Goofing on Global Warming

When it comes to global warming, science writers seem to do a better job of getting the facts straight than editorial writers. University of Illinois scientists recently published research in Nature which shows a local pattern of cooling in parts of the Antarctic. The scientists' published research made it clear that this local cooling does not contradict the evidence of global warming. This fact was also clear in the university's news release about the study, which was titled "Antarctic Cooling Amid Global Warming." Science writers generally got the facts right when they reported on the study, but editorial writers were quick to pronounce judgment based on research which they had clearly not bothered to read. Columnist Joseph Perkins (a former aide to Dan Quayle) penned a piece titled "Scientific Findings Run Counter to Theory of Global Warming," while the Rocky Mountain News wondered, "Is Another Ice-Age on the Way?"