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

Global Warming Denial Machine

Virginia judge tosses out Cuccinelli attempt to subpoena Michael Mann’s records

Posted on Monday, August 30, 2010

An Albemarle County Circuit Court judge has set aside a subpoena issued by Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli to the University of Virginia seeking documents related to the work of climate scientist and former university professor Michael Mann, the Washington Post has reported.

U.S. Chamber of Commerce again challenges legality of EPA greenhouse gas regulation

Posted on Wednesday, August 25, 2010

On August 13, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce filed a petition for judicial review to challenge the legality of the EPA’s decision not to reconsider its determination that greenhouse gases pose a threat to human health and welfare and are to be regulated under the Clean Air Act. While claiming that the lawsuit “does not address the science of climate change,” the Chamber has a history of questioning climate science to fight off regulation, including the assertion that warming of even 3 degrees Celsius over the next century would be “beneficial to humans” and a call to put “the science of climate change on trial.”

Judge hears Virginia AG Cuccinelli’s climate science ‘fraud’ case, will rule within 10 days

Posted on Saturday, August 21, 2010

After hearing oral argument August 20 on the University of Virginia’s petition to block Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli’s document demands relating to research of former UVa climate scientist Michael Mann, Judge Peatross ruled that he would need more time to make a decision. One has to wonder how many Virginia voters are following this story and finding Cuccinelli’s anti-science inquisition offensive, or realizing how retrograde it makes their state look to have a right-wing prosecutorial zealot as Attorney General.

Univ. of Virginia protest against Cuccinelli climate scientist witch hunt August 20

Posted on Thursday, August 19, 2010

University of Virginia faculty, students and alumni will gather Friday afternoon August 20 to protest against Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli’s witch hunt against former UVA Professor and leading climate scientist Michael Mann. The protest is timed to coincide with the ruling of a Virginia Circuit Court judge who is set to rule on whether to allow Cuccinelli’s frivolous investigation to continue.

‘Merchants of Doubt’ responsible for climate confusion - book review

Posted on Sunday, August 01, 2010

Climate Science Watch readers who have not yet done so are urged to check out the new book Merchants of Doubt, by Naomi Oreskes and Erik Conway. Accurately called “powerful” by The Economist, Merchants of Doubt: How a Handful of Scientists Obscured the Truth on Issues from Tobacco Smoke to Global Warming tells a compelling and illuminating story that should shake up the views of even some of the global warming skeptics. See Details for review and video interview with Naomi Oreskes.

Video Update: While at Netroots Nation, CSW spoke with Naomi Oreskes and Erik Conway about the internet as a tool for climate change education:

Turning the tables: Virginia AG Cuccinelli under investigation for climate probe by Greenpeace

Posted on Tuesday, July 06, 2010

Greenpeace has filed a Freedom of Information request with Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli’s office asking for records of his communications with climate change ‘skeptics’ and ‘conservative’ organizations such as the Competitive Enterprise Institute, the Committee for a Constructive Tomorrow, and the Cato Institute. Greenpeace is seeking to expose some of the inner workings of the network of denialists who are attempting to discredit the work of certain climate scientists and stop EPA from regulating greenhouse gas emissions, SolveClimate reports.

Leading US climate scientists are being subjected to a barrage of right-wing lunatic hate mail

Posted on Monday, July 05, 2010

The UK Guardian reported July 5 on how some of the leading US climate scientists are being subjected to a “vitriolic campaign” of hate mail, some of it quite menacing. US authorities appear to be doing little about it, in part because the hate speech put out by popular right-wing commentators and the bizarre and sometimes vicious e-mail they seem to inspire among some of their followers is protected under US law. The Guardian quotes Stephen Schneider, Kevin Trenberth, Michael Mann, and Gavin Schmidt in the U.S. and several scientists in the U.K. Schneider is quoted as saying he has “observed an ‘immediate, noticeable rise’ in emails whenever climate scientists were attacked by prominent right-wing US commentators, such as Glenn Beck and Rush Limbaugh.” Michael Mann, too, notes that “the emails come in bursts, and do seem to be timed with high-profile attack pieces on talk radio and other fringe media outlets.” Thus the toxic, degenerating situation in the US. We have an aggressive disinformation campaign aimed at intimidating the climate science community—in part by singling out for attack some of those who have made the effort to communicate essential climate science findings to policymakers and their fellow citizens.

Interview with Michael Mann on the Penn State Final Report and the war on climate scientists

Posted on Thursday, July 01, 2010

Climate Science Watch interviewed Michael Mann on the release of the Penn State University “Final Investigation Report” on allegations of misconduct levied against Dr. Mann late last year by climate change ‘skeptics’ and denialists. The report concluded that there is “no substance” to the allegations. We also asked Dr. Mann about ongoing attacks on the credibility of climate science and on the integrity of climate scientists, and about his recent comments about the iconic ‘hockey stick’ graph of the global temperature record. See Details for video and transcript.

