ClimateScienceWatch |
Promoting integrity in the use of climate science in government |
Climate Science Watch is a nonprofit public interest education and advocacy project dedicated to holding public officials accountable for the integrity and effectiveness with which they use climate science and related research in government policymaking, toward the goal of enabling society to respond effectively to the challenges posed by global warming and climate change. See Details |
Climate Science Watch Director Awarded Ridenhour Prize for Truth-Telling
Posted on Thursday, April 13, 2006
The Third Annual Ron Ridenhour Awards were presented on April 4 at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. The Ridenhour Awards “seek to recognize and encourage those who persevere in acts of truth-telling that protect the public interest, promote social justice or illuminate a more just vision of society.” The 2006 awards were given to Gloria Steinem, Anthony Shadid, and Rick Piltz.
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IPCC Draft Climate Change Assessment Report Posted for Government and Expert Review
Posted on Thursday, April 13, 2006
The government review of the second-order draft of “Climate Change 2007: The Physical Science Basis”—the Working Group I contribution to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Fourth Assessment Report—has been initiated. The U.S. Climate Change Science Program Office is coordinating the solicitation of comments by U.S. experts and stakeholders to inform development of an integrated set of U.S. Government comments on the report. The question remains: How will the U.S. Government address the mainstream climate science synthesized in the report?
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House Science Committee Chair Calls for Reform of NOAA Public Affairs Policy
Posted on Wednesday, April 12, 2006
House Science Committee Chair Sherwood Boehlert (R-NY) sent a letter on April 7 to Vice Admiral Conrad Lautenbacher, Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), in response to an April 6 story in The Washington Post on concerns expressed by NOAA scientists. In the letter Mr. Boehlert says: “The issue of climate change is too important to countenance any scientists feeling intimidated or constrained about discussing the matter…” and calls on Lautenbacher to “swiftly” take five specific steps to remedy the problem.
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Thomas Jefferson Center gives 2006 “Muzzle” award to Rep. Joe Barton
Posted on Wednesday, April 12, 2006
On April 11, the 2006 Annual Jefferson Muzzle Awards were announced by the Thomas Jefferson Center for the Protection of Free Expression in Charlottesville, Virginia. For 15 years, the Jefferson Muzzle Awards have “honored” those individuals and institutions that committed the more egregious or ridiculous acts of censorship in the past year. Among the “winners” of the 2006 Jefferson Muzzles is U.S. Representative Joe Barton—“For taking action that appears to blur the line between scientific research and politics.”
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Washington Post reports “Climate Researchers Feeling Heat From White House”
Posted on Sunday, April 09, 2006
On April 6 the Washington Post ran a 1400-word article on political interference with federal climate scientists, focusing primarily on the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The article draws on interviews with several scientists who report instances in which they contend that administration political pressure has impeded the flow of scientific communication about climate change and its implications. Two of the cases discussed in the article involve James R. Mahoney, until very recently the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere and Director of the U.S. Climate Change Science Program.
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Temperature Trends Report Resolves Discrepancy Between Surface and Tropospheric Warming
Posted on Sunday, April 09, 2006
According to a new synthesis report on “Temperature Trends in the Lower Atmosphere,” previously reported discrepancies between the amount of warming near the surface and higher in the atmosphere that have been used to challenge the validity of climate models and the reality of human-induced global warming have been resolved. The report, commissioned by the U.S. Climate Change Science Program and drafted by the leading scientists in this research area, concludes that recent evidence has increased confidence in the understanding of observed climatic changes and their causes.
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President claims human influence on global warming is fundamentally in question
Posted on Sunday, April 02, 2006
At a March 29 press briefing, in response to a question about global warming, the President said, “Well, first of all, the globe is warming—the fundamental debate, is it manmade or natural?” In a March 31 interview on KPFK-FM in Los Angeles, Climate Science Watch Director Rick Piltz said, “For the President to say there is a “fundamental debate” about that—that’s misrepresenting the intelligence on an issue of tremendous importance to the future of this society, in order to conform the intelligence to a predetermined political position.”
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Government Accountability Project memo to climate scientists on new NASA media policy
Posted on Sunday, April 02, 2006
In December 2005, NASA climate scientist Dr. James Hansen was threatened with “dire consequences” by a political appointee for statements he made about the implications of climate change that were seen as inconsistent with the administration’s political agenda. In the wake of strong public criticism of this heavy-handed attempt at censorship, on March 30 NASA Administrator Michael Griffin released a statement and a new information policy to govern how the agency will deal with the news media. An analysis of the new policy by the Government Accountability Project (GAP) identifies areas that GAP considers an improvement, but also says “in six critical areas the new policy falls short of genuine scientific freedom and accountability, and potentially undermines the positive guarantees.”
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ABC News: Was Confusion Over Global Warming a Con Job?
Posted on Sunday, April 02, 2006
On March 26 ABC News aired two back-to-back segments on global warming. One addressed the question: “The vast majority of scientists have determined global warming to be a real threat. So why has it taken so long to convince Americans?” The story included interviews with Virginia state climatologist Pat Michaels, journalist Ross Gelbspan, and Rick Piltz of Climate Science Watch. The text of the story, “Was Confusion Over Global Warming a Con Job? Some Claim Disinformation Campaign Attempted to Create the Impression Scientists Were Broadly Divided,” was posted on the ABC World News Tonight Web site.