Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Commentary
  • Published:

Media discourse on the climate slowdown

We must not fall victim to decontextualized and ahistorical media accounting of climate trends.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Relevant articles

Open Access articles citing this article.

Access options

Buy this article

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

References

  1. Gitlin, T. The Whole World is Watching (Univ. California Press, 1980).

    Google Scholar 

  2. Hajer, M. in The Argumentative Turn in Policy Analysis and Policymaking (eds Fisher, F. & Forester, J.) 45–46 (Duke Univ. Press, 1993).

    Google Scholar 

  3. Carter, B. There IS a problem with global warming... it stopped in 1998. The Telegraph (9 April 2006); http://go.nature.com/D9CSlh

  4. Kosaka, Y. & Xi, S-P. Recent global-warming hiatus tied to equatorial Pacific surface cooling. Nature 501, 403–407 (2013).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Hansen, J., Sato, M. & Ruedy, R. Global temperature update through 2012. (15 January 2013); http://go.nature.com/loo2Iv

  6. Balmaseda, M. A., Trenberth, K. E. & Källén, E. Distinctive climate signals in reanalysis of global ocean heat content. Geophys. Res. Lett. 40, 1754–1759 (2013).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Hall, S. Representation: Cultural Representation and Signifying Practices (Sage, 1997).

    Google Scholar 

  8. Luntz, F. The Environment: A Cleaner, Safer, Healthier America 131–146 (The Luntz Research Companies, Straight Talk, 2003).

    Google Scholar 

  9. Naming Global Warming (ActionMedia, 2005).

  10. Hilgartner, S. & Bosk, C. L. The rise and fall of social problems: a public arenas model. Am. J. Sociol. 94, 53–78 (1988).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. Ogburn, S. P. How media pushed climate change 'pause' into the mainstream. Energy and Environment Daily (4 November 2013); http://go.nature.com/3rxT35

  12. Morano, M. UK Daily Mail: 'Global warming stopped 16 years ago' according to UK Met Office 'quietly released' report — 'Pause' in warming lasted about same time as when temps rose, 1980 to 1996. (Climate Depot, 13 October 2012); http://go.nature.com/T9opcu

  13. Lloyd, G. IPCC head Pachauri acknowledges global warming standstill. Global Warming Policy Foundation (23 February 2013); http://go.nature.com/rnQLMt

  14. Pappas, S. Climate change disbelief rises in America. LiveScience (16 January 2014); http://go.nature.com/ki1Dma

  15. Mooney, C. Global-warming denial hits a 6-year high. Mother Jones (17 January 2014); http://go.nature.com/TvkUsz

  16. Boykoff, M. & Olson, S. Wise contrarians' in contemporary climate science–policy–public interactions. Celebrity Stud. 4, 276–291 (2013).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  17. Brulle, R. J. Institutionalizing delay: foundation funding and the creation of US climate change counter-movement organizations. Climatic Change http://doi.org/f2pdbh (2013).

  18. Delacourt, S. Putting on and taking off that election face. Toronto Star (7 December 2005).

  19. The Hindustan Times An ecological disaster waiting to happen. The Hindustan Times (24 October 2010).

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Maxwell T. Boykoff.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Boykoff, M. Media discourse on the climate slowdown. Nature Clim Change 4, 156–158 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1038/nclimate2156

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nclimate2156

This article is cited by

Search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing