Global warming has graduated to the status of one of the great enduring political issues of our time.  Unfortunately, public discourse has taken a dramatic step backward in light of corporate media’s attacks against the scientific community.  Scientific studies have greatly furthered our understanding of climate change, but establishment journalism has largely erased the gains in public knowledge over the last three years.

 

There has been little progress on working toward significant cuts in U.S. and global CO2 emissions.  Obama’s participation in the 193 nation U.S. global warming summit in December 2009 resulted in a non-binding commitment to cutting global CO2 emissions.  Progress appears non-existent on making this agreement legally binding, as indicated by the resignation in February of a high level U.S. climate change official – Yvo de Boer – who the New York Times reported is “deeply disappointed with the outcome of the last summit in Copenhagen, which drew 120 world leaders but failed to reach more than a vague promise by several countries to limit carbon emissions.”

 

To make matters more difficult, a business-led, right-wing backlash has further threatened to destroy w

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