A. There is a worsening climate emergency that acutely threatens Humanity and the Biosphere but Murdoch media empire has an appalling record of climate change denialism.
An important recent article is that by Dana Nuccitelli “The 5 stages of climate denial are on display ahead of he IPCC Report”, The Guardian (Australia), 16 September 2013: http://www.theguardian.com/environment/climate-consensus-97-per-cent/2013/sep/16/climate-change-contrarians-5-stages-denial .
What can sensible people do? Sensible people who care for their children, grandchildren, intergenerational equity, Humanity and the Biosphere should apply an ABC, Accountability, Badge and Credo response of (A) Accountability by urging and applying boycotts against people, parties, corporations and media promoting Business As Usual (BAU), climate change denialism, fossil fuel burning and greenhouse gas (GHG) pollution in general (e.g. see “Boycott Murdoch Media”: https://sites.google.com/site/boycottmurdochmedia/ ) , (B) Badge – wear a summarizing badge e.g. “300 ppm CO2” and (C) articulate a science-informed Credo e.g. “For a safe planet for all peoples and all species we must rapidly return atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) concentration from the current 400 parts per million (ppm) CO2 to the pre-Industrial Revolution level of about 300 ppm CO2” (see ““300.org – return atmosphere CO2 to 300 ppm”, 300.org: http://sites.google.com/site/300orgsite/300-org---return-atmosphere-co2-to-300-ppm ; "Are we doomed? Too late to save earth?", 300.org: https://sites.google.com/site/300orgsite/are-we-doomed ; and "2011 climate change course": https://sites.google.com/site/300orgsite/2011-climate-change-course ) .
Climate Emergency actions urgently required include (1) change of societal philosophy to one of scientific risk management and biological sustainability with complete cessation of species extinctions and zero tolerance for lying, (2) urgent reduction of atmospheric CO2 to a safe level of about 300 ppm as recommended by leading climate and biological scientists, and (3) rapid switch to the best non-carbon and renewable energy (solar, wind, geothermal, wave, tide and hydro options that are currently roughly the same market price as fossil fuel burning-based power) and to energy efficiency, public transport, needs-based production, re-afforestation and return of carbon as biochar to soils and storage coupled with correspondingly rapid cessation of fossil fuel burning, deforestation, methanogenic livestock production and population growth.
B. The Australian newspaper's reportage of outrageous climate change denalism continues. as illustrated by the following December 2013 example.
Maurice Newman ( former chairman of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation and the Australian Securities Exchange and chairman of Coalition PM Tony Abbott’s new Business Advisory Council) interviewed by the Murdoch Empire’s Australian flagship The Australia: “[ climate change establishment via the IPCC remained] “intent on exploiting the masses and extracting more money… When necessarily, the IPCC resorts to dishonesty and deceit… [Australia]hostage to climate change madness”…And for all the propaganda about ‘green employment’, Australia seems to be living the European experience, where, for every ‘green’ job created, two to three jobs are lost in the real economy… The scientific delusion, the religion behind the climate crusade, is crumbling. Global temperatures have gone nowhere for 17 years. Now, credible German scientists claim that ‘the global temperature will drop until 2100 to a value corresponding to the little ice age of 1870.” [1].
The opposition response “The opposition described Newman as an embarrassment to Australia, saying he was not a scientist and therefore not qualified “to make such outrageous claims”.“The worst part about Mr Newman’s ignorant comments is that he’s only voicing what we know Tony Abbott thinks about climate change,” said Labor’s acting climate change spokesman, Shayne Neumann.” [1].
The Australian reported thus: “The unprecedented cost of energy driven by the renewable energy target and the carbon tax had destroyed the nation's competitiveness, Tony Abbott's chief business adviser has declared. Maurice Newman also says climate change policies driven by "scientific delusion" have been a major factor in the collapse of Australia's manufacturing sector. "The Australian dollar and industrial relations policies are blamed," Mr Newman said. "But, for some manufacturers, the strong dollar has been a benefit, while high relative wages have long been a feature of the Australian industrial landscape.” [2].
