In debate on climate change, exaggeration is a common pitfall

Effective communication of information on global climate change, especially the science behind it, can be quite complicated given the biases that exist on both sides of the debate.  The article from the New York Times analyzes how exaggerations of the facts on climate change can influence public opinion of the issue. On one side, those who believe human activity is responsible for the problem often go too far by linking all changes in environmental disasters to climate change (which may not be the case).  On the other side, climate change skeptics also distort the truth to make their argument seem more realistic, with one example being the statement that ice cover expanded rather than decreased (this was later clarified).  The end result of this is that much of the population remains confused on the issue of global climate change, which can prevent action from taking place. 

Regardless of what you believe (in terms of what is responsible for global climate change), the effective communication of this information is critical and must be improved.  How to do this remains the question, as uncertainties still exist.