Journalistic values — whether code of ethics-style values like truth, context and fairness, or news-style values like impact, novelty and human interest — are nothing to be shy about and can make for great journalism. But some values can be distorted and drag journalism down a dead end, argues the new WatchDog Opinion. Two environmental cases where false balance does damage.
"An Indonesian archipelago that’s home to three-fourths of Earth’s coral species, a stretch of Icelandic coast with 70% of the country’s plant life and an area along Angola’s Atlantic coast featuring savannahs, forests and estuaries are among 26 new UNESCO-designated biosphere reserves. The United Nations cultural agency says the reserves — 785 sites in 142 countries, designated since 1971 — are home to some of the planet’s richest and most fragile ecosystems."
"JBS, the world's largest meat company, has indirectly bought cattle raised illegally on indigenous land in Brazil, according to a Greenpeace investigation released on Thursday."
"The world’s oceans have failed a key planetary health check for the first time, primarily due to the burning of fossil fuels, a report has shown. In its latest annual assessment, the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research said ocean acidity had crossed a critical threshold for marine life."
"Politicians who push small reactors raise false hopes that splitting atoms can make a real dent in the climate crisis."
"The world is producing too much coal, oil and natural gas to meet the targets set 10 years ago under the Paris Agreement, in which countries agreed to limit climate pollution and avoid the worst effects of global warming."
"Infection rates from drug-resistant “nightmare bacteria” rose almost 70% between 2019 and 2023, according to a new report from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention scientists."
"Scores of instruments are peering down through Earth’s atmosphere, finding pollution all across the globe every day."
"Pooja Tilvawala knows it’s a gamble to use more than $46,000 of her own savings to help young people get to the United Nations climate summit in Brazil. But she thinks it’s a necessary one."
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