Nothing subtle about Bloomberg Businessweek's thoughts about the cause of Hurricane Sandy.
Known for its arresting cover designs since editor Josh Tyrangiel took over, Businessweek shouted the connection between the East Coast disaster and climate change in all caps on a bright red front page Thursday, pairing a photo of a flooded New York City street with the headline, "IT'S GLOBAL WARMING, STUPID."
And Tyrangiel dismissed off the bat the brouhaha he expected from right-wing deniers of climate change.
"Our cover story this week may generate controversy," he tweeted early Thursday morning, "but only among the stupid."
"Yes, yes, it’s unsophisticated to blame any given storm on climate change," Paul M. Barrett wrote in the opening to the story. "Men and women in white lab coats tell us — and they’re right — that many factors contribute to each severe weather episode. Climate deniers exploit scientific complexity to avoid any discussion at all."
But, he added, "The issue was MIA during the presidential debates and, regardless of who wins on Nov. 6, is unlikely to appear on the near-term congressional calendar. After Sandy, that seems insane."
Indeed, despite chatter on Twitter and Facebook and in some major print media about the connection, the Huffington Post's Michael Calderone noted its absence from discussion on most cable news networks.
And Tyrangiel's tweet naturally prompted criticism from skeptics.
"The author of the @Tyrangiel touchstone-for-intelligence piece doesn't even bother with historical data, which as we've seen is revelatory," tweeted Joshua Teviño, a conservative pundit and former speech writer for President George W. Bush.
Atlanta-based political blogger Jim Nichols, whose most recent post dubs the Financial Times a "left wing rag" for endorsing President Barack Obama, also weighed in.
"I predict a drop in @BW subscriptions here in Georgia," he tweeted, before hashtagging the message, "#RedStateRevolt #notYourTargetAudienceAnyways."
