Finding agreement about global warming

Global warming is a hot-button issue, and today's special report on the subject is likely to be inflammatory for some readers.

Titled "The truth about global warming," the report concludes that "scientists overwhelming agree: the Earth is getting warmer at an alarming pace, and humans are the cause — no matter what the skeptics say." Even Sandi Doughton, who wrote the story, would have been surprised by that statement just a year ago. In fact, she was.

At a forum for science writers last year, several speakers involved with climate science complained that skeptics of global warming get equal treatment in news coverage, as if scientists are hopelessly divided on the question. The speakers insisted they are not.

"It was news to me. I had no idea," Doughton recalls. She had covered the topic casually but had the impression that scientists disagreed about global warming. She chatted with friends who had the same impression, including the assumption that nothing could be done. Most said, "I don't even want to think about it."

Doughton, who has been a science writer for The Seattle Times since early 2004, set out to explore the position of the forum speakers. "I didn't accept it at face value as I went into the story," she said, but it wasn't long before she concluded the speakers were right.

Her story states flatly, "Every major scientific body to examine the evidence has come to the same conclusion: The planet is getting hotter; man is to blame; and it's going to get worse."

She said the story tries to lay out for people what the consensus is within the scientific community and how it was reached. "This story only goes as far as the scientific conclusion is solid," she said.

The consensus accumulated gradually over 50 years and has built on itself very carefully. A science historian is quoted as saying that most scientists didn't originally believe global warming could become a serious problem but were gradually convinced by the facts.

Doughton said scientists live by attacking each other's ideas and looking for the weaknesses and flaws, and the consensus about global warming "has stood up to that scrutiny." It has gotten stronger in recent years, as climate science has gotten more sophisticated and there has been better sharing of global information.

Much of the evidence for global warming is presented in a stunning full page of charts and graphs that were researched by Doughton and Whitney Stensrud and Kristopher Lee of The Times' news-presentation department. Richard Wagoner, who edited today's report, said the full-page graphic was the most effective way to lay out the evidence that supports the scientific consensus.

Doughton's story also examines the forces behind the perception that science is divided about global warming. Among those are small groups of dissenters whose views have been amplified through Web sites, politics and the media. "There is a lot of misinformation out there," she said.

The media contribute by trying to balance stories with conflicting views, even if those views don't have equal weight scientifically. Editor Wagoner makes the point that balanced isn't fair if it is misleading about the facts.

"The people who are the experts on this subject are telling us the problem is real. I just have to respect their expertise," he said.

Doughton examined various arguments of the skeptics and concluded, "There's practically nothing there." She said nearly all of the points raised by skeptics have been discredited and discarded by mainstream scientists. Readers who question that should pay close attention to the stories labeled "Setting the record straight."

Today's report steers clear of what to do about global warming, but Wagoner thinks the continuing debate about the science of global warming slows possible progress toward solutions. "It would be better to debate those questions more vigorously, rather than keep fighting over the science."

Getting a boost

I chose to write about global warming this week because the topic is so politically charged, but I also want to draw your attention to another important story. Called "Getting a boost," it is a three-part series on the latest information about what athletes are doing to gain a competitive advantage.

Times reporter Greg Bishop talked to 25 experts and several other athletes and coaches. He discovered that steroids essentially are yesterday's news. The next frontier is gene doping, where athletes will change their DNA to suit the physical needs for the particular sport they're playing.

Right now, there is no test for that. Today's first part of the series calls into question whether there will ever be a level playing field; whether the testers will ever catch up with the takers. The series, which raises important social issues, continues through Tuesday in The Times Sports section.

Inside The Times appears in the Sunday Seattle Times. If you have a comment on news coverage, write to Michael R. Fancher, P.O. Box 70, Seattle, WA 98111, call 206-464-3310 or send e-mail to mfancher@seattletimes.com. More columns at www.seattletimes.com/columnists