Not Just A River In Egypt

That's massive Hurricane Irene barrelling toward the Eastern seaboard, as seen by NOAA's GOES-13 satellite at 10:45 a.m. EDT. As folks stocked up on water and food, they could listen to two gripping stories on NPR's Morning Edition: Wade Goodwyn reporting on the collapse of the cattle industry in East Texas due to the terrible drought there, and a companion piece by John Burnett on the drought's devastating toll on wildlife, with rescue centers flooded with dying animals, many of them babies whose mothers lacked the milk to feed them.

At the end of a normal summer, cicadas usually serenade Texas Hill Country. But even the cicadas have been quieted by the Texas drought, and nobody knows when it will end.

Great stories, except that each lacked two crucial words: Climate change. It cannot be said enough: While no single weather event can be linked to global warming, the recent increase in extreme weather events is consistent with what climate models predicted. Yet many news organizations--yes, I'm talking to you, New York Times--remain unwilling to make that link. And here's the result: According to a new Gallup poll, fewer Americans perceive global warming as a threat and believe it is caused even in part by human action than did in 2007-2008.

This is not the time to be going backward. Good luck to all our friends back East.

--Paul Rauber