Bari Weiss, Free Press, and Climate Reporting

“Someone is wrong in this clash of climate views. And it is far less Bari Weiss than it is Emily Atkin, a cultist figure (“when I take mushrooms, the last things I want to do is think about climate change“) in the fire of climate exaggeration and despair.”

“At The Free Press, Weiss consistently rebrands tired fossil fuel talking points as courageous, rebellious dissent,” states Emily Atkin at her website HEATED. But reviewing her examples, it is Atkin and not Bari Weiss who needs to rethink climate alarmism and forced energy transformation. The Climate Industrial Complex is nothing to be supported, much less proud of, by even the Progressive Left.

Here are 11 articles that Atkin does not like (reproduced verbatim). But each one has elements of truth to knock down the narrative that HEATED so vehemently wants to prop up.

• “Climate Change Did Not Cause The L.A. Fires.” This is a Q&A interview with Steve Koonin, a former BP scientist hired by the Trump administration to co-author a report downplaying the severity of climate change. He argues wildfires aren’t getting worse due to climate change, and that climate change isn’t that big a deal. (Climate impacts are not that serious).
• “The Truth About Climate Change ‘Lies Somewhere in the Middle’” This is yet another Q&A interview with Steve Koonin, in which he argues the U.S. will always need fossil fuels and downplays the severity of the climate problem. (Climate impacts are not that serious).
• “Stop Making Plane Turbulence About Climate Change.” This op-ed argues that reporters must stop linking plane turbulence to climate change because the science isn’t 100 percent certain yet. (Climate impacts are not that serious).
• “I Helped Make Standing Rock Go Viral. Now I Regret It.” This first-person essay from a former climate activist who is now The Free Press’s social media editor documents her transition to “Free Thinker,” in part by reading fossil fuel lobbyist Alex Epstein’s book. She writes: “Do fossil fuels cause our planet to warm? Yes. They also make modern life possible, freeing women from hours of labor and empowering us in a million different ways.” (Fossil fuels are the only path to prosperity).
• “Everybody Freeze! It’s the Climate Police.” This is an op-ed by an anonymous author called “Doomberg” railing against a Canadian city’s air quality and climate ordinance to ban remote car starters. (Solutions are impossible/improbable).
• “Divesting from Big Oil is an Empty Gesture.” In this op-ed, longtime climate policy naysayer Joe Nocera argues that fossil fuel divestment is “pointless” and “useless.” (Solutions are impossible/improbable).
• “Earth to Democrats: Americans Still Love Fossil Fuels.” This op-ed by a fellow at the American Enterprise Institute–a conservative think tank funded by fossil fuel billionaires–argues that Americans love fossil fuels and hate climate policy so Democrats should just abandon it. (Solutions are impossible/fossil fuels are the only path to freedom).
• “The Triumph of the Plastic Straw.” This op-ed celebrates the return of the plastic straw, which includes accusations that the media and activists have lied about the severity of climate change to create panic. (Climate impacts are exaggerated).
• “I Thought Climate Change Would End the World. I Was Wrong.” This is an op-ed by Ted Nordhaus. Its title is fairly self-explanatory. (Climate impacts are exaggerated).
• “I Left Out the Full Truth to Get My Climate Change Paper Published.” A first-person essay by scientist Patrick T. Brown claiming he left out non-climate factors driving wildfires in order to get a paper published. (Climate impacts are exaggerated)
• “Climate Activism Has a Cult Problem.” A first-person essay by a former Extinction Rebellion activist saying the people he used to work with were gross because they left dishes in the sink and didn’t wear shoes in the office. (Solutions are impossible/improbable).

Why yes! Climate exaggeration about LA fires or doomsday is real. The truth does lie somewhere in the middle. The airplane turbulence argument is far-fetched. Plastic straws are not the hill to die on. Peer review is biased against non-alarmism. Climate cultism is real. Fossil fuels are consumer-driven and a servant of humankind.

Final Comment

Atkin admits to a predispositon to agree with Weiss and the mission of Free Press.

In theory, I should be a fan of The Free Press, the outlet founded by Bari Weiss. The publication preaches “honesty, doggedness, and fierce independence.” I founded HEATED on the same principles. The Free Press also promises to chase stories “that are ignored or misconstrued in the service of an ideological narrative.” Similarly, my mission has always been to pursue climate stories that challenge profit-driven ideological narratives about the crisis.

Someone is wrong in this clash of climate views. And it is far less Bari Weiss than it is Emily Atkin, a cultist figure (“when I take mushrooms, the last things I want to do is think about climate change“) in the fire of climate exaggeration and despair.

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Related posts:

HEATED/Atkin: Retrenchment, Burnout, Questioning (January 2, 2025)

“Psychedelics for Climate Action” (Tripping in Church of Climate) August 7, 2024

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