This is what we're up against

As Hurricane Sandy was wreaking havoc on the East Coast, commentators on Fox News repeatedly claimed that the storm had "nothing to do with climate change."¹

Hurricane Sandy's impact was undeniably worse because of rising sea levels caused by global warming—but because our opponents are desperate to keep science out of our political discourse, they tried to hide this fact from you and me. That's not just misleading. It's dangerous.

Fox News is willingly, and with full knowledge of their errors, denying science. We don't say things like that lightly. We're scientists, so we ran the numbers and found that 93 percent of Fox News Channel's coverage of climate science was misleading or outright false.²

We need you to help set the record straight. Your support will allow us to reach out to reporters and editors across the country in 2013, so we can share the scientific facts and advance policies that will help protect and prepare our cities and states for the impacts of climate change.

Don't stand by while science is under attack by the likes of Rupert Murdoch, Bill O'Reilly, and Sean Hannity. Become a UCS member today, and together we'll show the media and policy makers that facts matter.

Sea levels could rise up to 3.3 feet in the next 80 years.³ Most Americans are connecting the dots between our changing climate and the extreme weather we've seen in recent years—from forest fires to flooding from intense storms—and this is our moment to make sure the conversation continues.⁴ But very powerful and cynical interests are trying to keep the public in the dark.

Many Americans unquestioningly accept what they hear on TV or through the internet as undisputed fact. That's why we're out there fighting misrepresentations of global warming in the popular media. We have relationships with reporters from New York City to Toledo to Sacramento, and they look to us as a trusted source of facts to counter the distortions and hysteria whipped up by climate deniers.

It's also why we're leading the charge on some of science's most promising solutions to the challenges of our time: cutting harmful pollution, investing in the rapid expansion of renewable energy, and protecting our cities from sea level rise.

Pitch in to become a UCS member today and stand up for science-based solutions to our planet's most pressing problems.

Together, we are very publicly taking on the media moguls and pundits who spread misinformation. Our groundbreaking report about Fox News and the rest of News Corporation was picked up by outlets across the country, and we backed it up with tens of thousands of signatures calling them out for their distorted coverage. Members of the UCS community power these kinds of campaigns—and we can't win without you.

The fact that you're reading this email means you aren't afraid to take on powerful interests when objective science is on our side. A healthy planet, a safer world, the wellbeing of our families—that's what's at stake here. Thank you for your support.

Sincerely, Kevin Knobloch President