Environmental Watch

In the recent Seattle Times story "Climate change takes toll on coffee growers, drinkers too," the reporter argues that climate change has had a significant impact on coffee. "Yields in Costa Rica have dropped dramatically in the last decade," the Times wrote, "with farmers and scientists blaming climate change for a significant portion of the troubles."  But there are factual problems with the story.  It is an excellent example of how a compelling story can lead reporters to mistake local anecdotes for global scientific data.

Read the March 2011 Environmental Watch here.