Chieftain article provided uncontested platform for global warming skeptic's views

Summary: Reporting March 11 on a speech given by emeritus physics professor Howard C. Hayden at Rotary Club 43 in Pueblo, The Pueblo Chieftain uncritically reported his claims about the "hype surrounding the issue of global warming." However, the article omitted any mention of the widely reported scientific consensus that rising global temperatures are caused primarily by human activity.

In a March 11 article, The Pueblo Chieftain reported criticisms of Howard C. Hayden, emeritus professor of physics at the University of Connecticut, about "[t]he hype surrounding the issue of global warming," including his claim that "the increased carbon-dioxide levels that global-warming promoters keep talking about is nothing new." However, the Chieftain did not note the scientific consensus that rising global temperatures are not part of a natural cycle and that climate change is being caused primarily by human activity, as Media Matters for America has repeatedly documented.

The Chieftain reported that "[t]he hype surrounding the issue of global warming is a bunch of hot air, a retired physics professor told members of Rotary Club 43 on Monday." The article continued:

"Global warming is not a problem," Howard C. Hayden said. "Go find something useful to do."

Hayden is an emeritus professor of physics from the University of Connecticut and now resides in Pueblo West.

Hayden, who spoke at the Rotary Club's weekly meeting, offered a skeptical view of global warming.

"This is not a view you'll hear from Al Gore," Hayden said, prefacing his slide show presentation.

Hayden said the global-warming issue is fueled by scare tactics backed by "big money."

The article did not note that former Vice President Gore and the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) were awarded the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize "for their efforts to build up and disseminate greater knowledge about man-made climate change." It also failed to point out that organizations such as the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) and the IPCC share the consensus view that, as stated in a June 2006 NAS report, "human activities are responsible for much of the recent warming" of the planet.

The Chieftain further reported, "Hayden claimed that much of what is being advertised about global warming issues such as the melting polar ice caps, greenhouse gases and changes in carbon dioxide levels is not factual," and continued:

"Yes, the polar ice caps are shrinking ... on Mars," he said, "On Mars, the ice caps are melting and small hills are disappearing."

Hayden added that there is warming occurring on Jupiter, Saturn and Triton.

He said the increased carbon-dioxide levels that global-warming promoters keep talking about is nothing new. He said the levels of carbon dioxide have been rising and falling for more than 400,000 years.

As Colorado Media Matters has noted, numerous scientists have dismissed the claim that warming on uninhabited planets suggests that global warming on the Earth is not likely caused by human activities.

Hayden lists himself as editor of The Energy Advocate, a "monthly newsletter promoting energy and technology." He also is the author of The Solar Fraud: Why Solar Energy Won't Run The World (Vales Lake Publishing, 2005).

—C.H.