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 |
4th National Integrity in Science Conference on Rejuvenating Public Sector Science - July 11, 2008
Posted on Friday, May 16, 2008
Register now for the 4th National Integrity in Science Conference in Washington, DC, July 11, 2008. Meet with activists, scientists, and academics in our nation’s capital to discuss the diminished budgets, political interference, and declining morale that plague regulatory science. Brainstorm ways to shore up public sector science and revivify the environmental and public health protections that rely on a strong scientific foundation. Climate Science Watch is a co-sponsor of this event and CSW Director Rick Piltz will participate on a panel on “Tackling the Climate Crisis: Unleashing Government Research.”
See Details
Have things changed? What reforms are needed? Remarks at Whistleblower Week in Washington
Posted on Thursday, May 15, 2008
Climate Science Watch director Rick Piltz spoke at a Whistleblower Week in Washington event May 12, on a panel on “Scientific Freedom and the Public Good.” In addition to comments in response to questions about his own experience, he talked about the current situation with the Bush administration and the future direction of the federal climate research program and its relationship to society. See Details for full text.
See Details
Michael Gerson’s strange and evasive spinning on the Republican war on science
Posted on Thursday, May 15, 2008
In how he dismissed the conclusion that there has been a Republican war on science, Michael Gerson, former speechwriter and senior policy advisor to President Bush, struck an ethical pose in his May 7 Washington Post op-ed column but showed that he is still a spin doctor covering up for his former boss .
See Details
Administration refusal to protect polar bear from greenhouse emissions “won’t hold up in court”
Posted on Wednesday, May 14, 2008
The May 14 decision to list the polar bear as “threatened” under the Endangered Species Act “is a watershed event,” said Kassie Siegel of the Center for Biological Diversity. But “The administration’s attempts to reduce protection to the polar bear from greenhouse gas emissions are illegal and won’t hold up in court.”
See Details
How will the Interior Dept implement protection of polar bear as a threatened species?
Posted on Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne today announced that he is accepting the recommendation of U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Director Dale Hall to list the polar bear as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The listing is based on the best available science, which shows that loss of sea ice threatens and will likely continue to threaten polar bear habitat. In making the announcement, Kempthorne said, “I am also announcing that this listing decision will be accompanied by administrative guidance and a rule that defines the scope of impact my decision will have...to make certain the ESA isn’t abused to make global warming policies.” What does this mean, and what devil is in the details of how this decision will be implemented?
Use law on environmental impact statements to assess global warming implications of federal actions
Posted on Friday, May 09, 2008
A new report by the Center for American Progress proposes that the next President issue an Executive Order requiring climate change to be included as a consideration under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). “Government responsibilities are jeopardized by the lack of information about the consequences of federal actions for the emission of greenhouse gases and adaptation to changing climatic conditions,” the report says. Existing federal and state environmental laws and regulations—especially NEPA, the Clean Air Act, and the Endangered Species Act— provide the requisite legal authority to begin to mitigate and adapt to climate change. “It is not necessary to wait for new legislation to take action.”
See Details
Whistleblower Week in Washington DC panel May 12 on Scientific Freedom and the Public Good
Posted on Thursday, May 08, 2008
Scientific censorship on a range of issues including climate change will be the subject of a panel as Government Accountability Project Whistleblower Week in Washington DC events kick off on May 12. Panelists will include Celia Wexler and Tim Donaghy of the Union of Concerned Scientists, FDA drug safety whistleblower David Ross, and Climate Science Watch director Rick Piltz.
See Details
Unreleased aviation report projects more than doubling of CO2 emissions from 2000-2025
Posted on Thursday, May 08, 2008
Greenhouse gas emissions from aviation are projected to trend sharply upwards, according to a suppressed report based on information contained in U.S., European, and UK government databases maintained by regulatory agencies (Environment News Service, May 7). The U.S. needs a strategic plan to limit aviation emissions associated with climate change.
See Details
Questions for Climate Change Science Program Director William J. Brennan nomination hearing
Posted on Thursday, May 01, 2008
Here are some questions that members of the Senate Commerce Committee should have asked of William J. Brennan, acting director of the U.S. Climate Change Science Program, at his May 1 nomination hearing to be Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere.
See Details