Climate misinformation and outright myths continue to proliferate online, especially given the recent winter storm—itself somewhat complicated to tie to climate change simply because the research is still being conducted. That hasn’t stopped denialists and the far-right (and, of course, many Republicans) from continuing to push false claims about the climate crisis itself. As USA Today reports, claims like “believing in climate change is only for the far-left” simply would not quit this year.
It doesn’t help that shady organizations like the Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) are weighing in on something they clearly have no business in analyzing. A recent “study” from the group, which has been pushing bogus claims about climate change for more than a decade and half, decries alleged alarmism claims and focuses on greenhouse gas emissions directly causing natural disasters. It’s worth noting that scientists believe climate change has worsened natural disasters.
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Somehow, say, tying a particularly brutal snowstorm to a coal plant shows an nonexistent comprehension of the actual problem yet is essentially what’s being deployed by groups like CEI. CEI is unfortunately in good company on its study, having conducted its research with the Heartland Institute and the International Climate Science Coalition. Between distractions like their “Climate Fact Check 2022” and the proliferation of climate misinformation on Twitter as Elon Musk continues to tank the social media platform, it’s going to take all of us to battle one of the biggest campaigns holding humanity back from meaningfully addressing the climate crisis.
Major tech companies certainly aren’t helping matters. The way I found out about CEI’s latest paper? A quick search of Google News to see if any actual, meaningful studies had recently concluded or if there were any new research out there regarding climate disinformation and solutions to those campaigns. Fox News, the Daily Wire, and other dubious sources picked up CEI’s work, which you can also find when searching the climate change topic on Google News.
USA Today makes an amazing point on how climate change used to be a bipartisan issue by highlighting the fact that the Environmental Protection Agency was established by Richard Nixon and that ensuing landmark legislation to strengthen both the Clean Air Act and Clean Water Act were spearheaded by a Republican. The outlet also points to the conservative groups out there also concerned about climate change in an honest, meaningful way. We’re all on the same planet and the sooner we get on the same page about climate change, the sooner we can truly put our collective efforts into combatting it.
It doesn’t help that shady organizations like the Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) are weighing in on something they clearly have no business in analyzing. A recent “study” from the group, which has been pushing bogus claims about climate change for more than a decade and half, decries alleged alarmism claims and focuses on greenhouse gas emissions directly causing natural disasters. It’s worth noting that scientists believe climate change has worsened natural disasters.
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Somehow, say, tying a particularly brutal snowstorm to a coal plant shows an nonexistent comprehension of the actual problem yet is essentially what’s being deployed by groups like CEI. CEI is unfortunately in good company on its study, having conducted its research with the Heartland Institute and the International Climate Science Coalition. Between distractions like their “Climate Fact Check 2022” and the proliferation of climate misinformation on Twitter as Elon Musk continues to tank the social media platform, it’s going to take all of us to battle one of the biggest campaigns holding humanity back from meaningfully addressing the climate crisis.
Major tech companies certainly aren’t helping matters. The way I found out about CEI’s latest paper? A quick search of Google News to see if any actual, meaningful studies had recently concluded or if there were any new research out there regarding climate disinformation and solutions to those campaigns. Fox News, the Daily Wire, and other dubious sources picked up CEI’s work, which you can also find when searching the climate change topic on Google News.
USA Today makes an amazing point on how climate change used to be a bipartisan issue by highlighting the fact that the Environmental Protection Agency was established by Richard Nixon and that ensuing landmark legislation to strengthen both the Clean Air Act and Clean Water Act were spearheaded by a Republican. The outlet also points to the conservative groups out there also concerned about climate change in an honest, meaningful way. We’re all on the same planet and the sooner we get on the same page about climate change, the sooner we can truly put our collective efforts into combatting it.