Weather Channel Not Political...Yeah, Right!

Dr. Heidi Cullen, who apparently sees herself as the Joe Friday ("just give me the facts") of the meteorology industry (yes, it's an industry, follow the $), has stirred the contoversial waters surrounding the global warming debate in a recent blog post. In her blog, she suggests that any meteorologists who do not embrace the doctrine (really only a theory) of human-caused global warming should not carry the AMS Seal of Approval. She claims that her opinion is not political but factual. In the video in which she responds to the controversy surrounding her recent blog post, she seeks to convince us that she is not pushing a political agenda or seeking to stifle discussion on this controversial issue and reasserts both herself and the Weather Channel as being apolitical.

Who does she think we are? A bunch of blooming idiots? The first image I saw when I went to the video section of the Weather Channel website was a picture of a polar bear with the headline "Will President Bush save the Polar Bear?" Scroll down a little on the library offerings and watch 2006 Hot List Highlights and see Al Gore himself. Not political? Yeah, right!

Dr. Cullen is entitled to her educated guess as to the cause of "global warming" if there is indeed such a thing. But to suggest that simply because her opinion matches the majority does not mean that the minority opinion holders must be stripped of their "accreditation" by the AMS. Dr. Cullen should focus on conquering weather prediction for the next 24 hours before thinking about how to strip her collegues of their credentials if they don't agree with her on a subject that is much broader and complex and POLITICAL.