IPCC, key target of war on climate science, announces 831 experts to author Fifth Assessment Report

Posted on Friday, June 25, 2010

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has announced its selection of 831 authors and review editors for the IPCC Fifth Assessment Report to be published in 2013-2014. In light of the denial machine’s war on climate science, which seeks to delegitimize the IPCC and lay a predicate for rejecting any unwelcome conclusions of the forthcoming reports, we expect they will find a way to challenge the author selection and subsequent steps of the IPCC process.

Record Rains Pummel Oklahoma City as State’s Senator Inhofe Continues to Deny Climate Change Science

Posted on Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Just days after Senator James Inhofe (Republican, Oklahoma) said he could not find one conclusion of the Intergovermental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) that “has now not been refuted,” Oklahoma City yesterday (14 June 2010) experienced its heaviest rain in history. In 2007, the IPCC concluded that “the frequency of heavy precipitation events has increased over most land areas, consistent with warming and observed increase of atmospheric water vapor.” It furthermore warned that it was “very likely” that the trend would continue during this century. [Re-posted from World Wildlife Fund Climate Blog posting of 15 June 2010]

University petitions court to quash Cuccinelli subpoena of climate scientist Michael Mann’s papers

Posted on Friday, May 28, 2010

The University of Virginia has petitioned a state court to “set aside” Attorney General Cuccinelli’s not-so-civil Civil Investigative Demand that it turn over a mass of former UVa Prof. Michael Mann’s documents and e-mail correspondence with 39 other scientists. The university’s action shows some backbone and exemplifies the pushback we should see in responding to political witch hunts aimed at the science community. The petition defends academic freedom and indicates how Cuccinelli’s demands fail to meet the basic requirements of state law. See Details for petition text.

ABC World News: Climate Scientists Claim ‘McCarthy-Like Threats’

Posted on Sunday, May 23, 2010

ABC-TV World News on May 23 aired a story about how some leading climate scientists are being subjected to a smear campaign by global warming deniers, with hate communications and an attempt to criminalize their activity. Scientists Michael Mann of Penn State and Gavin Schmidt of NASA appeared in the segment, as did arch-denier Sen. James Inhofe and propagandist-provocateur Marc Morano.

Nine ways to undermine Virginia AG Cuccinelli’s McCarthyite demand for scientists’ communication

Posted on Friday, May 21, 2010

Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli’s effort to subpoena Prof. Michael Mann’s documents and e-mail correspondence with 39 other scientists would establish a precedent for essentially destroying the ability of university faculty to correspond with colleagues with any sense of confidentiality—a terrible precedent if it is allowed to succeed. To oppose Cuccinelli’s action with pushback on multiple fronts, we can think of at least nine kinds of action that can be taken – by Prof. Mann, by the University of Virginia, by the science community, by the media, and by others. Fortunately, a number of such appropriate actions are already being taken or are under consideration.

Letter from 255 National Academy members on Climate Change and the Integrity of Science

Posted on Friday, May 07, 2010

The letter, from 255 members of the National Academy of Sciences, including 11 Nobel laureates, begins: “We are deeply disturbed by the recent escalation of political assaults on scientists in general and on climate scientists in particular. It says: “We call for an end to McCarthy-like threats of criminal prosecution against our colleagues based on innuendo and guilt by association, the harassment of scientists by politicians seeking distractions to avoid taking action, and the outright lies being spread about them.” Apparently, a strongly worded statement from many of our most esteemed scientists, about climate science and a controversy that is very much in the news and fundamental to our future, is considered unworthy of space in the New York Times, the Washington Post, and the Wall Street Journal. All three rejected the 700-word, op-ed length letter before it was published in the May 7 issue of the journal Science. See Details for full text of statement and list of signers.

Free the Cuccinelli 40: Virginia AG demands e-mails of Michael Mann and 39 other scientists

Posted on Wednesday, May 05, 2010

Virginia’s combative right-wing state Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli has issued a “Civil Investigative Demand” calling on the University of Virginia to turn over a large quantity of material about climate scientist Michael Mann, who was at the University during 1999-2005. Among the documents he is demanding are all e-mail and other communications to or from Mann and 39 other scientists, or referencing them. This latest McCarthyite inquisition, by yet another agent of the global warming denial machine, is taking fire even from climate ‘skeptics’ who are no friends of Mann. It sends a chilling message about academic freedom and the freedom of scientists and others to communicate with each other without fear that their communications will be published.

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