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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 |
Oceanographer Kate Moran joining Holdren’s team at White House Science Office
Posted on Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Kathryn (Kate) Moran, Professor of Oceanography and Associate Dean, Graduate School of Oceanography, University of Rhode Island, is joining the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) as a Senior Policy Analyst with expertise in oceans, the Arctic and global warming. She testified in 2008 before the Senate Environment Committee that “Narragansett Bay is already seeing the affects of climate change,” and that “we are the cause of these drastic changes to our planet, Rhode Island and Narragansett Bay and we must act now to alter this climate collision course.” This, of course, is the sort of statement that brings the denialists out of the woodwork.
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Climate change impacts in our backyards: the Southwest
Posted on Saturday, July 18, 2009
New Mexico is under such severe drought this July that state politicians are appealing to the federal government for drought relief for seven counties. Meanwhile, the rain that does fall occurs in strenuous downpours that damage agricultural crops. Record-breaking drought has hit southern Texas. And California is in such dire straits with water shortages that Interior Secretary Ken Salazar flew out last week to hear directly from farmers and other water-dependent groups. For the American Southwest, prolonged drought with critical water shortages and searing heat are the climate change signatures. This 6th post in our series delving into Global Climate Change Impacts in the United States takes a look what is happening now and what might be in store.
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Is climate change adding risks to beachgoing? (Beware riptides, jellyfish, sharks, & the “BLOB”)
Posted on Saturday, July 18, 2009
Some items gleaned from recent news accounts suggest the question: are ocean warming and rising sea level acting as a threat multiplier for common beach hazards?
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Denialist attack on EPA handling of Carlin document– Part 3: Govt Accountability Project statement
Posted on Tuesday, July 14, 2009
The global warming disinformation campaign – politicians, media, ideologue politicos - has falsely and disingenuously accused EPA of suppressing climate science and censoring a climate science whistleblower. Part 3: Statement by Government Accountability Project Legal Director on the Carlin incident.
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Denialist attack on EPA handling of Carlin global warming contrarian document– Part 2: The e-mails
Posted on Tuesday, July 14, 2009
The global warming disinformation campaign – politicians, media, ideologue politicos—has falsely and disingenuously accused EPA of suppressing climate science and censoring a climate science whistleblower. Part 2 in a series: What to make of the leaked McGartland-Carlin e-mails?
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Denialist attack on EPA handling of Carlin global warming contrarian document– Pt 1: The document
Posted on Tuesday, July 14, 2009
The global warming disinformation campaign – politicians, media, ideologue politicos - has falsely and disingenuously accused the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) of suppressing climate science and censoring a climate science whistleblower. Part 1 in a series: What to make of the Carlin document?
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Just out: “Unscientific America: How Scientific Illiteracy Threatens Our Future”
Posted on Sunday, July 12, 2009
Chris Mooney, journalist and author of the classic book The Republican War on Science, and co-author Sheril Kirshenbaum have a new book out on the steadily widening disconnect between the science community and mainstream American society. Mooney and Kirshenbaum ”explain how religious ideologues, a weak educational system, science-phobic politicians, and the corporate media have all collaborated to create this dangerous state of affairs – and how hyperspecialized scientists have thus far failed to counter it.”
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Obama talks about climate impacts and adaptation at G-8—now should take the message to U.S. public
Posted on Sunday, July 12, 2009
In his remarks on climate change and clean energy at the G8 summit on July 9, President Obama said, right up front: “The science is clear and conclusive, and the impacts can no longer be ignored. Ice sheets are melting. Sea levels are rising. Our oceans are becoming more acidic, and we’ve already seen its effects on weather patterns, our food and water sources, our health and our habitats. So every nation on this planet is at risk.” Leading with science and emphasizing the impacts of climate disruption to convey a sense of urgency is a good thing to see as part of the President’s framing of the issue – something we have not seen much of in how he has talked to the U.S. public about climate and energy policy. The President should lead public opinion by consistently emphasizing the consequences of inaction as a key driver of the need for an energy transformation.
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Climate change impacts in our backyards: the Great Plains
Posted on Thursday, July 02, 2009
How great will the Great Plains still be in the face of global climate disruption? What can we expect to see in the this vast swath of land, bordered on the west by the Rocky Mountains and on the east by Mississippi River, ranging from Wyoming and North Dakota abutting Canada all the way down to the southern tip of Texas? How will US agriculture be impacted? What are decisionmakers doing to prepare in this region? This 5th post in our series delving into Global Climate Change Impacts in the United States takes a look what is in store for the Great Plains, and how people are beginning to deal with climate consequences in this region.
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House climate bill gives White House science office lead role in guiding climate research & services
Posted on Wednesday, July 01, 2009
We talked with Climate Wire about how the “Adapting to Climate Change” subtitle of the House-passed Waxman-Markey climate change cap and trade bill is an improvement over how the bill started out in its earlier discussion draft form—in putting the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, headed by John Holdren, in the lead role for reforming the U.S. Global Change Research Program and for designing the framework for a new National Climate Service, and in creating revenue streams from emissions allowances to help fund a set of new programs to enhance preparedness and adaptation to the impacts of climate change.
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