Global Warming: Unep, The BBC’s Natural Selection And Rich Africa
GLOBAL warming. And the Independent’s front page promises: “NOT AN ENVIRONMENT SCARE STORY.”
So concerned is the Indy not to add to global warming, to conserve the planet’s resources, that it crams as many words on to its front page as possible, the headline limited only by readers’ eyesight.
Know: “A landmark assessment by the UN of the state of the world’s environment paints the bleakest picture yet of our planet’s well-being. The warning is stark: humanity future is at risk unless urgent action is taken. Over the past 20 years, almost every index of the planet’s health has worsened. At the same time, personal wealth in the richest countries has gown by a third.”
Why wealth and environment are linked is not made clear. The Times says in the past two decades Africa’s population has risen by 57.2 per cent. 57.2. That’s more breathing humans. More CO2 emissions. But is Africa richer?
The numbers emerge from a report by the United Nations Environment programme. Almost 400 experts from around the world contributed to Unep’s Global Environment Outlook (GEO-4) report.
The Times, which leads with “The Earth Audit”, says 1,400 scientists were involved. Forty-eight governments nominated 157 scientists, who were “split into groups of expertise for each of the ten chapters of the report”. More experts were selected from more than 50 research centres in 47 countries.
Lest you mistake the report for the work of a body with a vested interest in drumming up support for its cause, its raison d’être, and giving work to scientists, the Indy punctuates the piece with: “We were warned 20 years ago. Now time is running out.”
And then just when you thought it was safe to breathe know: “BBC flagship natural history unit budget to be cut by a third.”
First they came for the polar bears…
Posted: 26th, October 2007 | In: Broadsheets Comments (5) | TrackBack | Permalink
