Putting on a different mask: despite what they say, they're still climate change deniers
Today’s paper says nothing about the EPA’s new methane rules, and it attacks Bernie Sanders’ motive instead of dealing with his climate change plan
Methane? What methane?
This morning, major papers across the United States gave front-page coverage to yesterday’s important story on the environmental impact of the EPA’s decision to weaken its methane rules.
From the New York Times:
EPA to Weaken Control on Gas Tied to Warming
The Washington Post:
EPA set to relax rules on methane
The Associated Press had a number of stories on this action. From one of them:
The government's plan would rescind many of the requirements on oil and gas sites to monitor for methane leaks and plug them.
Methane is one of the most potent climate-changing gases. Environmental advocates say the measure signals the Trump administration waiving its legal authority to regulate methane as a way to fight climate change.
(Here is another AP story that the Intelligencer could have used.)
Today’s Wheeling Intelligencer ignored the story.
Still attacking motives rather than ideas
Yesterday, Democratic candidate Bernie Sanders released his climate plan. Being one of the Democratic frontrunners, the Associated Press gave it significant coverage. (See here, for instance.) Locally, the Wheeling Intelligencer did not cover Sanders’ plan, but it did attack him editorially for suggesting it. According to the paper, Sanders’ plan is not about taking action on climate change; rather, it is so that he can brag about it:
His goal is eliminating coal, gas and oil simply to be able to boast he did so — regardless of the cost to the economy and each and every family in the United States.
This is not unlike the local Ogden attacks on Obama and his attempts to deal with climate change in that they ascribe the worst of motives to his actions without any proof. With Obama it was his “vendetta” against West Virginia (see previous post) and now with Sanders we read he’s doing this so that he can brag about it. They’re pathetic.
The Intelligencer doesn’t publish an important story on the EPA and it attacks the motives of a candidate who takes climate change seriously. Last spring, I tentatively moved them out of the climate denier category. I was wrong – it was all for show: they’ve not changed, they’ve just put on a different mask.
Out for the weekend. See you next week.
