Water breaching the Lynn Shore Drive sea wall, “Nemo” Blizzard of ’13, 2/9/13 (Flickr’s Scott Fisher)
Some TV meteorologists are afraid to talk about climate science for fear of blowback from Tea Party reality deniers. Not WCVB’s Harvey Leonard, and that’s earning him the thanks of hundreds of viewers. Reports Matt Perkins of the Lexington Patch:
Leonard appeared in a segment in early February to explain the connection between global warming and severe weather patterns, and to discuss how global warming is driving more drought, more heavy precipitation and stronger storms.
More than 570 viewers co-signed the thank you card that [Nancy] Nolan and [Paul] Lauenstein delievered on Tuesday, March 12. The two residents are members of Forecast the Facts, an organization that aims to ensure Americans receive accurate information about climate change.
I would point out, however, in response to complaints that this isn’t covered, that what we usually see is a five minute forecasting segment that is only meant to say what is likely to happen in the next few days. The segment linked here was a rarer opportunity to chat a bit about the whys and hows. If a meteorologist runs through a standard weather report and doesn’t mention climate change it’s not because he or she doesn’t believe in it or is afraid of the reaction. It’s just that’s not really the best use of a five-minute forcast in a half-hour newscast.
How long do you need? NOAA today reported February was the 9th-warmest on record globally. Takes 15 seconds to report. Could even feed it to the producer to do as a news story to chat about leading into the forecast.
I’m not sure 9th warmest makes it into the meterologist’s monologue, but certainly if it’s closer to the top of coolest, warmest, snowiest, rainiest, driest on record, especially locally (These are local newscasts afterall; I don’t watch enough Weather Channel to comment on what they do.) it does get mentioned in my experience. Mentioning it may only take 15 seconds, but explaining it takes longer.
No, it’s just presumed we know what it is and that it must be KILLING OUR CHILDREN (unlike college debt, which is presumed to be something our children should shut up about).
I’m generalizing, but progressives tend to make messaging more complicated than it needs to be. “That global warming thing? Still getting worse, and here’s proof! Now the 5-day.”
Also, 9th doesn’t sound so bad until you know the first 8 have all come since 1998.
Our on-air “meteorologists” (many are not trained in meteorology) find plenty of time to remind us to wear our boots when it’s raining, warm clothing when it’s cold, and drink lots of water when it’s hot. The average five minute NECN forecast spends upwards of three minutes on extended town-by-town reading of individual temperatures or wind speeds — all displayed prominently on the map the reader stands in front of.
It is not so hard to find time for facts about climate change, and the current sorry state of viewer awareness highlights the need for such education.
I still say real explanations take longer, but having non-meteorologists report the weather is not my experience. I’m pretty sure in the Boston market the TV stations all employ real meteorologists and I’m almost certain that is true of WCVB which I watch most often.
The the American Meteorological Society provides two levels of professional certification, “Certified Broadcast Meteorologist” (“CBM”) and “Certified Consulting Meteorologist” (“CCM”). The former requires a bachelor’s degree in meteorology or atmospheric scientist. The AMS offered a “Seal of Approval” program, with much less stringent requirements (over 1,700 seals were awarded), from 1957-2008.
The AMS provides both a list of CBMs and a directory of CCMs
One of the three current WCVB meteorologists, Mike Wankum appears on the list of CBMs. J.C. Monahan, holds the “Seal of Approval”. Harvey Leonard, though beloved, does not appear on either list.
Similarly, I tend to watch NECN (I like Matt Noyes). None of the three NECN meteorologists (Nelly Carreno, Tim Kelley, Danielle Niles, and Matt Noyes) appear on any list.
I guess that much depends on what we call a “real” meteorologist. Like “counselors” and “therapists”, the term “meteorologist” is, at best, rather loosely defined.
Tim Kelley is a climate science denier.
When I was a kid I remember Harvey Leonard (back when he was WHDH) and Dick Albert giving a talk at the Museum of Science and they led us in a little class and demonstration on how alternative energy sources work (solar, wind, fuel cells) and even led a mini lab on different weather effects. Supposedly newspapers are supposed to be accessible to anyone with a 5th grade education, I’d argue tv has the same standard. His report is well researched and conforms to popular science journalism norms.
At that age & being a news & weather geek, seeing Dick Albert in person might as well have been meeting the president
I felt the same way. I was real starstruck when we met Natalie Jacobs one time in the early 90s, and dad and I bumped into RD Stahl outside the Home Depot in Waltham and he told us he had come back from Cali to work at NECN, we felt we had an insider scoop.
…and I assume it’s worth something in this context, Harvey Leonard holds both a BS and MS in meteorology.
I’m not bashing Harvey Leonard. I’m instead observing that a certain authority comes along with any on-air personality. Television weather broadcasters are a prime example where the audience assumes that the man or woman has a certain level of meteorological competence — and assumption that is all too often unwarranted.
A significant contributor to the absolute ignorance of the American public about climate change is the climatological illiteracy of all too many television broadcasters. Heidi Cullen made waves in denier circles by daring to suggest that weather broadcasters who deny the reality of global warming should not be allowed to receive the AMS Seal of Approval. She wrote (sorry, I don’t have time to find a cite right now) that “It’s like allowing a meteorologist to go on-air and say that hurricanes rotate clockwise and tsunamis are caused by the weather. It’s not a political statement…it’s just an incorrect statement.” In the ensuing controversy, a number of studies showed the abysmally low expertise in meteorology (never mind climatology) of America’s broadcast meteorologists.
Climate change is arguably the most important issue of our time. Broadcast meteorologists are the source of much or most of the climate information received by Americans. When those meteorologists emit climate rubbish, all of us suffer.
I agree with Ms. Cullen that meteorologists shouldn’t be certified if they get basic facts wrong and shouldn’t be spewing denialism. I also agree that if they manage to slip some context in to the forecast that would be helpful. I guess it’s just that such has never been my expectation and when I want a quick weather update, a simple, “tomorrow sunny, next day rain, sun returns the day after,” generally satisfies me.
We’ve actually had 336 months in a row of global average temperatures above the twentieth century norm, but that streak is somehow not considered newsworthy.
Harvey Leonard does stand out from many of his peers. NECN, in particular, shows no signs of interest in or acceptance of basic climate science.