According to a 2011 survey, only one out of every 5 US meteorologists understand the human influence on climate change, reports Deborah Zabarenko at Reuters News. The climate change controversy has split the American Meteorological Society, whose members are Americans’ prime source of news about weather and climate, because, while research since 2007 has only solidified climate science findings, said society Executive Director Keith Seitter, the minority of AMS members who disagree, are often outspoken. The controversy has held up the society’s updated view on climate change but Seitter said expects the new AMS statement to hew closely to its position in 2007 and include updated scientific findings. But members are not required to report on human driven climate change, making it socially acceptable for news media and politicians to deny climate change and block any remedial action. An online grassroots campaign called “Forecast the Facts” supported by 350.org and others, insists that meteorologists inform their viewers about human driven climate change, a concept accepted by the US military, the National Academy of Sciences and the US insurance industry.
Sources
Storm over climate change among weather forecasters http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/02/02/us-climate-weather-idUSTRE81120K20120202 Weather forecasters, many of whom see climate change as a natural, cyclical phenomenon, are split over whether they have a responsibility to educate viewers on the link between human activity and the change in the Earth’s climates. Reuters
See also:
Forecast The Facts Responds To Criticism: Dialogue With Denier Weathermen Isn’t Enough http://thinkprogress.org/green/2012/01/27/413745/forecast-the-facts-responds-to-criticism-dialogue-with-denier-weathermen-isnt-enough/
