{"id":405653,"date":"2025-09-29T09:43:55","date_gmt":"2025-09-29T07:43:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=405653"},"modified":"2025-09-29T09:43:57","modified_gmt":"2025-09-29T07:43:57","slug":"beware-how-the-climate-crusade-partners-with-the-media-and-educates-the-courts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=405653","title":{"rendered":"Beware How the Climate Crusade \u2018Partners\u2019 With the Media and \u2018Educates\u2019 the Courts"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"A<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From Watts Up With That?<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

By Gary Abernathy<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"A<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

This article was orginally published at The Empowerment Alliance<\/a> and is re-published here with permission. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Do you ever wonder why mainstream news stories seem so one-sided in their \u201cclimate change\u201d coverage, promoting the most radical theories while ridiculing so-called \u201cclimate deniers?\u201d Similarly, have you ever pondered how judges who are not scientists or climate experts render opinions favorable to the climate cult while citing scientific \u201cfacts\u201d and \u201cevidence\u201d to bolster their verdicts?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Two back-to-back reports in early September provide some answers, each revealing how deeply climate change forces have infiltrated both our news and judicial establishments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For decades, CBS News \u2013 the storied broadcast home of icons like Edward R. Murrow and Walter Cronkite \u2013 was long regarded as the gold standard for television journalism. The \u201cTiffany Network\u2019s\u201d reporting might sometimes be controversial, but it was always considered deeply researched and proudly independent. CBS News prided itself on its unassailable integrity \u2013 \u201cAnd that\u2019s the way it is,\u201d Cronkite assured us every evening when he signed off.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When it comes to reporting on climate news, those days are gone. For some climate-related stories, CBS News has of late been partnering with Climate Central, a nonprofit that bills itself as \u201cpolicy-neutral\u201d and \u201cindependent,\u201d but acknowledges on its on website that it \u201cuses science, big data, and technology to generate thousands of local storylines and compelling visuals that make climate change personal and show what can be done about it. We address climate science, sea level rise, extreme weather, energy, and related topics.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In early September Fox News reported<\/a>, \u201cLast month, CBS News published a story<\/a> about melting glaciers that also aired on \u2018Sunday Morning.\u2019 Ben Tracy was the correspondent on the segment, with his byline at the top of the article. A disclaimer at the bottom read, \u2018Story produced by Chris Spinder, in partnership with Climate Central. Editor: Chris Jolly.\u2019\u201d Fox News noted that another CBS News article<\/a> in July, \u201calso tied to an on-air segment with Tracy, included the disclaimer that the story was \u2018produced in partnership with Climate Central.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In fact, Tracy and Spinder \u201cwork for Climate Central. Only Jolly is a current CBS News staffer, according to his LinkedIn page.\u201d So much for fair, balanced and independent journalism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On its website, Climate Central boasts<\/a> of its influence on news organizations, noting that through its \u201cPartnership Journalism\u201d program, it \u201ccontributes data, science and data reporting, editing and guidance to joint features coverage informed by new climate data.\u201d The site provides links to page after page<\/a> of \u201cnews\u201d stories on which it has \u201cpartnered,\u201d ranging from alternative energy outlets to traditional news agencies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While its guidelines<\/a> claim that its \u201cpartners\u201d make \u201cmost final editorial decisions,\u201d Climate Central adds that \u201cwe\u2026 insist upon scientific accuracy and context. If we can\u2019t reach agreement on the science in a story, we agree in advance that we will halt the project.\u201d CBS News agreed to that?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While it may not be shocking that far-left (formerly mainstream) news agencies are \u201cpartnering\u201d with outside climate groups to produce their stories, more disturbing is the notion that our courts might be subject to such influences. And yet, a day before the Fox News story on CBS came a report from National Review<\/a> revealing just that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAn \u2018educational\u2019 program that aims to convince judges to side with climate activists in state and federal cases has already reached more than 2,000 judges nationwide,\u201d the magazine reported. \u201cThe program, called the Climate Judiciary Project (CJP), began under the Environmental Law Institute (ELI) in 2018. Its objective, according to ELI, is to \u2018make available to federal, state, and local judges the basic science they need to adjudicate the climate litigation over which they preside.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The article notes that the House Judiciary Committee recently opened a probe of ELI \u201cto examine its distribution of climate-change education programs aimed at influencing both state and federal judges to rule in favor of plaintiffs in climate-related cases.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

