If you haven’t already visited – and bookmarked – www.ClimateScienceWatch.org, you should rush on over. The site is run by Rick Piltz (hear a podcast recorded at the Society of Environmental Journalists [SEJ] conference) and it keeps a sharp eye for what Washington is doing (or not doing) with the information that is generated by U.S. scientists.
A great example is Piltz’s post on the new Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) website, which Piltz says, “reveals limitations that point to continuing political interference.”
No kidding. For example, the EPA “Future Climate Change” page allows that “Increased greenhouse gas concentrations are likely to raise the Earth’s average temperature, influence precipitation and some storm patterns as well as raise sea levels,” but quickly adds, “The magnitude of these changes, however, is uncertain.” The remainder of the page is dedicated to questioning the reliability of climate models.
You have to have some sympathy for the EPA in this scenario, even if many of its employees are clinging more desperately to their ability to pay the mortgage than they are to freedom of speech. You also have to be grateful to people like Piltz, who at a critical time have stood up, condemned the U.S. government’s censorship and submitted their resignation.
Thank you, Rick, and keep up the good work.
