We tried. We really tried. We sent out the warning. So no one should have been surprised by this latest FUBAR...
From "60 Minutes". Oh, yes. That's right. The once venerated "TV news magazine" managed to screw up another story.
This time, it involved electric car maker Tesla. "60 Minutes" ran a story on Tesla's Model S. The story included footage of the Model S engine roaring as the car accelerated... And immediately, fact checkers everywhere realized CBS "News" fell flat on its face yet again. The Tesla Model S' engine doesn't roar at all, since it's an all electric engine.
OK, so "60 Minutes" screwed up its Tesla story. Why should we even care about this? Perhaps because Nevada is a finalist in the race to secure a new Tesla battery factory? No really, Tesla is already eyeing Reno for its gigafactory.
And once again, we're reminded of the fact that there's no such thing as a "Cleantech Crash". There is such a thing, however, as protocol for fact checking. Maybe CBS "News" should try adopting one?
And perhaps so should G-O-TEA politicians? Texas is enjoying a "wind boom". Australia is benefitting from record renewable energy production. Mexico is building Latin America's largest "solar farm" to replace an old oil power plant. India nearly doubled its solar power capacity last year. And throughout this nation, 2013 broke records in solar powered job creation.
Yet even as Republican lawmakers here and elsewhere are chasing after the Tesla gigafactory, their "TEA" powered allies are trying to thwart the kind of progress that made Tesla possible. Apparently, they don't buy their own "free market" rhetoric. And they don't care about "JOBS!" like they claim to when they're out to kill any kind of positive climate action.
Once again, we're being reminded of the potential of charging ahead to a green powered future. Believe it or not, that future looks awfully bright... If we actually pursue it. Think about this: Do we really want to sit here 20 years from now, thinking of how we refused to listen to the warnings? Or do we want to sit back and enjoy that brighter future?
Showing posts with label 60 Minutes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 60 Minutes. Show all posts
Tuesday, April 1, 2014
Tuesday, January 7, 2014
Crash (Goes CBS "News")
Did you know "Cleantech" has crashed? We didn't. But apparently, it did... Because CBS "News'" "60 Minutes" told us so.
As of late, it seems like the once revered flagship "TV news magazine" has been receiving a "fair & balanced" makeover. CBS News is still under fire for the now infamous "60 Minutes" Benghazi report that turned out to be nothing but an error filled attempt to sell a book. And now, CBS is also in the hot seat over a recent "60 Minutes" report on Amazon's new drone program that turned out to be nothing but an Amazon infomercial. Yet despite these major league embarrassments, "60 Minutes" producers don't seem to be all that worried about the free-falling reputation of their show.
Case in point: This past Sunday's "Cleantech Crash" report. The San Jose Mercury News' clean energy reporter has already debunked the "60 Minutes" piece. So has Cleantechnica. And Think Progress has posted an interview with the clean energy expert featured on "60 Minutes" (whose words were twisted when featured on that show).
Here's what "60 Minutes" oh so quickly glossed over when bashing federal clean energy investment: The very Department of Energy Loan Guarantee Program that "60 Minutes" attacked for rewarding failure actually has a 97% success rate! Do you know how many Wall Street investors would sacrifice their parents and/or children on the altar of Mammon to obtain that kind of success rate? Actually, you probably don't want to know. However, we should all remember the rule of thumb for private sector venture capitalists, which is that 3 out of 4 startups fail on average. So it was oh so easy for "60 Minutes" to find examples of "Cleantech Crash", even though it would have also been easy for "60 Minutes" to find many examples of "Cleantech Success".
There's a reason why such "wild eyed lib'rulzzz" as Governor Brian Sandoval (R) and the entire State Senate Republican Caucus have been rushing to encourage more clean energy investment in Nevada. There's a reason why California has been seeing a lot of green lately. And there's a reason why much of the rest of the world is cashing in on the green evolution. Here's a hint: #GreenMeansGreen.
Oh, and let's not forget the reason why much of the world is looking to clean energy for a brighter future. Here's a hint: climate change. Not once did "60 Minutes" mention climate change in its "Cleantech Crash"hit piece story. Regardless of the near term profitability of renewable energy, we must wean ourselves off fossil fuels for the sake of our longer term survival. Yet on Sunday, nary a word was peeped on climate during the once revered flagship "TV news magazine". Oh, how the mighty have fallen.
Frankly, the only "crash" revealed this past Sunday was the reputation of CBS "News". And since it's bringing back the very reporter who botched the Benghazi story, we probably shouldn't expect any better any time soon. Oh, how the mighty have fallen.
As of late, it seems like the once revered flagship "TV news magazine" has been receiving a "fair & balanced" makeover. CBS News is still under fire for the now infamous "60 Minutes" Benghazi report that turned out to be nothing but an error filled attempt to sell a book. And now, CBS is also in the hot seat over a recent "60 Minutes" report on Amazon's new drone program that turned out to be nothing but an Amazon infomercial. Yet despite these major league embarrassments, "60 Minutes" producers don't seem to be all that worried about the free-falling reputation of their show.
Case in point: This past Sunday's "Cleantech Crash" report. The San Jose Mercury News' clean energy reporter has already debunked the "60 Minutes" piece. So has Cleantechnica. And Think Progress has posted an interview with the clean energy expert featured on "60 Minutes" (whose words were twisted when featured on that show).
Here's what "60 Minutes" oh so quickly glossed over when bashing federal clean energy investment: The very Department of Energy Loan Guarantee Program that "60 Minutes" attacked for rewarding failure actually has a 97% success rate! Do you know how many Wall Street investors would sacrifice their parents and/or children on the altar of Mammon to obtain that kind of success rate? Actually, you probably don't want to know. However, we should all remember the rule of thumb for private sector venture capitalists, which is that 3 out of 4 startups fail on average. So it was oh so easy for "60 Minutes" to find examples of "Cleantech Crash", even though it would have also been easy for "60 Minutes" to find many examples of "Cleantech Success".
There's a reason why such "wild eyed lib'rulzzz" as Governor Brian Sandoval (R) and the entire State Senate Republican Caucus have been rushing to encourage more clean energy investment in Nevada. There's a reason why California has been seeing a lot of green lately. And there's a reason why much of the rest of the world is cashing in on the green evolution. Here's a hint: #GreenMeansGreen.
Oh, and let's not forget the reason why much of the world is looking to clean energy for a brighter future. Here's a hint: climate change. Not once did "60 Minutes" mention climate change in its "Cleantech Crash"
Frankly, the only "crash" revealed this past Sunday was the reputation of CBS "News". And since it's bringing back the very reporter who botched the Benghazi story, we probably shouldn't expect any better any time soon. Oh, how the mighty have fallen.
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