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Congress Hears From Muzzled Scientists
BendingSpoons writes "More than 120 scientists across seven federal agencies have been pressured to remove the phrases 'global warming' and 'climate change' from various documents. The documents include press releases and, more importantly, communications with Congress. Evidence of this sort of political interference has been largely anecdotal to date, but is now detailed in a new report by the Union of Concerned Scientists. The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee held hearings on this issue Tuesday; the hearing began by Committee members, including most Republicans, stating that global warming is happening and greenhouse gas emissions from human activity are largely to blame. The OGR hearings presage a landmark moment in climate change research: the release of the 2007 report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. The IPCC report, drafted by 1,250 scientists and reviewed by an additional 2,500 scientists, is expected to state that 'there is a 90% chance humans are responsible for climate change' — up from the 2001 report's 66% chance. It probably won't make for comfortable bedtime reading; 'The future is bleak', said scientists."
And I get tired of all these stupid Republicans who think that predicting the weather has anything to do with prediciting the climate.
Bush is a fucking Nazi, as well as the rest of the Repug party. What a sickening bunch of pricks who should all be shot for treason.
then you should lead the way and kill yourself. I will follow if you would lead the way.
I am simultaneously aware that pollution is bad and that mass transit is not well developed in many developed areas.
... I don't care about driving my own personal car.
So cry all you want about saving the planet. But if I can't reliably get from home to work, in a city of 700k people
If these scienticians want to save the planet promote ecologically sound solutions to known problems. Just bellyaching so you can get more grant money to study how fucked up the world is doesn't solve jack fucking squat.
Tom
Someday, I'll have a real sig.
Got flame baited the first time, so here we go again: Three Points
Point 1: You do research on the federal doll, you do the work you were asked to do not choose your research to vent your personal opinions and unrelated suppositions.
Point 2: Scientists (especially climatologists) have been predicting that the sky will fall pretty regularly for the last half-century and most of their predictions have been incorrect. The Earth is a huge steady state equilibrium system with process that have kept is that way for a long time. Processes that scientists aren't even close to understanding in the short term much less over a millennium.
Point 3: (related to 2). Using the specific buzzwords/phrases that were censored is appropriate when they convey a meaning other than intended. Proving that human interference may directly cause changes to the environment does not mean that the Earth is going to dry up into a tsunami ridden dustbowl tomorrow. Using those specific "loaded" phrases will cause many non-scientists to think that way because of the way it has been portrayed in the press and by fringe scientists.
"God fights on the side with the best artillery." - Napoleon, Marshal of France - speaking truth to power
Ok, now place those molecules with an almost infinite number of random variables(temp, pressure, objects, forces) and we're back to my point. Climatologists have been wildly wrong for the last 50 years, often making consensus predictions that just don't hold up. The Earth is a huge steady state system and it has corrected itself EVERY time in the past.
"God fights on the side with the best artillery." - Napoleon, Marshal of France - speaking truth to power
Amusing that you would equate the science they are using to try to justify "doom to all" with the precise measurement at the micro levels that wen int discovering microbes, evolution and algebra. Give me the Aristotle, Pasteur or Darwin of Climatology who can present irrefutable proof or his/her theory and I will listen. Quit handing me lame half-baked theory.
"God fights on the side with the best artillery." - Napoleon, Marshal of France - speaking truth to power
It has a lot to do with the fact that the Republican Party is heavily supported by "Big Oil" and other industries. Being forced to reduce carbon emissions will cost these industries a lot of money- which they do not want to spend. Consequently, they, and the politicians they support, will do anything they can to prevent that from happening.
> Is it as simple as the top Republican leadership protecting oil interests and everyone else just follows along
That, and the propaganda teat known as "talk radio". I'm shocked to discover what formerly intelligent people start believing when they get hooked on it.
Sheesh, evil *and* a jerk. -- Jade
I love how this has been modded -1 Troll. Thats just hilarious. A post full of facts and references, and you don't get a single rebuttal or debunking, just the distant sound of millions of geeks, angry at you for challenging their delusions with facts, crying into their keyboards.
(assuming you're from the US) Because you live in a democracy where, in theory, the population chose their government.
(assuming you're from the US) Because, in theory, you live in a democracy.
fixed that for you.
yp.
AFAIK, back when dinosaurs roamed the earth, the weather was considerably warmer. There must have been lots of vegetation, since those things had quite an appetite.
So, we get longer growing seasons, warmer weather, plenty of veggies, and this time, no dinos in the cafeteria lines. Humans shouldn't have any problem reproducing - people manage to do that in equatorial Africa, right now.
No doubt, scientists will eventually resurrect a dino from dna; they'll probably taste like chicken, and eventually degrade into more crude oil.
What's so bad about that?
In addition, I understand New York and LA would be underwater.
That's just a bonus.