Kyoto Protocol
The Kyoto Protocol has been a source of hot political, economic and environmental debate ever since it was introduced as a means of cutting the Carbon Dioxide (CO₂) emissions of major countries around the world. . And the debate has grown even stronger as the federal government increases its push to ratify the Kyoto Protocol within the year. The protocol calls for a 9% reduction of CO₂ emissions from 1990 levels by the year 2010. The print media's reporting of this issue appears to be both for and against the Kyoto Protocol and is never quite neutral in the information it chooses to release. Their information is centered around political views rather than impartial scientific data. On the whole, the print media's reporting of the environmental issues surrounding Kyoto is disturbing when compared to the more balanced approach of scholarly journals. The media's information is often sensational and highly emotional rather than based upon fact alone."Canada's ratification of the Kyoto accord will have an 'imperceptible' impact on Edmonton's economy" (Brooymans), and "Kyoto plan fails to ease fears" (Varcoe and Schmidt C1) are both examples of print media reporting that carries a very alarmist tone. It is often
The articles examined did not have illustration or graphs of any kind to help explain the issue. Similarly, Brooymans article in The Edmonton Journal derives all of its quotes from the federal government and a world renown ecologist who give their view of the Kyoto Protocol. The bias is intentional because they are trying to support their point of view on the issue. That contrasts greatly with the scholarly journals that try to remain focused on the science of the issue instead of the politics. The newspaper articles rely heavily on figures and facts given from political persons with political motivations. It is neither alarming nor reassuring; it merely portrays the facts of the issue based on research and modeling. In general, the newspaper media seems more concerned with the political and economic facets of the protocol. The topic of the journal article may be for one side or the other, but the critical point is that it is based on the research of previous scientists as well as the author's own research. Both sides of the issues are not represented and therefore the information that is given has been skewed and the public may not even realize it. Given the amount of media coverage surrounding the Kyoto Protocol, it is very discomforting to see the poor reporting job done on this environmental issue. This article also relies heavily on sources from one side and is therefore biased. The established technique of cost-benefit analysis provides the appropriate framework to this objective" Instead of focusing on the political debate surrounding Kyoto, the scientific journals attempt to explain or determine the costs associated with the protocol in both environmental and pure economic terms. hard to tell whether it is the media itself or special interest groups who are responsible for this kind of rhetoric.
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Acceptance Essays
