A national headline of late borders on ominous: “Heat Wipes Out Western Snowpack, Raising Fears of Drought, Wildfire.”
The record mild winter, the story begins, brings higher risks of summer forest fires and water shortages. And whatever precipitation spring can muster won’t make up for historically meager snowfalls.
Deeper into the unsettling article though one comes across an optimistic chord, struck by a state water commissioner no less whose job it is to worry about diminished moisture:
“This is not our first drought, and we will get through this challenging time, but we need everyone to help out this summer in case drought conditions persist into next year and beyond.”
The sky is warming, in other words, but it’s not falling.
It was around this same time last year that I too warned of above normal temperatures hastening our snowmelt, creating among other challenges a heightened risk of summer wildfires.
Making matters worse, or so I opined, the early spring runoff followed directly on the heels of Elon Musk and Co. eliminating several dozen Flathead National Forest positions, firefighters included.
Talk about making the most of a difficult situation.
“We are still working through staffing changes, with the overall goal of improvement to our public services,” came the upbeat response from the forest supervisor’s office in Kalispell.
And as for those worrisome wildfire predictions, the Flathead Valley was virtually smokeless for once.
Still, as I write this column, there’s further “breaking” news: “Scientist Says ‘Strongest El Niño in 140 Years’ is Coming,” which “could impact food prices and global temperatures.”
I’m done biting.
One of the primary roles of journalism is to alert the public to potential catastrophic events, but to do so ethically—presenting all sides of the story to ensure balance and accuracy, while skipping the hype and doomsday scenarios.
Not being “sensational.”
Depending on the media outlet and topic, upwards of 35 percent of accessible news stories today fall into the exaggerated category.
Digital writers, in particular, are trained to trigger emotional responses through “clickbait.” The juicier the subject matter—read sex, politics, crime and climate—the more clicks (revenue).
There’s even “embedded sensationalism” in stories that people are oblivious to.
That said, calamities in Montana are mostly of the garden-variety, occurring naturally in the environment without human intervention: droughts and wildfires, hail and floods, blizzards and deep-freezes (and frozen pipes).
Temporary inconveniences for the most part, with utmost thanks to the brave firefighters and other first responders (plumbers included).
Now, whenever Chicken Little comes calling, I suggest taking a deep breath and remembering the promise of the water commissioner: “we will get through this challenging time.”
We always do.
John McCaslin is a longtime journalist and author who lives in Bigfork.