NYT Discovers 'Weather Catastrophes' While Climate Bills Die Yearly
The New York Times declares 'Weather Catastrophes Escalated at a Record Pace' (NYT Politics, Oct 22, 2025), a groundbreaking insight for anyone who hasn't been breathing. What's notably absent from this urgent dispatch, however, is any deep dive into the political drought gripping Washington whenever serious climate action is proposed. One might wonder how many record-breaking catastrophe bills we
need before media connects the dots between a melting planet and the politicians blocking meaningful environmental legislation. While climate change devastates communities, the same politicians who vote down climate bills are often the recipients of fossil fuel industry largesse. (OpenSecrets.org data consistently tracks millions in donations from oil, gas, and coal to congressional members,
dwarfing contributions to pro-climate groups.) The Times documents the symptoms without interrogating the political antibodies preventing a cure. It's almost as if some stories are too 'catastrophic' for the 'news'.