ELI insists it is politically impartial and denies engaging in efforts to sway judges. But American Energy Institute CEO Jason Isaac told National Review, \u201cThis congressional inquiry is a necessary and welcome development. For too long, the Environmental Law Institute\u2019s Climate Judiciary Project has operated behind a veneer of neutrality while quietly advancing a coordinated effort to influence judges in climate-related litigation.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Turning to experts for fact-based background information is standard practice in the news media. But openly \u201cpartnering\u201d with issue-based organizations to produce stories is a violation of the trust between journalists and news consumers. Likewise, when courts are \u201cinformed\u201d by \u201ceducational\u201d materials from outside groups representing a certain point of view, the fairness and independence that is the foundation of our judiciary system is seriously undermined.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The House Judiciary Committee\u2019s efforts are a good start, but rather than worrying about things like former President Biden\u2019s use of the autopen or other dead-end probes, Congress should more fully investigate the efforts of climate activists to influence the American people through our media and influence judicial decisions in our courts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While it\u2019s good that these conflicts have been brought to light, it is not unreasonable to suspect that these entanglements may only represent the tip of the iceberg \u2013 an iceberg that even the most radical climate zealot should admit is far from melting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gary Abernathy is a longtime newspaper editor, reporter and columnist. He was a contributing columnist for the Washington Post from 2017-2023 and a frequent guest analyst across numerous media platforms. He is a contributing columnist for <\/em>The Empowerment Alliance<\/em><\/a>, which advocates for realistic approaches to energy consumption and environmental conservation. The opinions expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Empowerment Alliance.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This article was originally published by RealClearEnergy and made available via RealClearWire.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Do you ever wonder why mainstream news stories seem so one-sided in their \u201cclimate change\u201d coverage, promoting the most radical theories while ridiculing so-called \u201cclimate deniers?\u201d Similarly, have you ever pondered how judges who are not scientists or climate experts render opinions favorable to the climate cult while citing scientific \u201cfacts\u201d and \u201cevidence\u201d to bolster their verdicts?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":121246920,"featured_media":405655,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","_crdt_document":"","advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[691838384,691820739,691833962,691818056,691825931,691838383,691825930],"class_list":{"0":"post-405653","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","6":"hentry","7":"category-uncategorized","8":"tag-partnership-journalism","9":"tag-cbs-news","10":"tag-climate-central","11":"tag-climate-change","12":"tag-climate-judiciary-project-cjp","13":"tag-climate-related-stories","14":"tag-environmental-law-institute-eli","16":"fallback-thumbnail"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/AQMF2RC5Jjji6Dch8PzY9wqxn3ftNQ_aF3yvJAIvmBTDh4pwINZnWSYWX8C_NV-wmkmLV7wy9TQFYmjMP5g8qHYDqbddPY38n64DIGhAT3j8F8Yc1p1AUYClmitVw-HUn9hQhjugba7wX8OJVoy_xC9OjBKQ-2.jpeg?fit=1280%2C1280&ssl=1","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/paxLW1-1HwN","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":226191,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=226191","url_meta":{"origin":405653,"position":0},"title":"Kudos to Fox News for Summarizing the Top Issues Liberal Media Outlets Have Blamed on Climate Change","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"10\/28\/2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Liberal media outlets have long been infatuated with doomsday predictions about\u00a0climate change,\u00a0with journalists blaming a wide variety of sociopolitical issues, like hate speech and terrorism for the ongoing increase in global average temperature.","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/0climate-change-bogeyman-sign-164956680_m.jpg?fit=1200%2C718&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/0climate-change-bogeyman-sign-164956680_m.jpg?fit=1200%2C718&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/0climate-change-bogeyman-sign-164956680_m.jpg?fit=1200%2C718&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/0climate-change-bogeyman-sign-164956680_m.jpg?fit=1200%2C718&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/0climate-change-bogeyman-sign-164956680_m.jpg?fit=1200%2C718&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":263237,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=263237","url_meta":{"origin":405653,"position":1},"title":"Wrong (Again), CBC, Climate Change Isn\u2019t Causing a Decline in Wine Production","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"06\/21\/2023","format":false,"excerpt":"For the second time in the space of two months CBC, Canada\u2019s public broadcaster, ran a story claiming climate change is harming wine production, particularly in Canada. 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