For what top scientists say in 2013 see Professors James Hansen and Jeffrey Sachs (101-Nobel-Laureate Columbia University) and colleagues (2013): “Temperature change in the past century (Fig. 3; update of figures in [16]) includes unforced variability and forced climate change. The long-term global warming trend is predominantly a forced climate change caused by increased human-made atmospheric gases, mainly CO2 [1]. Increase of “greenhouse” gases such as CO2 has little effect on incoming sunlight but makes the atmosphere more opaque at infrared wavelengths, causing infrared (heat) radiation to space to emerge from higher, colder levels, which thus reduces infrared radiation to space. The resulting planetary energy imbalance, absorbed solar energy exceeding heat emitted to space, causes Earth to warm. Observations, discussed below, confirm that Earth is now substantially out of energy balance, so the long-term warming will continue.”[3].
[1]. Maurice Newman quoted in Daniel Hurst, “Tony Abbott’s top business adviser accuses IP{CC of “dishonesty and deceit””, Guardian, 31 December 2013: http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2013/dec/31/tony-abbotts-top-business-adviser-accuses-ipcc-of-dishonesty-and-deceit .
[2]. Graham Lloyd, “Climate policies helped kill manufacturing, says Maurice Newman”, The Australian, 31 December 2013: http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/policy/climate-policies-helped-kill-manufacturing-says-maurice-newman/story-e6frg6xf-1226792218812# .
[3]. James Hansen, Pushker Kharecha, Makiko Sato, Valerie Masson-Delmotte, Frank Ackerman, David J. Beerling, Paul J. Hearty, Ove Hoegh-Guldberg, Shi-Ling Hsu, Camille Parmesan, Johan Rockstrom, Eelco J. Rohling, Jeffrey Sachs, Pete Smith, Konrad Steffen, Lise Van Susteren, Karina von Schuckmann, James C. Zachos, “Assessing “dangerous climate change”: required reduction of carbon emissions to protect young people, future generations and Nature”, PLOS One, 8 (12), 3 December 2013: http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0081648 .
C. Murdoch family memvbers and NewsCorp employee slam Murdoch media malreportage re climate change.
Lachlan Cartwright writing in the Daily Beast (2020): “In a long-simmering rift between factions of the Murdoch family over climate change, Rupert’s younger son, James, and his activist wife, Kathryn, are attacking the climate denialism promoted by News Corporation, the global media group, and also by the Fox News Channel overseen by James’ older brother, Lachlan. “Kathryn and James’ views on climate are well established and their frustration with some of the News Corp and Fox coverage of the topic is also well known,” a spokesperson for the couple exclusively told The Daily Beast as wildfires rage in Australia. “They are particularly disappointed with the ongoing denial among the news outlets in Australia given obvious evidence to the contrary.” The extraordinary public rebuke from Kathryn and James—who is the CEO of Lupa Systems, a private investment company he founded—comes as Australia has been ravaged by the worst fires seen in decades. The blazes have claimed 27 lives and destroyed thousands of properties across multiple states, with an estimated 1 billion animals feared dead. News Corp Australia dominates the country’s media landscape, publishing more than 140 newspapers and employing 3,000 journalists in print, broadcast, and online” (Lachlan Cartwright, “James Murdoch slams Fox News and News Corp over climate-change denial. Fiddling while Oz burns. Rupert Murdoch’s younger son and his wife issued a rare public rebuke of the family’s media empire and its promotion of climate-change skeptics during Australia’s bushfire crisis”, Daily Beast, 14 January 2020: https://www.thedailybeast.com/james-murdoch-slams-fox-news-and-news-corp-over-climate-change-denial ; “Rupert Murdoch’s son James criticises NewsCorp , Fox for climate change and bushfire coverage”, ABC News, 15 January 2020: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-01-15/james-murdoch-criticises-news-corp-fox-climate-change-coverage/11868544 ).
