I keep checking, but today is not April 1st:<\/p>\n
\nIn the Fox News universe, the world is definitely not warming. Quite the opposite: Climate change is \u201cbunk,\u201d a spectacular hoax perpetrated on the rest of us by a cabal of corrupt scientists. But while embracing climate skepticism may be good for ratings, the execs at Fox News\u2019 parent company, News Corp., don\u2019t see it as good for the long-term bottom line. By the end of this year, News Corp. aims to go carbon neutral \u2014 meaning that the home of \u00fcber-global warming denialists like Sean Hannity and Glenn Beck may soon be one of the greener multinational corporations around.<\/p>\n
News Corp. announced its plan in May 2007 with a groundbreaking speech from chairman Rupert Murdoch. \u201cClimate change poses clear, catastrophic threats,\u201d declared Murdoch. \u201cWe may not agree on the extent, but we certainly can\u2019t afford the risk of inaction.\u201d Formerly skeptical about global warming, Murdoch was reportedly converted by a presentation from Al Gore \u2014 whom Fox News commentators have described as \u201cnuts\u201d and \u201coff his lithium\u201d \u2014 and by his green-leaning son James, who is expected to inherit his business empire.<\/p>\n
But Murdoch wasn\u2019t acting out of altruism. For News Corp., he said, the move was \u201csimply good business.\u201d (Fox News barely mentioned the boss\u2019 remarks.)<\/p>\n
Murdoch\u2019s logic was that higher energy costs are inevitable, given coming carbon regulations and dwindling supplies of conventional fuels such as oil. So why not get ahead of the game? \u201cWhatever [going carbon neutral] costs will be minimal compared to our overall revenues,\u201d the media mogul has remarked, \u201cand we\u2019ll get that back many times over.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n