Climate Researchers Feeling Heat From White House

Jeff K writes "Facts and science collide with tribal loyalties, the Washington Post reports: 'Scientists doing climate research for the federal government say the Bush administration has made it hard for them to speak forthrightly to the public about global warming. The result, the researchers say, is a danger that Americans are not getting the full story on how the climate is changing.'"

Comments

Re:Well

[meringuoid]

People also need to realize that using energy is not necessarily bad, it's the pollution that is bad. If those SUVs get terrible mileage, it's not necessarily bad if they don't pollute. Your little 4-banger from the early 80's may get great mileage but it pollutes a lot worse than a modern SUV.

The pollution in question is carbon dioxide. One litre of petrol will produce the same amount of carbon dioxide when burned, regardless of the engine in which the burning takes place. Hence, as far as global warming is concerned, the fuel-efficiency of your vehicle is all-important.

Of course, there are other pollutants in car exhausts, against which measures the new-but-inefficient car may perform better, but that's a separate issue.

Re:Your skin is not melting

[gowen]

I believe the literal understanding of Genesis is the most likely explanation of what happened, although it .... may be figurative or symbolic or something.

Look, if you truly believe the literal understanding of Genesis, then you don't think its figurative or symbolic. That's what literal means. It means "not figurative or symbolic".

So, you either believe the literal word of Genesis, or you believe it might be figurative. And if you're truly a fundamentalist, its the former.