Are you feeling like the top TV political journalists aren't paying attention to the hottest topic going these days? You're not alone.

According to the League of Conservation Voters, in the more than 120 interviews and debates with the presidential candidates in 2007, five major political show hosts collectively asked 2,275 questions. Of those, the journalists only uttered the words “global warming” or “climate change” three times. In addition, the hosts only asked 24 questions on issues related to the climate crisis, such as fuel efficiency standards and oil subsidies.

That's why the League launched a nationwide campaign to take the journalists -- Chris Wallace, Tim Russert, George Stephanopoulos, Wolf Blitzer and Bob Schieffer -- to task for ignoring the issue of global warming in the presidential election. The group launched a great Web site at www.whataretheywaitingfor.com to showcase a video documenting the absurd questions these five journalists are asking instead.

“Combating global warming is the single greatest challenge of our generation. The scientific community has warned that ‘time is running out,’” says League of Conservation Voters President Gene Karpinski. “Which begs the question: What are these journalists waiting for?”

Russert, of NBC, fared the worst of the five, asking zero questions that mentioned global warming. He was nearly tied with Stephanopoulos, who had no questions mentioning global warming of the 661 he posed. Wallace, of Fox News Sunday, fared the best -- relatively -- with a whopping two questions on global warming of 427 asked.

LCV launched a petition to these five journalists calling on them to publicly acknowledge that the science on global warming is settled and that it presents an urgent threat. The group also called on the journalists to make the issue a priority in their interviews with all candidates.

“The decisions our next president makes on global warming will determine our future,” Karpinski added. “It is time for these journalists to focus on the human race, not the horse race.”

For a more extended discussion on the issue, check out Dot Earth, an environmental blog run by Andy Revkin, a veteran reporter at the New York Times.

Newsletter Issue

• Ecopolitics Monthly --- January 2008