Prize honors those who sow confusion and delay on Climate Change

Update: DeSmogBlog withdraws Obama Award
 

Presidential hopeful Barack Obama has captured the inaugural 2007 SmogMaker Award for blowing smoke on global warming, the DeSmogBlog announced today.

Global warming is an environmental problem, not a political one. And people who try to ‘solve’ it with political or public relations spin are just making the problem worse,” said James Hoggan, co-founder of the DeSmogBlog.

Media Matters has another example of Fox News spreading misinformation. This is despite the commitment to fight global warming made earlier this year by NewsCorp. CEO, Rupert Murdoch, whose company owns Fox News.

Despite a very public announcement by News Corp. owner Rupert Murdoch, to reduce his corporation's carbon footprint and encourage companies who work with them to do the same, Fox news continues to feature opinions that challenge, ridicule and misrepresent any forward thinking around combating global warming.

The latest attack comes from host Sean Hannity who calls carbon offsets a 'sham' and a 'crock' and, suggests that purchasing offsets is akin to buying one's way out of committing adultery. On the other hand, Rupert Murdoch has endorsed carbon offsets, saying that they are a measure to be taken when emissions are unavoidable.

I wonder if there's anyway to offset Hannity's verbal pollution? Perhaps Murdoch should address reducing his appearance entirely and that might legitimize an intention that we've yet to see any evidence of on Fox. Thanks to Media Matters for the editorial.

Here's a video produced by Robert Greenwald and Brave New Films chronicling the Fox News attack on climate science. These attacks continue despite highly publicized promises by News Corp. CEO and owner of Fox News, Rupert Murdoch, that his company would be cleaning up its collective climate change act.

H/T to Crooks and Liars.

UPDATE 1: We're at 128 signatures and growing, not bad for the 1st day. I know a lot of DeSmog's friends are going to post stories, so the numbers should keep rising. Remember to email it to your friends!

Yesterday we reported that News Corp. CEO and Fox News owner, Rupert Murdoch announced that his company would join the battle to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Murdoch stated: "Climate change poses clear, catastrophic threats. We may not agree on the extent but we certainly can't afford the risk of inaction..."

The first thing Murdoch and News Corp. can do to show that they are truly committed to fighting global warming is ending its reporting of misinformation about the science behind global warming on the Fox News Channel.

And the best thing you can do to help make this happen is by signing DeSmogBlog's online petition (click link) and then send it to all of your friends and have them sign it as well. Ask them to forward it on to their friends.

If you're so inclined, you can Digg this story.