Junk Appointments
Is global warming nothing more than "Junk Science" as Fox News and conservative pundits such as Rush Limbaugh are noted for saying?
Not according to Representative Henry Waxman (Democrat) who stated that "we need to get the facts and rely on federal scientists and agencies to give Congress and the public the true facts about this global threat. Yet the preliminary evidence we're seeing from the White House suggests that the administration may have taken a very different approach. If the documents we have seen so far are representative, it appears that the White House installed a former oil industry lobbyist as the chief of staff for the Council on Environmental Quality and then systematically sought to prevent the Environmental Protection Agency from reporting on dangers to health, the environment and the economy."
What's this all about? It seems that the Bush White House appointed Philip Cooney to the position of chief of staff of the Council on Environmental Quality. Cooney has been altering environmental reports to suit the Bush administration's tortured view of the environment.
Joining other scientists complaining about improper edits of their reports, NASA climatologist Drew Shindell, testifying on 1/30/2007 before the Committee on House Oversight and Government Reform Committee cited improper edits by Cooney of his work prior to release to the public. For example, the scientist report said "Changes observed over the last several decades are likely mostly the result of human activities.”
Cooney altered the report to say: “A causal link between the build-up of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere and the observed climate changes during the 20th century cannot be unequivocally established.”
Ah yes, more Newspeak wisdom from the Ministry of Truth:
FREEDOM IS SLAVERY
IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH
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Update:
The Union of Concerned Scientists, a private advocacy group, and the Government Accountability Project, a legal-assistance group that represents whistle-blowers, sent out the survey to 1,600 scientists. Surveys were returned by 308 scientists. Not all answered every question, but the survey found that:
* 43 percent of respondents reported edits during review of their work that changed the meaning of their findings.
* 46 percent felt administrative requirements that impaired climate-related work.
+ 67 percent said the environment for federal government climate research is worse now than five years ago.
The groups urged lawmakers to ensure “scientists’ constitutional right to speak about any subject in their private lives and allowing scientists to make ultimate decisions about the communication of their research.”
“The new Congress must act to prevent the continued interference with science for political purposes,” said GAP attorney Tarek Maassarani. “A good first step would be for Congress to amend current whistle blower protections to specifically protect the rights of federal government scientists.”
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