"Smog Rules"

Posted on December 5, 2011 by Rick Piltz

In his article "Smog Rules" in the current issue of Index on Censorship, CSW director Rick Piltz writes about President Obama, science integrity, and environmental policy. There remain significant questions about the strength and limits of Obama's commitment to scientific integrity, especially in cases when the science might be inconvenient for policymaking and political messaging. 'The lamentable truth,' said Nature in a 15 September editorial on how science and the environment appear to be taking a back seat in Obama’s campaign for re-election, 'is that in the world of US politics, environmental protection is still debated as if it were an optional and expensive accessory to modern living. In the process, science is set aside.' Continue reading →

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Public review comment on the USGCRP draft Strategic Plan

Posted on December 2, 2011 by Rick Piltz

The U.S. Global Change Research Program's draft 10-year Strategic Plan envisions a greater role for the social sciences in transitioning to a new era of climate change 'decision support', sustained assessment, and communications.  But what is the role of the social scientist, as distinct from the natural scientist, in characterizing the climate change problem and connecting it to societal decisionmaking? Continue reading →

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Draft federal climate research plan gives new emphasis to ‘decision support,’ sustained assessments, and communications

Posted on November 30, 2011 by Rick Piltz

Will the Obama administration stand up for the priorities in this plan and push for funding it when the going gets rough with the denialists in Congress?  We talked with the Yale Forum on Climate Change & the Media about the U.S. Global Change Research Program’s draft 10-year strategic plan for climate and global change research. The plan, now being updated for the first time since 2003, aims to build on the $2 billion federal program’s strengths in scientific research and global observing systems by significantly enhancing the program’s science-for-society component. The plan sets goals of building sustained capacity to assess impacts and vulnerabilities, informing decisions on adaptation and mitigation, and advancing public communication and education. Continue reading →

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The collision of climate science and politics, part 2 – lecture at American University, November 2011

Posted on November 27, 2011 by Rick Piltz

“If we were to continue on a long-term trajectory that continues the trajectory we’re on now, then – unless the leading scientists have everything wrong that they’ve been saying, which I doubt – we’re facing a huge problem of sustainability of the system that we have now. …” Second of a two-part transcript from a talk at American University in Washington, DC. Continue reading →

Posted in Climate Science Watch, Science-Policy Interaction | 12 Comments

The collision of climate science and politics, part 1 – lecture at American University, November 2011

Posted on November 27, 2011 by Rick Piltz

“It was evident to me from the first global warming hearing I went to, in 1988, that this was going to be a huge problem for our society to deal with….” First of a two-part transcript from a talk at American University in Washington, DC. Continue reading →

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On finding one's email in the hacked climate science email files

Posted on November 25, 2011 by Rick Piltz

A search of the files of climate science emails hacked from the Climatic Research Unit at the University of East Anglia finds Climate Science Watch working with scientists to set the record straight in pushing back on the denial machine. Continue reading →

Posted in Attacks on Climate Science and Scientists, Climate Science Watch, Global Warming Denial Machine | 14 Comments

Pro-science pushback helps put release of second batch of climate scientist emails in perspective

Posted on November 24, 2011 by Rick Piltz

Climatic Research Unit, University of East Anglia (credit: Wikipedia, Creative Commons)

The release this week of another 5,000 emails obtained from the University of East Anglia Climatic Research Unit server in the UK has been greeted, at least by some reporters, with a more judicious reserve than we witnessed in 2009. Prompt responses by scientists and climate bloggers contributed to keeping things in perspective this time, something that was not done effectively in 2009, when the media’s ill-considered complicity with denialist spin elevated the contents of 1,000+ climate scientist emails to the status of a supposed scandal. The result then was a setback for serious public discussion of climate science findings and the urgent issues of climate policy and diplomacy. Hopefully people will keep their eye on the ball this time. Continue reading →

Posted in Attacks on Climate Science and Scientists | 1 Comment

IPCC says essential actions needed to reduce risks of changing climate extremes

Posted on November 21, 2011 by Nick Sundt

A new assessment report by the the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) on preparing for weather and climate extremes warns that a changing climate “can result in unprecedented extreme weather and climate events” and says that actions ranging “from incremental steps to transformational change are essential for reducing risk from climate extremes.” Yet the U.S. has no national climate change preparedness strategy, and Federal efforts to address the rising risks have been undermined through budget cuts and other means. Continue reading →

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Text of ClimAID report, “Responding to Climate Change in New York State”

Posted on November 17, 2011 by Climate Science Watch
Photo: US Geological Survey

“If there is one thing we learned from Hurricane Irene,” Dr. Rosenzweig said referring to the tropical storm that pummeled the state this past summer, “we have a lot more we could be doing to prepare.” The ClimAID report, the New York Times reports its authors as saying, “is the most detailed study that looks at how changes brought about by a warming Earth – from rising temperatures to more precipitation and global sea level rise – will affect the economy, the ecology and even the social fabric of the state.” Continue reading →

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ClimAID science report: New York state must prepare for climate change now

Posted on November 16, 2011 by Climate Science Watch

“Devastating floods like those caused in upstate New York by the remnants of Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee are among the climate change effects predicted in a new report written by 50 scientists and released Wednesday by the state’s energy research agency,” the Associated Press reported on November 16. Intended as a climate change preparedness resource for planners, policymakers, and the public, the 600-page “ClimAID” report, written by scientists from Cornell University, Columbia University, and the City University of New York, says New Yorkers should begin preparing for hotter summers, snowier winters, severe floods, and a range of other effects on the environment, communities, and human health. The report warns that, under global warming conditions, Irene-like storms of the future could put a third of New York City streets under water and flood many of the tunnels leading into Manhattan in less than an hour. This focus on the need for risk management and adaptive preparedness suggests an essential framework for considering the IPCC Special Report on Managing the Risks of Extreme Weather Events, due to be released on Friday, November 18. Continue reading →

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