Conservatives Taking Climate Change Seriously

There are two reports today on different conservatives taking the problem of global warming seriously. Former Bush speech writer Michael Gerson has a flawed column in The Washington Post but it is significant for at least admitting that there is a problem. While he returns to partisanship in claiming “Hysteria on the environment is a liberal temptation” he also admits that in some areas liberals have been right. David Roberts goes further into the problems with Gerson’s column.

Fortune reports on a surprising crusader against global warming–Rupert Murdoch:

…Murdoch has boldly promised to make News Corp. carbon neutral by 2010 and to weave environmental issues and themes into his newspapers, TV shows, movies and online properties – a tricky business, particularly when it comes to news.

“Climate change poses clear, catastrophic threats,” Murdoch said last spring, in a speech webcast to all News Corp. employees (and available here.) “We may not agree on the extent, but we certainly can’t afford the risk of inaction.”

He went on to say, “Our audience’s carbon footprint is 10,000 times bigger than ours. That’s the carbon footprint we want to conquer.”

Murdoch has done considerable harm by degrading the quality of journalism and by spreading the propaganda of the right wing. At least his influence might be used in a more benefical manner if he is successful in both reducing this carbon footprint and in convincing viewers of Fox News that this is a real problem.

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