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

do they care?

[P3NIS_CLEAVER]

It doesn't appear that US citizens even care about global warming. Maybe work on this first, or is the Federal goverment responsible for public morals?

Re:Your skin is not melting

[liliafan]

More FUD by the far-left wackjobs.

Actually more middleleft, but if you prefer to remain blinded to the reality perhaps the extra UV rays will aid your efforts.

Re:Ignorance will not be bliss ...

[codegen]

Americans will only start caring when they lose some coastal cities.

You mean like new Orleans?

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

[smooth wombat]

Of course! It's no different than the ID vs. Evolution nonsense. They keep moving the goalposts everytime new information is gathered and presented.

The recent posting about a new fossil link between water creatures moving onto land is the classic example (as is archaeopteryx). Such a creature was predicted both in the evolutionary path as well as the geologic path. And the prediction was confirmed by the discovery.

But the IDers will now say (and this was discussed ad nauseum in the postings) "Well what about the creature that came before or after it? Where are those fossils?"

So off the paleontologists go and find those fossils and the IDers repeat the same questions. Same thing here. The evidence for global warming continues to be found and expanded upon and every time the data is presented someone chimes in "But man can't affect the Earth! We're too small in the grand scheme of things."

In 1815 Mt Tamboras eruption caused the year without a summer. It spewed out roughly 40 million tons of gases and ash from April through June. In one year man produces orders of magnitude more pollutants through the burning of fossil fuels than was done in those two months. Apparently it's ok for a volcano to influence the worlds climate but when man throws out, on a continuing basis, enormous quantities of pollutants every year, well that can't have an effect on the climate.

It's time to get over ourselves. We are, to an extent, influencing global warming which may or may not be a natural phenomenon. These are facts which cannot be disputed. But as the parent poster said, as you watch the ice caps come washing over us, just remember it isn't because of mankind, President Bush says so.

The really sad part is that if prevention or at least mitigation would take place it would provide a needed boost to employment in this country. Think of all the companies who would need to expand or be created to produce the pollution control products for factories and power plants. Think of all the people who be needed to service those products.

If nothing else, think of the influx of taxes that the Republicans could use to create a bigger, more intrusive government. Think of the children and all that porn that could be banished from the interweb! Won't someone think of the children!

Misconception

[Stickerboy]

"So as you feel your skin cancer forming and watch the ice caps come washing over us, just remember it isn't because of mankind, President Bush says so."

And global warming is linked to an incidence of skin cancer... how?

I think you're referring to the ozone hole.

That was the LAST Impending Global Catastrophe. Keep up with the times.

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.