New York Times columnist Elizabeth Rosenthal lamented the vanishing cogerage of climate change in America in her article, Where Did Global Warming Go? The about-face by many Republicans on the topic of global warming since the 2008 elections has been well-documented, but the irresponsible neglect of global warming as a critical issue by the American news cycle, of course, has not been. Almost all of the Republican hopefuls have taken some version of Texas Governor Rick Perry’s tact, which is to say that the, “science is not yet settled” on global warming (if you consider 99% of unaffiliated climatologists agreeing, ‘not settled’). However, public concern about the issue has also waned, being replaced by concerns that seem to trump the widespread devastation that we’re already seeing from climate change; concerns like the stagnant economy and high joblessness. Granted, individuals are going to be more worried about these pressing issues. However, new polls show that the public very belief in global warming is waning.

Rosenthal’s article points to this decline in the urgency of responding to global warming’s threat as an isolated phenomenon. Not, for instance, the result of her paper and other major news outlets neglect of the issue. Rosenthal writes in her article that, “This fading of global warming from the political agenda is a mostly American phenomenon.” As other nations are taking actual steps toward creating policies and implementing programs to offset climate change, the U.S. has largely dismissed it as either a fringe platform or neglected to say anything about it.  To the American public, it has lagged behind other environmental concerns from its peak of public awareness in 2006. According to a Pew Poll cited in Rosenthal’s column, 56% of Americans believe that the earth is warming, down from 79% in 2006. In other nations, including the EU, China, and India, programs like cap-and-trade continue to expand and air quality regulations continue to be bolstered to fight the spread of atmospheric emissions. The U.S. has actually repealed a number of environmental regulations, including the House passed bill to repeal incinerator emissions regulations passed last week.

Why is the U.S. lagging behind the rest of the global community in fighting climate change? Rather than answering that question, Rosenthal points to the difference between conservatism in the U.S., and conservatism in the rest of the world. Where many governments are seeing greener energy and infrastructure as an economic opportunity, she says, conservatives in the U.S. have turned skepticism of manmade global warming into a prerequisite for elections. Rather than pinning all of the blame on conservatives (though they’ve certainly done their part), what responsibility does the media have in sustaining public and political will to fight global warming?

A significant amount, as Dr. Robert J. Bruille of Drexel University, who the NYT has previously quoted as an “expert”. Bruille told Think Progress, “A major factor not mentioned in this article is the collapse of any significant coverage climate change in the media.  We know that 2010 was a record low year,  and 2011 will probably look much the same.  If the media doesn’t draw attention to the issue, public opinion will decline.” As news organizations play a significant role in the awareness, information, and propagation of public opinion, how does a major newspaper lament the decline of global warming in public sentiment without exploring its own role in it? The U.S. is quickly become an environmentally backwards player, and earning a reputation as such in the global community.