The heat, unfortunately, will only get worse... but news coverage of...

[Writer]

the heat is what most puzzles me.

I would classify national news coverage of the heat as somewhat formulaeic: a natural disaster lite, coupled with the tired litany of "ways to beat the heat." I fail to see that much mainstream media have placed the summer's killer heat into proper perspective - that is but a step in a growing phenomenon - that global warming, for all the attention Gore's movie has granted it this summer, will only worsen the situation in years to come.

Consider this: imagine a Las Vegas, Nevada, with an annual average summer temperature of 110 degrees fahrenheit? It is a plausible theory given the temperature trends over the last few years. Let me emphasize AVERAGE here. This beckons the question of "what can we expect in the future?" I believe this is an important topic for news coverage.

Or how about a major Atlantic seaboard city - Washington, DC, comes to mind - hit by a devastating Category 4 or 5 hurricane similar to Katrina? After last year, Katrina left clear in our minds that we will see storms such as these in greater rates. The warming water in the Atlantic will make summers on the ocean and gulf fronts increasingly treacherous.

Air turbulence caused by worsening summer storms also has made air travel difficult with increased delays, rerouted flights, and simple lack of comfort in flight. That, coupled with rising fuel costs, causes one to wonder whether we will be able to rely upon air travel as readily in the future.

Some may consider these topics alarmist, but from what I see currently, many news media suffer from a lack of imagination in exploring this topic in greater context for the sake of public discourse. In the midst of war, global warming demands that we adjust our attention to our ability merely to survive. It is about the survival of humanity, and it is our own self-involvement as humans that will lead us to fail in paying global warming proper attention.

My question to all of you is: Is our own humanity a high enough priority for us to begin rising up and demanding a change, sans complaints and finger pointing, with true action to change it for the better?

[ThomCat]

1. On no. There is no chance they'll actually discuss this.

It might cause panic. That would be irresposible. They might get nasty letters from concervatives, and from businesses who say you're diving away customers with less-than-rosy predictions.
:eyes:

[Writer]

2. The question then is:

Will WE discuss this? Will we discuss this loudly and clearly? Will we discuss this so much that the media will listen?

[ThomCat]

3. Anywhere people will listen.