L) President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine, President Alexander Stubb of Finland, Prime Minister Keir Starmer of Britain, President Emmanuel Macron of France and other European leaders for a 'family photo' in the Cross Hall of the White House in Washington, D.C., USA, on Monday. On Thursday, Britain and Russia traded sanctions. Pool Photo by Aaron Schwartz/CNP/UPI | License Photo Aug. 21 (UPI) -- Britain and Russia have traded sanctions, as London continues to pressure Moscow amid ongoing efforts to secure an end to the war in Ukraine. Britain's sanctions minister, Stephen Doughty, on Wednesday announced the punitive measures targeting crypto networks and Kyrgyzstan's financial systems exploited by Russia to evade sanctions. The eight designations add to the more than 2,700 Britain has already etched into its sanctions ledger for Russia's war in Ukraine. "If the Kremlin thinks they can hide their desperate attempts to soften the blow of our sanctions by laundering transactions through dodgy crypto networks -- they are sorely mistaken," Doughty said in a statement. The sanctions target the Kyrgyzstan-based Capital Bank and its director, Kantemir Chalbayev, which London says Russia uses to pay for military goods. Grinext and Meer cyrptocurrency exchanges were among those blacklisted for their rouble-backed A7A5 cyrptocurrency that was designed to evade Western sanctions and has been used to move $9.3 billion, according to London. "These sanctions keep up the pressure on [Russian President Vladimir] Putin and crack down on the illicit networks being used to funnel money into his war chest," Doughty said. Seemingly in response, Russia's foreign ministry announced sanctions against 21 journalists and members of NGOs, consulting firms and the expert community, most of whom are British nationals. The sanctions appear to ban those on Russia's so-called stop list from entering the country. The ministry accused them of being "propagandists" who are "spreading disinformation and leveling unfounded accusations against Russia in relation to the special military operation." The special military operation is what Russia calls its invasion of Ukraine. "They are also involved in hostile lobbying activities, such as advocating for a tougher anti-Russia policy from the West and increased support for the Kyiv regime," the ministry said in a statement. Among those blacklisted by Moscow was Britain's former deputy foreign secretary Britain Denis MacShane. "Deeply honored to be on Putin list of Brits banned from Russia," he said on X. Thousands of people appear to be on the list, including more than 2,100 from the United States alone. The tit-for-tat sanctions came on the heels of Prime Minister Keir Starmer of Britain, President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine and several other European leaders having a meeting earlier this week at the White House with U.S. President Donald Trump aimed at bringing an end to Russia's war. "As long as the killing in Ukraine continues, the UK and its allies stand ready to rachet up pressure on Russia and will continue to strengthen sanctions," Britain's foreign office said.
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10 minutes ago
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Ukraine expects clarity soon on security guarantees from US and other allies
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