Posted on 06/20/2008 6:52:21 AM PDT by 1rudeboy
CBS News sinks to new low; publishes crackpot global warming story, attributes it to Associated Press, kills it with no retraction
The main headline was this: Seismic Activity 5 Times More Energetic Than 20 Years Ago Because Of Global Warming
This drew a lot of attention because of the total lack of verifiable science associated with it. I posted some graphs of USGS data showing that the opposite was true, that recent earthquake energy was actually less that in the early 1900s, and several commenters pointed out that the source of the story, a Dr. Tom Chalko, has some less than stellar associations with what I would describe as new age mysticism, such as Thiaoouba Prophecy and reading your Aura. He also writes a dandy piece entitled Global Warming: Can Earth EXPLODE? which is linked to a website he runs about bioresonance where you can buy a bioresonant shirt.
So with that sort of science background available on the web for anyone to see in a few seconds of searching, one wonders how CBS News was duped into running a story like this without even bothering to check into the author. This makes the historic Microsoft Word documents used by Dan Rather to discredit President Bushs National Guard Service look like a peer reviewed science paper.
The story gets weirder. CBS attributed the story on their website to the Associated Press (AP) and you can see that clearly in the screen capture of the story [at link]. Odd thing though, there is no byline, no story author as you usually see with an AP story . . . .
After apparently learning of the less than scientific associations of the lead author of the research, CBS removed it from their website as of about 3 p.m. EST on June 19. This was the original link:
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/06/18/tech/main4191556.shtml
Here is where it gets interesting, after CBS pulled the story from their website, I did some searches for it on the Associated Press website at www.ap.org thinking it would still be there.
The story is not found in searches at www.ap.org using Tom Chalko or earthquake global warming
At the www.ap.org search, for earthquake(s) we find many stories either side of it on June 18th:
But nothing about the Chalko story. Putting in the authors name Tom Chalko also yields nothing on ap.org. I wasnt content with that, so I asked my radio station newsroom at KPAY to run a search on the AP wire stories they receive; nothing turned up. I also asked the editor of our local newspaper, the Chico Enterprise Record, to run a search, and he also found no evidence that AP had transmitted this story.
A further point- it seems to be only connected to CBS News, and their attribution to the AP appears when I do Google News searches such as this one:
earthquakes global warming Associated press or Tom Chalko AP the only association that appears is the CBS story with (AP) in it, as shown in the screencap [at link].
It looks like someone picked up an old story from June 2006 and reran it. The original story came from some nutty woman at the WSJ, who often writes articles that are based on the meta narrative of global warming. The story was then picked up by some enviro-nazi sites, where it laid dormant for two years.
They are right about the level of the Weekly World News that publishes stories about B-17’s “found” on the moon.
CBS may have taken that wacko off the Net but check this out:
Weather.gov Forecast
Active Weather Alerts
NOAA Organizations
Working With NOAA
Media & Constituents
NOAA In Your State
Emergency Information for NOAA Employees
Media Contact
Chris Vaccaro (June 19)
202-482-0702
John Leslie (June 20)
301-713-2087 ext 174
Scientific Assessment Captures Effects of a Changing Climate on Extreme Weather Events in North America
June 19, 2008
High resolution (Credit: NOAA)
The U.S. Climate Change Science Program and the Subcommittee on Global Change Research today released a scientific assessment that provides the first comprehensive analysis of observed and projected changes in weather and climate extremes in North America and U.S. territories. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change previously evaluated extreme weather and climate events on a global basis in this same context. However, there has not been a specific assessment across North America prior to this report.
Among the major findings reported in this assessment are that droughts, heavy downpours, excessive heat, and intense hurricanes are likely to become more commonplace as humans continue to increase the atmospheric concentrations of heat-trapping greenhouse gases.
The report is based on scientific evidence that a warming world will be accompanied by changes in the intensity, duration, frequency, and geographic extent of weather and climate extremes.
“This report addresses one of the most frequently asked questions about global warming: what will happen to weather and climate extremes? This synthesis and assessment product examines this question across North America and concludes that we are now witnessing and will increasingly experience more extreme weather and climate events,” said report co-chair Tom Karl, Ph.D., director of NOAAs National Climatic Data Center in Asheville, N.C.
High resolution (Credit: NOAA)
“We will continue to see some of the biggest impacts of global warming coming from changes in weather and climate extremes, said report co-chair Gerry Meehl, Ph.D., of the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colo. “This report focuses for the first time on changes of extremes specifically over North America.”
The full CCSP 3.3 report, Weather and Climate Extremes in a Changing Climate, and a summary FAQ brochure are available online.
Global warming of the past 50 years is due primarily to human-induced increases in heat-trapping gases, according to the report. Many types of extreme weather and climate event changes have been observed during this time period and continued changes are projected for this century. Specific future projections include:
Abnormally hot days and nights, along with heat waves, are very likely to become more common. Cold nights are very likely to become less common.
Sea ice extent is expected to continue to decrease and may even disappear in the Arctic Ocean in summer in coming decades.
Precipitation, on average, is likely to be less frequent but more intense.
Droughts are likely to become more frequent and severe in some regions.
Hurricanes will likely have increased precipitation and wind.
The strongest cold-season storms in the Atlantic and Pacific are likely to produce stronger winds and higher extreme wave heights.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, an agency of the U.S. Commerce Department, is dedicated to enhancing economic security and national safety through the prediction and research of weather and climate-related events and information service delivery for transportation, and by providing environmental stewardship of our nation’s coastal and marine resources.
NOAA plays a key role in the Climate Change Science Program, which is responsible for coordinating and integrating climate research, observations, decision support, and communications of 13 federal departments and agencies.
The National Center for Atmospheric Research investigates climate, weather, and other topics related to the atmosphere. It is sponsored by the National Science Foundation and managed by a nonprofit consortium of universities, the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research.
I saw that dude at a Dead show once. He had a bong made out of a diggery doo.
He’s a righteous cat, man.
Has CBS yet clarified the story? No doubt they have a good explanation on how this story matched their motto: "Fake but Accurate".
That has never bothered CBS News before. There must be more to this story.
GW ping!!
Book learnin' never scalded no pig.
cool. and very strange. Thanks for posting this.
Cronkite was not much different from Couric—you just couldn't as easily debunk what he said without other sources as readily available.
We grew to “trust” them out of our own lack of news sources. We trusted them more during times of war, but the government was throttling them even then, unlike now.
We have no reason to trust CBS or the other media outlets, and must reassess our “fond” memories of prior days with them.
You know, I don’t CBS was duped in the traditional sense of the word. I just think they don’t care about the “source” and run the story as long as it fits their agenda. Most of the time they don’t get called on it regardless of the validity. When they do, they bob and weave & it goes away quickly.
Ok - that's the most hilarious bit here. It's one thing to believe in something absurd but to claim to practice that absurd thing is quite another. If you believe in Sasquatch well - good for you, but if you claim to have had him over for tea this past Thursday, well...
A psych prof of mine used to point out that neurosis is 'building castles in the air' but psychosis is moving in. I guess we know where Chalko lives.
#33
Believe it or not, I think I just picked up a telepathic thought from him. Something about "Thats the biggest dooby I ever seen man, where did you get it? ...
Professional journalism at it’s finest.
I don’t think CBS News can do any more sinking. They just move laterally along the ocean floor.
“Whulter’s” desire to “do the right thing” during the civil rights struggle is when and where CBS turned.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.