James Murdoch (son of Rupert Murdoch) via spokesperson for James and Kathryn Murdoch to the Daily Beast (2020): “Kathryn and James’ views on climate are well established and their frustration with some of the News Corp and Fox coverage of the topic is also well known. They are particularly disappointed with the ongoing denial among the news outlets in Australia given obvious evidence to the contrary” ” (Lachlan Cartwright, “James Murdoch slams Fox News and News Corp over climate-change denial. Fiddling while Oz burns. Rupert Murdoch’s younger son and his wife issued a rare public rebuke of the family’s media empire and its promotion of climate-change skeptics during Australia’s bushfire crisis”, Daily Beast, 14 January 2020: https://www.thedailybeast.com/james-murdoch-slams-fox-news-and-news-corp-over-climate-change-denial ; “Rupert Murdoch’s son James criticises NewsCorp , Fox for climate change and bushfire coverage”, ABC News, 15 January 2020: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-01-15/james-murdoch-criticises-news-corp-fox-climate-change-coverage/11868544 ).
Kathryn Murdoch (wife of James Murdoch) via spokesperson for James and Kathryn Murdoch to the Daily Beast (2020): “Kathryn and James’ views on climate are well established and their frustration with some of the News Corp and Fox coverage of the topic is also well known. They are particularly disappointed with the ongoing denial among the news outlets in Australia given obvious evidence to the contrary” ” (Lachlan Cartwright, “James Murdoch slams Fox News and News Corp over climate-change denial. Fiddling while Oz burns. Rupert Murdoch’s younger son and his wife issued a rare public rebuke of the family’s media empire and its promotion of climate-change skeptics during Australia’s bushfire crisis”, Daily Beast, 14 January 2020: https://www.thedailybeast.com/james-murdoch-slams-fox-news-and-news-corp-over-climate-change-denial ; “Rupert Murdoch’s son James criticises NewsCorp , Fox for climate change and bushfire coverage”, ABC News, 15 January 2020: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-01-15/james-murdoch-criticises-news-corp-fox-climate-change-coverage/11868544 ).
Stephen Mayne (famous shareholder advocate) in an interview with The Daily Beast re James Murdoch’s statement (2020): “Within the Australian division, there are individuals who are obsessed with climate-change denialism such as Andrew Bolt and Terry McCrann, both of whom are 30-year veterans of the company and are close to Rupert and Lachlan. The failure here is a failure to intervene to withdraw the green light for unhinged denialism within the Australian division. It entirely comes down to Rupert and Lachlan. They are equally conservative and fully on board with everything from Fox News to climate-change denialism” (Lachlan Cartwright, “James Murdoch slams Fox News and News Corp over climate-change denial. Fiddling while Oz burns. Rupert Murdoch’s younger son and his wife issued a rare public rebuke of the family’s media empire and its promotion of climate-change skeptics during Australia’s bushfire crisis”, Daily Beast, 14 January 2020: https://www.thedailybeast.com/james-murdoch-slams-fox-news-and-news-corp-over-climate-change-denial ).
Emily Townsend (commercial finance manager who has worked for News Corp Australia for five years) in an e-mail to executive chairman Michael Miller, and copied to NewsCorp staff(and delated by NewsCorp after an hour) (2020): “I have been severely impacted by the coverage of News Corp publications in relation to the fires, in particular the misinformation campaign that has tried to divert attention away from the real issue which is climate change to rather focus on arson (including misrepresenting facts). I find it unconscionable to continue working for this company, knowing I am contributing to the spread of climate change denial and lies. The reporting I have witnessed in The Australian, The Daily Telegraph and Herald Sun is not only irresponsible, but dangerous and damaging to our communities and beautiful planet that needs us more than ever to acknowledge the destruction we have caused and start doing something about it” (Emily Townsend quoted in Zoe Samios and Andrew Hornery, “”Dangerous, misinformation: NewsCorp employee’s fire coverage e-mail”, Sydney Morning Herald, 10 January 2020: https://www.smh.com.au/environment/climate-change/dangerous-misinformation-news-corp-employee-s-fire-coverage-email-20200110-p53qel.html ; “Rupert Murdoch’s son James criticises NewsCorp , Fox for climate change and bushfire coverage”, ABC News, 15 January 2020: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-01-15/james-murdoch-criticises-news-corp-fox-climate-change-coverage/11868544 ).