(Facetious) Congratulations to National Geographic  for having turned up another apparently credible climate change denier tucked in a far corner of the world.

Admittedly, NatGeo reports that Russian astronomer Habibullo Abdussamatov is “completely at odds with the mainstream scientific opinion” when he argues that a recent melting on Martian icecaps proves that global warming is caused by the sun’s rays. But Abdusssamatov gets the headline, while the overwhelming majority of credible astronomers are relegated to the second page of the NatGeo website.

It is yet another example of the media’s preoccupation with lonely (sometimes looney) voices. No wonder the public remains convinced that the scientific community is still locked in a legitimate debate over climate change. When a journalistic institution like National Geographic is this careless in presenting the science, how can casual observers hope to make informed conclusions?