Blowback As Canada Muzzles Public Talk of Climate Change
Thousands sign petition condemning ban on weather forecasters discussing global warming
The public is up in arms after Canadian officials decided to prohibit government weather forecasters from publicly discussing climate change.
As of Wednesday, nearly 14,000 people had signed a petition penned by Canadian resident Janelle Martel that slams "another move on the government's part to keep the public uninformed about climate change."
In late May, government agency Environment Canada confirmed to investigative journalist Mike De Souza that weather forecasters employed by government weather forecasters are banned from discussing global warming.
Environment Canada spokesperson Mark Johnson told De Souza that Environment Canada prohibits meteorologists from discussing climate change, citing the need for them to speak to their "area of expertise."
But the petition, created on the website of company Care2, charges, "These meteorologists undergo years of training to learn about severe weather changes. This, along with the fact that the government has barred other scientists from discussing climate change without political clearance, makes it seem as though the government [wants] to limit and control the information Canadians have access to regarding climate change."
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Urgent. It's never been this bad.
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission from the outset was simple. To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It’s never been this bad out there. And it’s never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed and doing some of its best and most important work, the threats we face are intensifying. Right now, with just three days to go in our Spring Campaign, we're falling short of our make-or-break goal. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Can you make a gift right now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? There is no backup plan or rainy day fund. There is only you. —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
The public is up in arms after Canadian officials decided to prohibit government weather forecasters from publicly discussing climate change.
As of Wednesday, nearly 14,000 people had signed a petition penned by Canadian resident Janelle Martel that slams "another move on the government's part to keep the public uninformed about climate change."
In late May, government agency Environment Canada confirmed to investigative journalist Mike De Souza that weather forecasters employed by government weather forecasters are banned from discussing global warming.
Environment Canada spokesperson Mark Johnson told De Souza that Environment Canada prohibits meteorologists from discussing climate change, citing the need for them to speak to their "area of expertise."
But the petition, created on the website of company Care2, charges, "These meteorologists undergo years of training to learn about severe weather changes. This, along with the fact that the government has barred other scientists from discussing climate change without political clearance, makes it seem as though the government [wants] to limit and control the information Canadians have access to regarding climate change."
_____________________
The public is up in arms after Canadian officials decided to prohibit government weather forecasters from publicly discussing climate change.
As of Wednesday, nearly 14,000 people had signed a petition penned by Canadian resident Janelle Martel that slams "another move on the government's part to keep the public uninformed about climate change."
In late May, government agency Environment Canada confirmed to investigative journalist Mike De Souza that weather forecasters employed by government weather forecasters are banned from discussing global warming.
Environment Canada spokesperson Mark Johnson told De Souza that Environment Canada prohibits meteorologists from discussing climate change, citing the need for them to speak to their "area of expertise."
But the petition, created on the website of company Care2, charges, "These meteorologists undergo years of training to learn about severe weather changes. This, along with the fact that the government has barred other scientists from discussing climate change without political clearance, makes it seem as though the government [wants] to limit and control the information Canadians have access to regarding climate change."
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