Prior to its April 26 airing on MSNBC, shows on NBC had been promoting the first part of the climate special "Future Earth" - an MSNBC program that used computer animation to show the possibilities of a polar icecap melting. That prompted Bill Steffen, a meteorologist for NBC's Grand Rapids, Mich. affiliate, to call out MSNBC for that special.
Steffen challenged several premises of "Future Earth: Journey to the End of the World," on his WoodTV.com blog. Steffen debunked the entire series premise that is posted on the MSNBC Web site: "Find out why Earth's climate machine - the North Pole - is melting alarmingly fast. Learn about our planet's future, and how you can stop its decline."
"First, the North Pole is not ‘Earth's Climate Machine,'" Steffen wrote. "There is far more heat and area in the Tropics than at the North Pole. Second, YOU can't stop its decline (assuming it's declining)! Nature is big - you personally are insignificant compared to nature. Don't you wish you had the power to control icecaps! If you don't mind some profanity, check out George Carlin's take on ‘Saving the Planet.' Third, MSNBC does not know ‘our planet's future.'"
Steffen rebutted claims of the MSNBC special saying that ice in the Antarctic has actually been expanding and that polar ice melting alone would not cause sea level to rise as depicted in the "Future Earth."
"Keep in mind that if the Polar icecap (without Greenland) melted...it would hardly cause sea level to rise, because the icecap is currently displacing water in the Arctic Ocean," Steffen wrote.
Steffen also pointed out, as many others have, the financial stake NBC Universal's parent company General Electric (NYSE:GE) has invested in cap-and-trade becoming law.
"One last point, MSNBC is owned by General Electric," Steffen wrote. "GE is already making money off the issue with their Carbon Credit Master Card (link from ‘Treehugger,' no less). Here's CNN's story on the new credit card."
Steffen even showed how much GE has spent lobbying for environmental causes, originally reported by the Washington Examiner on March 3.
"Interesting note: In the fourth quarter of 2008 as GE/NBC stock fell 30 percent, GE spent $4.26 million on lobbying - that's $46,304 each day, including weekends, Thanksgiving and Christmas," Steffen wrote. "In 2008, the company spent a grand total of $18.66 million on lobbying. Reviewing their lobbying filings, GE's specific lobbying issues included the ‘Climate Stewardship Act,' ‘Electric Utility Cap and Trade Act,' ‘Global Warming Reduction Act,' ‘Federal Government Greenhouse Gas Registry Act,' ‘Low Carbon Economy Act,' and ‘Lieberman-Warner Climate Security Act.' Do you think this ‘big business' is just concerned about the environment?"
