Comment to State Department on Keystone XL pipeline "National Interest Determination"

Posted on March 6, 2014 by Climate Science Watch
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U.S. Department of State headquarters, Washington, DC (Wikimedia Commons)

U.S. Department of State headquarters, Washington, DC (Wikimedia Commons)

Secretary Kerry already knows the answer to the question of whether granting a permit for the Keystone XL pipeline is in the national interest: the pipeline is not in the U.S. interest and it is not in the global interest. Climate Science Watch Director Rick Piltz submitted the comment below on the State Department's Presidential Permit Application: TransCanada Keystone Pipeline, L.P, National Interest Determination. Continue reading →

Posted in Climate Change Mitigation, Climate Science Watch, Obama Administration, Science-Policy Interaction | 6 Comments

John Holdren: Drought and Global Climate Change: An Analysis of Statements by Roger Pielke Jr

Posted on March 4, 2014 by Rick Piltz
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Obama science adviser John Holdren would not normally draft a 6-page rebuttal to statements about climate change impacts by a non-climate-scientist academic and blogger. But in this case Holdren was challenged in prosecutorial tones at a recent Senate Environment Committee hearing by Sen. Pete Sessions (D-Alabama). Sessions, a right-wing denialist, used fodder provided by Roger Pielke Jr. and others to virtually accuse Holdren of deliberately misleading the country on drought and climate change for political purposes. This is the role Pielke has come to play in American politics. Continue reading →

Posted in Congress: Legislation and Oversight, Science Communication | 2 Comments

More on Mann v. National Review et al.

Posted on March 3, 2014 by Climate Science Watch
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Following up on our recent post on Michael Mann's defamation lawsuit against National Review et al., we note this: Mann Vs. Steyn: Steve McIntyre Weighs In,  in response to an item posted by the Volokh Conspiracy, a 'libertarian' online legal issues blog at the Washington Post (Steve McIntyre: was Michael Mann “exonerated” by the Oxburgh Panel?). Continue reading →

Posted in Attacks on Climate Science and Scientists | 5 Comments

Keystone is about more than one pipeline

Posted on February 27, 2014 by Climate Science Watch
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2013-02-17 15.44.04"Environmentalists have decided that enough is enough," says Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-Arizona). "Keystone is about more than one pipeline. It is about establishing once and for all whether we have moved on from the disastrous Bush-Cheney view of environmental policy. … Anyone who believes it is unfair to make Keystone a litmus test of Mr. Obama’s environmental record is looking at recent history backward." Continue reading →

Posted in Activism, Energy, Obama Administration | Leave a comment

Setting the record straight on misleading claims against Michael Mann

Posted on February 25, 2014 by Climate Science Watch
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Attempts to discredit Prof. Mann and confuse the facts about his defamation lawsuits keep popping up and circulating in the blogosphere. Here we comment on issues pertaining to the conclusions of the Muir Russell investigation, Mark Steyn's response and counterclaims, and the status of the case in Canada against Tim Ball. Continue reading →

Posted in Attacks on Climate Science and Scientists, Global Warming Denial Machine | 29 Comments

McNider and Christy Style Themselves Revolutionary But Defend Inertia

Posted on February 20, 2014 by Climate Science Watch
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In a Wall Street Journal op-ed, Richard McNider and John Christy push thinly sourced, out-of-context claims about the success of climate models to argue that we really don’t know whether human-caused warming is a problem. They fancy themselves modern-day Galileos, when actually their argument reflects the vestiges of a half-century-old view that is falling to the once-novel but now steadily growing scientific evidence for climate change. Michael MacCracken: "McNider and Christy are blowing smoke." Continue reading →

Posted in Science Communication | 2 Comments

Texas Officials Turn Blind Eye to Fracking Industry's Toxic Air Emissions

Posted on February 18, 2014 by Climate Science Watch
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Texas Governor Rick Perry

Texas Governor Rick Perry

When it comes to fracking the Eagle Ford Shale, Texas government becomes a ‘wholly-owned subsidiary’ of the oil industry. The legislature’s rush to protect the oil and gas industry reflects a culture in which politics and business have become almost inseparable.

Continue reading →

Posted in Energy | Leave a comment

Fracking Boom Spews Toxic Air Emissions on Texas Residents

Posted on February 18, 2014 by Climate Science Watch
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Texas_FlagDeep in the heart of South Texas, oil and gas wells are sprouting at an unprecedented rate, making the Eagle Ford Shale one of the biggest energy booms in America. But local residents fear for their health from the air they breathe. An eight-month investigation pulls back the curtain on the dangers of releasing a toxic soup of fracking chemicals into the air and reveals how little the Texas government knows about drilling pollution in its own state. Continue reading →

Posted in Energy | Leave a comment

On Keystone XL, John Kerry, and the global interest

Posted on February 17, 2014 by Rick Piltz
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Source: NASA/Wikimedia Commons

Source: NASA/Wikimedia Commons

Secretary of State Kerry calls on developing countries to reduce their carbon emissions, while U.S. corporations push exports of coal, oil, and natural gas. In the U.S. "National Interest Determination" on whether to approve construction of the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline, how does the U.S. 'national interest' relate to the larger global interest? Are they the same? A few notes. Continue reading →

Posted in Energy, International Climate Policy, Obama Administration | Leave a comment

Harper using Canada's tax agency to intimidate anti-tar sands groups

Posted on February 14, 2014 by Climate Science Watch
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canada-flagCanada's right-wing authoritarian Harper regime is using tax audits by the Canada Revenue Agency to threaten influential nonprofit public interest groups that have criticized the government's anti-science, anti-environmental crusade, InsideClimate News reports. Not content with muzzling government researchers and shredding environmental science research, Harper appears to be intent on using the tax agency to undermine the ability of civil society groups to function effectively. Continue reading →

Posted in Global Warming Denial Machine, Science-Policy Interaction | Leave a comment