On June 26, 2009, the House passed an energy bill 219-212 that aims to reduce heat-trapping gases in the atmosphere that are associated with climate change by setting a cap on emissions (Broder, 2009, “House”). This issue was a huge priority for both President Obama and Speaker Nancy Pelosi, with Obama calling the bill’s passing “a bold and necessary step” (Broder, and Hulse, 2009). Obama lobbied for the bill in the House to encourage reduced greenhouse gas pollution by 17 percent, greater energy independence, lower energy costs, and the creation of millions of jobs in renewable energy fields (Broder, 2009, “Obama”). In a way, the bill was a compromise between environmentalists and industry.

Party lines clearly influenced the vote, with eight Republicans voting for the bill and 44 Democrats voting against it (Broder, “House”).  Republicans generally opposed the bill because of the effects on taxes, and more liberal and progressive Democrats from the country’s coasts are interested in the prospects for renewable energy – unlike conservative Democrats from U.S. geographical regions of coal and manufacturing (Broder).

Several groups showed support for the bill while others staunchly opposed it; for instance, Dow Chemical and Ford Motors interestingly supported the bill while Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth actually opposed the bill, along with the National Association of Manufacturers (Broder, “House”); the environmental groups mentioned did not support the bill because they considered its terms to be too much of a compromise over the health of the environment. Additionally, various political figured demonstrated their support for the bill, including Secretary of State Clinton, former Vice President Al Gore, and German Chancellor Angela Merkel (Broder). The United States Chamber of Commerce representing businesses supported the bill, but taxpayers generally oppose the burdens the bill could impose upon them (Krugman, 2009).

Finally, in a poll by Rasmussen Reports, three out of five voters say developing new sources of energy is more important than reducing the amount of energy the nation currently uses; also, 40 percent of voters think climate change is a vital issue, but they are divided as to whether humans are to blame (2009). With that said, 37 percent of Americans at least somewhat favor the bill while 41 percent are at least somewhat opposed and 22 are unsure.

The media certainly could have affected public attitudes toward the issue as well as the creation and passage of the bill; voters make decisions based on the information they receive from the media, while legislation is often affected by public opinion. In fact, a number of watchdog groups exist that aim to police the way the media – particularly mainstream media – report information pertaining to climate change; such groups include Greentech Media, Climate Change Media Partnership, and ECOresearch. And all of these groups differ in opinions as to whether climate change is adequately or accurately reported. Andrew Revkin, a blogger for The New York Times, believes that the media fails to report the nature of the problem of climate change and instead writes more in quantity than quality (Revkin, 2008). Meanwhile, NOW claims that media coverage of global warming is just a lot of “political heat” with no real worrisome basis (NOW, 2006). The Yale Forum on Climate Change & The Media states that the media tends to overuse polls and statistics, thus blowing up the issue (Wihbey, 2009).

It would seem that the media has failed to do its job reporting on climate change, as the bill passed with the majority of the American public opposed to the bill (and perhaps this opposition is the result of faulty reporting…). President Obama may have followed the numbers, going along with his campaign idealism and stressing that “we cannot be afraid of the future” (Broder, “Obama”). Former President George W. Bush would clearly follow their own agenda without necessarily taking public opinion and administrative initiatives into account, and in spite of the cries by Krugman and other journalists/political followers to get his head in the climate-change game (Krugman, 2009). I personally support the bill as a cap-and-trade measure that could lead to moves toward renewable energy, but I also find it difficult to say that I fully support the bill because I don’t feel that I have enough information to be so confident, especially considering what the media may or may not share.

Works Cited

Broder, J. M. (2009, June 25). Obama Lobbies Lawmakers on Energy Bill. NYTimes.com. Retrieved July 24, 2009, from http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/06/25/obama-lobbies-lawmakers-on-energy-bill/?scp=4&sq=Obama%20bill&st=cse

Broder, J. M. (2009, June 26). House Passes Bill to Address Threat of Climate Change. NYTimes.com. Retrieved July 24, 2009, from http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/27/us/politics/27climate.html

Hulse, Carl (2009, June 27). Climate Change Bill may Be Election Issue. NYTimes.com. Retrieved July 24, 2009, from http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/28/us/politics/28cong.html?scp=1&sq=climate%20change%20bill&st=cse

Krugman, P. (2009, May 17). The Perfect, the Good, the Planet. NYTimes.com. Retrieved July 24, 2009, from http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/18/opinion/18krugman.html

NOW (2006, February 10). The Political Climate. PBS.org. Retrieved July 24, 2009, from http://www.pbs.org/now/science/climatemediaint.html

Rasmussen Reports (2009, June 30). 42% Say Climate Change Bill Will Hurt The Economy. Rasmussen Reports. Retrieved July 24, 2009, from http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/current_events/environment/42_say_climate_change_bill_will_hurt_the_economy

Revkin, A.C. (2008, March 5). Do the Media Fail to Give Climate its Due? Dot Earth, featured on NYTimes.com. Retrieved July 24, 2009, from http://dotearth.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/03/05/do-the-media-fail-to-give-climate-its-due/?hp

Wihbey, John (2009, June 16). Polls and Surveys Grab Media Headlines; But Beware Polling Pitfalls on Climate Change. The Yale Forum on Climate Change & The Media. Retrieved July 24, 2009, from http://www.yaleclimatemediaforum.org/2009/06/beware-polling-pitfalls/