Climbing for News
Check out this article: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/06/nyregion/06climber.html
I just saw this news report on channel 4 news. It absolutely amazed me. The NBC people were doing their report at the new New York Times building, the one that’s built “green” and happens to be built like an easy to climb lattice. Well, the NBC folk were doing two, count em: two, simultaneous reports from two, count em again: two, sides of the building where TWO (once again) people climbed the building today.
The first: Alain Roberts, aka, the French Spiderman (cuz he’s a really really good climber)(and happens to wear a spiderman costume when he climbs). He made his way up the building at 1140a this morning and hung a banner that said: “Global warming kills more people than 9/11 every week.”
Hours later, another man (less talented) climbed the other side of the building in protest of the ignorance of Malaria and the effect on children.
Both got me thinking. The report mentioned NOTHING of global warming or malaria after the facts were presented. They article and the video news report offered only commentary on the climbers and the fact they were arrested and that they commit crimes and how “hard” and “fatiguing” it was to climb this buiding. Both were arrested, Roberts his probably 45th time.
But his statement… The news media are in such a terrible denial the didn’t even report on what he was reporting (ON THE NYTIMES BUILDING)(!). When you think about his statement, you have to think about what he is saying. He is taking into account all the lives lost weekly due to global warming related causes. That means every single week, 3000+ people die from some cause that would not have happened if the earth were not overheating. I’m sure this includes famine, drought, floods, storms, heat, cold, etc…
Because there is no 40 story monster, a la “cloverfield,” called Global Warming, this crisis is NOT scary to the public. Its side effects kill, not the actual name. But in a morbid comparison: AIDs doesn’t kill, the side effects kill: colds, pneumonia, bacterial infections, etc.. because of a decreased immune system. When will the media get it??
Global warming is scary. I don’t care what Zee Mosher, the Buckminster Fuller inked man says (“He’s endangering his own life and the lives of other people.”); We are ALL endangering the lives of other people until we stop global warming.
I just guess NBC and the Times think the climbers themselves are a bigger story.
Sorry for the length, but it struck a cord.
Jamie
