Here we go again: hundreds of thousands evacuated from eastern Zhejiang province, while the ever-so-reliable mainstream media flails about in confusion over how to cover it. You can always count on outlets like CNN to latch onto the sensational, yet somehow manage to downplay the urgency. Their headline might say “Mass Evacuations Due to Storm,” but skim deeper, and you’ll find a lackluster analysis of what these evacuations truly represent—real human lives uprooted versus what they deem a “natural disaster.”

Then you have Fox News, who will likely take this as an opportunity to scramble together clips of past storms and throw in some fear-mongering rhetoric about government inefficiency. Make no mistake, their concern is less about the people and more about ratings. You won’t find any honest discussion about climate change’s role here, nor will you hear them calling for real accountability from corporations dumping waste into our atmosphere.

Both sides are failing the public by missing the bigger picture. The reality is simple: we need to focus on the very real consequences of inaction regarding our environment, instead of getting sidetracked by fleeting images of destruction. This is about human lives, not just another box to check off for their 24/7 news cycle.