<
https://theconversation.com/wildfires-why-media-coverage-doesnt-always-make-the-climate-connection-288409>
"The front page of the
Times on July 25 carried a photograph of three people
sitting under a striped parasol on the sand near Lacanau in southwest France,
looking out to sea. Beyond them, the sky was rust-orange as a wall of wildfire
smoke climbed above the treeline. The caption described it as a “dramatic
view”.
Above the photo, the lead news story was on how the UK’s net zero policy risks
blackouts. It reported a whistleblower’s claim that the expansion of wind and
solar had left officials struggling to gauge supply and demand.
The rest of the front page offered barbecuing tips and 25 of the best summer
wines. The full story of the fire that has displaced more than 110,000 people
in southwest France didn’t appear until page five.
This was met with cries of hypocrisy on social media. But exploring how these
contradictions can sit on the same front page tells us a lot about how climate
change is narrated in the UK, and why climate reporting differs so much from
country to country.
Over the same weekend, other UK newspapers reported on the fires gripping
Europe. The
Mirror led with the headline “Summer of chaos”, reporting that
wildfires were forcing Britons to flee holiday resorts. While the /i/’s
headlines were more nuanced online, its print lead was “Tourists flee France
inferno”. The
Financial Times led with “Europe ablaze”, while in Scotland,
the
Herald newspaper led on the evacuation of a village in the Cairngorms.
Europe’s fires were written up as a combination of holidays spoiled, energy
policy rows, domestic civil protection issues and continental emergencies. All
the articles were true, but what separates them is how far back each story
begins. A fire can be explained by today’s barbecue, yesterday’s wind
direction, by a dry spring, by four decades of land use change, or by a century
of emissions.
Deciding how a story of a wildfire is placed in history, and in the climate
change narrative, is often determined by one of three things. First, which desk
the story lands on: travel and news desks usually seek stories of disruption,
while environmental desks look for causes. Second, how far away the fire is,
and third, where the news outlet stands on decarbonisation."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
