Man Bites Dog: Extreme Weather and Climate Change Lead National Newscast

The lead story of last night's PBS NewsHour covered recent extreme weather events in the context of global climate change. The 8-minute segment included an extensive interview with Thomas Karl, Director of the National Climatic Data Center. In a stunning reversal of recent churnalistic practices, the message was not diluted by representation of phony skepticism (except in the spittle-flecked comments online). The real question, of course, is what happens to coverage of the issue when records are not being broken so spectacularly.

The intro:

JUDY WOODRUFF: The past 12 months are the warmest ever recorded in the United States since record-keeping began in 1895. That word comes as a new report from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says climate change, including human factors, has increased the odds of extreme weather. . .

Watch Extreme Weather Records 'Like a Baseball Player on Steroids' on PBS. See more from PBS NewsHour.