Zack Polanski has called for government intervention to address climate misinformation in the media after a Mail article described this summer’s weather as ‘glorious.’
Over the last few weeks, the UK has suffered record-breaking heat and prolonged dry weather. This has resulted in wildfires tearing through parts of the country and droughts being declared across all of Wales and most of England.
The conditions are the clear result of climate change, and things are only likely to get worse and more extreme over the coming years.
But, despite the pictures of burnt-out houses, bone-dry countryside, and thousands of acres of devastated natural areas, large parts of the media still reckon this is just a normal summer.
This was shown over the weekend when the Mail on Sunday published an article praising the summer weather and name-checking Green Party leader Zack Polanski, who has been vocal in his anger at the lack of action in addressing the huge issues climate change poses to the UK.
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The piece, written by right-wing writer Ross Clark, carried the headline, ‘Sorry Zack Polanski, this long hot summer is not the apocalypse – it’s like a gloriously long holiday in France… with village green cricket thrown in for good measure.’
Sharing a screenshot of the piece on social media, Polanski said it was evidence that the press must be regulated more.
He wrote: “It’s time we sorted out the press. Constant misinformation to protect their donors and fossil fuels is destroying lives and our planet.
“The Government must step up and stop being cowardly.”
It seems the British press has a serious problem with its coverage of the climate. Earlier this summer, analysis of the press coverage of the June heatwave – when temperatures reached almost 40C – found that three-quarters of UK media stories made no mention of the climate crisis.
It was also pointed out in response to Polanski that the picture used in the article, showing luscious green grass, was from almost 10 years ago and that the area looks very different currently.
And in case any of you are reading this thinking that there is in fact nothing to worry about with this summer’s weather and it’s no different to the hot weather of years gone by, here’s a graph for you to cast your eyes over.