Here's an interesting TEDx YT video about media exaggeration and how exaggeration can lead to incorrect, indeed opposite and damaging conclusions/effects than those intended. I came to it via a climate change "denial" website where it was used to illustrate how climate change alarmism is back firing now that the IPCC AR5 report now indicates that there is hardly any evidence of any catastrophic risk associated with CO2 production. (My view on AGW is that reducing CO2 emissions are likely to do more damage than good and CO2 is a negligible issue for the climate - it makes me unpopular in some circles!). The video itself covers other things and barely touches on climate change/AGW so you can still watch if AGW arguments bore you senseless! The link has been hxxp'ed as a matter of my personal preference so you'll have to paste it into your browser if you want to see it. hxxp://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=4zJn4gxCx3c Any one have any other examples of media spin/exaggeration which has back fired? Any other views on the presentation?
The US media scare about Toyota's accelerating by themselves, was started by a local news channel reporting one incident, that the national news picked up on; and sure enough, more Toyota users started to experience it. Toyota did a massive recall of the model and years reportedly effected, and found absolutely no mechanical cause. Toyota owners were so nervous about it, they were getting their brake and gas mixed up (which is already a fairly common cause of accidents). Fun fact: all reported incidents were female drivers.
I think this guy makes some good points, but I'm not inclined to agree with most of his conclusions. People may have had exaggerated fears about Fukushima, but his comments were misleading. Technically, it is accurate to say that "On March 11, 2011, zero people died as a result of the Fukushima nuclear accident". However, that does not mean that zero people have died, or will die as a result of the accident. (from Wikipedia) A documentary that I saw about Fukushima suggested that the 50 or so firefighters who were sent in to hose down the reactors were exposed to massive doses of radiation, and would likely die from cancer as a result. this blog, citing medical studies, suggests that the death toll will actually be much higher http://www.washingtonsblog.com/2011...ation-has-already-killed-14000-americans.html I think it is accurate to say that the increase use of coal replacing nuclear has largely been driven by political rather than environmental factors. I think we should be skeptical of any claim, including the claims of skeptics. While salt may be bad for you, I'm not planning to increase my intake of msg.
The release of the IPCC Fifth Assessment Report provides details that stamp out the myths and distortions of those trying to discredit climate science. http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-09-27/steffen-ipcc-report/4984656 What actually are the key messages of the IPCC Fifth Assessment Report? There is stronger evidence that the Earth's climate is warming - rising air and ocean temperature, loss of mass from glaciers and ice sheets, and rising sea level. Scientists are more certain than ever that most of the warming since 1950 has been caused by human activities, primarily the emission of carbon dioxide from fossil fuel combustion. A warming climate is influencing the frequency and severity of many extreme weather events and is changing rainfall patterns, creating risks for human well-being, the economy and the environment. Stabilising the climate system will require substantial and sustained reductions of carbon dioxide emissions, and those of other greenhouse gases. As the Climate Commission, and now the Climate Council, often say - this is the critical decade to get on with the job of reducing emissions quickly and deeply.
Pretty sure mainstream media is down playing the summer of love and the peaceful protests. I saw one video of a free food stand in chop chaz where the woman Running it was talking about how great it is, what is going on. Only problem is that while she is talking she calmly said, last night, when I was running for my life...
