Environment

People Are Dropping Their New York Times Subscriptions over Climate Change Column

April 30th 2017

The New York Times has had a peculiar year.

While President Donald Trump incorrectly insists that they are failing, the news outlet has vowed to better “understand and reflect all political perspectives and life experiences” in the publication.

To the paper, a big step in doing this was hiring ideologically diverse writers. This includes conservative commentator Bret Stephens.

Stephens is a Pulitzer Prize winning journalist who joined the publication’s opinion section after working at The Wall Street Journal.

His selection was regarded as a move to add a non-liberal point of view. Critics are skeptical of Stephens given his questionable point of view: he has promoted Islamophobia, claimed campus sexual assaults are imaginary, and that the Black Lives Matter movement is “the big lie of America.”

He is also skeptical of people who speak with certainty about climate change — and that’s what his first “New York Times” article was about.

Stephens’ debut column questions the overwhelming certainty of climate advocates. He argues that data sometimes lies to us, as best exemplified by Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton’s loss in the 2016 election, which pollsters asserted she would win. 

“Claiming total certainty about the science traduces the spirit of science and creates openings for doubt whenever a climate claim proves wrong,” he wrote before reassuring readers he is not a climate change denier.

Some New York Times readers are furious—and they’re cancelling their subscriptions as a result.

The backlash to Stephens’ column was swift, with many telling the publication they plan to spend their subscription dollars elsewhere.

Scientists are leading the movement.

Those holding the opposite point of view regarded the conflict as another sign of 'liberal snowflakes' run amok.

Stephens himself does not appear to be deterred by the fuss; he's using it to highlight the need for a conversation.

The timing of this story couldn’t be worse considering the reality of man-made climate change. That’s where the concern is coming from.

As has been reported time and time again, the effects of climate change are here and becoming a growing problem. Even a small increase of the global temperature by a half-degree would be devastating, leading to less fresh water, crop devastation, and the degradation of certain parts of the world like coral reefs.

Furthermore, yesterday thousands of Americans took to the streets to raise awareness of climate change and to push for the government to act on the issue. This march comes a week after the March For Science.

As even the Times has reported, the majority of Americans believe climate change is real and want to take steps to reduce the harm. Many disagree on how the problem affects them, but the issue is nevertheless acknowledged.

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