Sometimes it seems as if the media goes out of its way to advocate of the theory of global warming.  Even when they don’t say “global warming” and instead use substitues such as “climate change.”  For instance, check out this story that headlines cnn.com today.

When you read the story, you find out that the area they’re talking about, West Timor in Indonesia, has been going through a drought.  In fact, the headline on the full story is “Ruthless drought in West Timor puts children in crisis.”  But the headline on page 1 is much more dramatic.  Better than “Malnutrition makes island boys bony, stunted.”

The cause of this malnutrition?  One is extreme poverty.  The article phrases the situation as one that is “likely to worsen because of rising global food prices.”  Why would that affect these people?  Because the people there live in mud huts, with “no real roads, no electricity and no running water” and “barely clothed children (that) play in the dirt.”  West Timor is one of the poorest areas of Indonesia.

Another is ignorance.  The article cites “a lack of basic education and health care, proper sanitary habits, and inadequate aid” among the people of the area, and cites an example of a family that “sold their fresh eggs — a major source of protein — to buy instant noodles.”

Third, there is no doubt that the malnutrition is brought on in part by the drought.  The drought is brought about by a change in the climate of the area.  Phrasing it as “climate change has brought on a severe drought” makes “climate change” an entity that can bring drought, or cause bony, stunted kids.

Climate change can occur with or without our help.  Archiologists say that the Sahara desert was once a lush grassland.  By ancient times, it had turned dry and hot.  That is climate change. 

So why is the phrase “climate change” used so prominently on the front page, and the word “drought” used instead on the actual story?  Because climate change is the hot topic (pun intended).  And Climate Change = Global Warming, right?  And we know that global warming is the cause of just about everything.  It causes terrorism.  It causes fires in California.  It will turn us into cannibals.  It confuses birds.  It keeps junk in space longer.  It may even cause economic crisis!

It’s hard enough to separate fact from fiction these days when it comes to global warming.  When I was a kid in the 70s, we were told we were headed for another Ice Age!  But sensationalism like this headline from CNN really does a disservice not only to the scientists who study such things, but also to the poor people suffering in Indonesia who could care less right now about politial agendas.