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 (COâ‚‚) 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 COâ‚‚ 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 on 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 hard to tell whether it is the media itself or special interest groups who are responsible for this kind of rhetoric. While both sides of the Kyoto argument are represented in each article, they are not always given an equal voice. This form of reporting differs greatly from that of scientific journals, which convey a more balanced approach to the issue. The article Dangerous Climate Impacts and the Kyoto Protocol presents "several plausible interpretations of dangerous interference regarding particular environmental outcomes..." (O'Neill and Oppenheimer). It is neither alarming nor reassuring; it merely portrays the facts of the issue based on research and modeling. The newspaper articles rely heavily on figures and fa...