Category Archives: Science & Politics

East coast in Irene’s path, scrambles to prepare .

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Sydney Morning Herald, August 26, 2011

UPDATE:  See Scott Mandia on CNBC talking about Irene, the flood risk and other issues.

The north-east seaboard of the US, including Washington and financial centre New York, rushed to prepare for a possible mauling from Hurricane Irene that will hit the coast this weekend.  From the Carolinas to Cape Cod, more than 50 million people were potentially in Irene’s path. States, cities, ports, industries, oil refineries and nuclear plants scrambled to activate emergency plans, while residents stocked up on food and water and worked to secure homes, vehicles and boats. Continue reading →

Suspension Of Arctic Scientist Suddenly Lifted

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WASHINGTON–(ENEWSPF)–August 26, 2011.  A top federal Arctic scientist is returning to work today after six weeks on administrative leave without any charges being leveled against him, according to Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER).   Meanwhile, the agency which suspended the scientist is itself under investigation for mishandling the matter.

On July 18, 2011, the Bureau of Ocean Energy, Management, Regulation and Enforcement (BOEM) suspended Dr. Charles Monnett in connection with an ongoing Interior Department Office of Inspector General (IG) investigation.  Continue reading →

The Atlantic: Michael Mann cleared (Again).

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James Fallows

UPDATE:  See Peter Sinclair’s insightful on the phony case made by the denialists and their inability to accept the results of the NSF inquiry:  “Climategate” Debunked Again. Climate Deniers: Mike Mann born in Kenya“.

JAMES FALLOWS – Aug 24 2011 – James Fallows is a national correspondent for The Atlantic and has written for the magazine since the late 1970s. He has reported extensively from outside the United States, and once worked as President Carter’s chief speechwriter

In my article a few months ago about the importance of China-US efforts to find cleaner ways to use coal — because both countries, like it or not, are going to keep using coal, and because if they don’t find ways to reduce its carbon emissions, nothing else done about climate change will count — I quoted the Penn State climate scientist Michael Mann(right).

Continue reading →

Even more voting opportunities.

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Worried about climate change? Furious about the carbon tax? Confused about the science? Walkley-award winning journalist Michael Bachelard will lead The Sunday Age team investigating the 10 most popular questions on OurSay which will be featured and updated on The Age’s Climate Agenda website.

Go here to vote which question you would like to have investigated.  The one starting “There are some very vocal and seemingly influential climate change sceptics …” is a particularly interesting question in the light of what we have seen over the last 12 months!

Bolt distorts facts about the Great Barrier Reef again: doesn’t understand or wilful distortion?

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Update: Andrew Bolt is at it again.  Either he doesn’t understand the science or he is wilfully distorting the information surrounding the impact of climate change on coral reefs.

See also this previous posting (Bolt gets it wrong again) and this post on record mass coral bleaching occurring right now off Western Australia.

Update: this piece was first published back on Feb 10th, 2009 – I thought it would be worth bringing up to the top to highlight Bolt’s ongoing war against science. Continue reading →

Climate change logic lost in translation

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Brown_polar_bear_flickr_ferdi_s_-_world

By Prof Stephan Lewandowsky, Australian Professorial Fellow, Cognitive Science Laboratories at University of Western Australia

Reposted from The Conversation (May 16 2011)

Quick, consider the following: all polar bears are animals. Some animals are white.

Therefore, some polar bears are white. Is this conclusion logically implied or not?

There is a 75% chance you might endorse this conclusion despite it being logically false. Continue reading →

REPORT: Koch Fueling Far Right Academic Centers At Universities Across The Country

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An interesting post at Think Progress By Lee Fang on May 11th, 2011.

Corporate takeover of academic freedom!  You would have to conclude that Florida State University President Eric J. Barron needs to do a little deep thinking about what his institute stands for. He wouldn’t want to end up as the president of Florida State University of Petroleum Products (FSUPP) would he?

Yesterday, ThinkProgress highlighted reports from the St. Petersburg Times and the Tallahassee Democrat regarding a Koch-funded economics department at Florida State University (FSU). FSU had accepted a $1.5 million grant from a foundation controlled by petrochemical billionaire Charles Koch on the condition that Koch’s people would have a free hand in selecting professors and approving publications. The simmering controversy sheds light on the vast influence of the Koch political machine, which spans from the top conservative think tanks, Republican politicians, a small army of contracted lobbyists, and Tea Party front groups in nearly every state. Continue reading →

Australia prepares to swallow Monckton yet again

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GRAHAM READFEARN from the ABC Drum Unleashed; May 6 2011

Graham Readfearn

Denial of the seriousness of human-caused climate change or the reliability of the science comes in many guises but none are more eccentric, more rhetorical or more consistently wrong than that manifested in the human form of Lord Christopher Monckton.

English hereditary peer Lord Monckton, the Third Viscount of Brenchley, is one of the world’s most charismatic and omnipresent climate change deniers, despite having no science qualifications.

He’s coming to Australia. Again. Continue reading →