#kcci

A TV meteorologist in Des Moines resigned as a result of harassment from climate deniers.

A small but loud and aggressive group on the far right thinks it can cancel science when it contradicts their ideological extremism.

After spending the last two years as chief meteorologist at Des Moines news station KCCI, a CNN affiliate, (Chris) Gloninger announced Wednesday he is resigning as one of the many faces of local TV weather. His departure comes months after receiving a series of harassing emails from a viewer who disagreed with one thing he did on-air: he explained how weather was linked to the climate crisis. He also received other negative feedback via private messages and social media, which has become a common experience for weather and climate communicators. The decision was not easy, Gloninger told the Washington Post, but in a tweet announcing his exit, he cited a “death threat stemming from my climate coverage” which he said resulted in post-traumatic stress.

Death threats directed at people advocating real science are nothing new. We know how Galileo was persecuted by the Catholic Church for daring to prove Copernicus correct.

The emails from the viewer, according to screenshots Gloninger’s tweeted, called the meteorologist a “liberal conspiracy” theorist and told him to “go east and drown from the ice cap melting.” It escalated last summer when he received a more menacing threat from the viewer. “It is mentally exhausting and at times I have not been ok,” Gloninger tweeted at the time. “The threat of course was concerning, but the stream of harassing emails is even more distressing.” Gloninger said he plans to “embark on a new journey dedicated to helping solve the climate crisis,” in addition to spending more time with family. His last day is on July 7. A statement from KCCI about his departure said Gloninger plans to go into climate consulting: “Gloninger is leaving television to focus on caring for his family and his own mental health. He plans to pursue work in climate consulting.” Gloninger’s experience is not an isolated one. Climate change has become a highly politicized topic, despite hundreds of global scientists concluding it is “unequivocal” that humans have caused the crisis and that “widespread and rapid changes” have already occurred around the world. Climate communicators, journalists, meteorologists and national weather services, including those in the US, Spain and Australia, have reported an increase in harassment, threats and abuse for connecting extreme weather events to climate change.

Some climate stripes to stick it to those halfwit climate deniers.

There's an organization called 3.14 Action which is dedicated to electing more people with a science background to Congress and to public office in general.

3.14 Action | Electing scientists who will use evidence and facts to fight climate change and fix our broken healthcare system.

One of their successes in 2022 was helping meteorologist Eric Sorensen get elected to the US House from a swing district in Illinois.

“Appropriated native culture” -- really? You’re magnifying her repeating a family story and enlarging it to impugn her entire career? Her entire career which has been successful academically and politically while Bernie spent his entire 30 years sitting on his ass in Congress.  

Berniecrats dismiss his sexist and racist past like “sure he wrote articles about women liking rape oh wait he was actually kidding”  He wrote that girls having underage sex was great then coincidentally voted against a national Amber Alert bill. Weird. Move along. Nothing to see there. He voted against holding gun manufacturers liable for their products and when he was governor he shipped toxic waste across the country to be buried in a minority community.  Berniecrats:  “sure he did all that.  But the past is the past. He’s moved on.  I’m willing to forgive him.”  

Look at the body language in that video. Look at Warren’s hands and the way Bernie is literally reaching beyond her hands and toward her body.  Look at the way he’s leaning in toward her while he’s talking. We have the audio: She’s made the comment (”You just called me a liar on national TV”) and he doesn’t answer her -- although he could have said no -- but instead he starts leaning into her body space and gesturing instead.  If Warren did that to Bernie, she’d be called aggressive. It is aggressive. It’s dismissive. You may be willing to forget Bernie’s inconvenient past but it’s on full display right there.