Now Hansen Has Outed NOAA

The article highlighted in today's Blue's News, NASA climate researcher accuses 2nd agency of muzzling scientists, is a piece of very welcome public news. James Hansen has already blown NASA's global-warming-news-cover, now he's after NOAA. My heart rejoices to hear this, and I have to hope it will make a difference in the general public's acceptance of the need to act quickly and decisively on this issue.

In the past when I have written on the international consensus of scientists on climate change, contrarian commenters have frequently brought up spokespeople at NOAA as "proof" that it's all a load of crap. Well, sure 'nuff, if the only people at NOAA who have been allowed to speak are those who support the party line, then that's all we've heard. Hansen says...

that officials at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration are also muzzling researchers who study global warming.

... speaking on a panel about science and the environment to a packed audience at the New School university, (Hansen) said that while he hopes his own agency will soon adopt a more open policy, NOAA insists on having "a minder" monitor its scientists when they discuss findings with journalists.

"It seems more like Nazi Germany or the Soviet Union than the United States," said Hansen, prompting a round of applause. He added that while NOAA officials said they maintain the policy for their scientists' "protection, if you buy that one please see me at the break, because there's a bridge down the street I'd like to sell you."

Whereas Dr. Hansen and every other reputable scientist in the world believe that the human community must act quickly to "prevent irreversible climate change," he had to preface his lecture with the fact that he was speaking as an individual, not for the agency or the government. That would be our government, ladies and gentlemen, which - scientific evidence to the contrary - says we need more research on this, and by no means should mandatory limits on carbon emissions be our solution.

| +Save/Share | |