timosman
12-14-2015, 01:28 AM
http://www.al.com/news/huntsville/index.ssf/2015/12/no_objectivity_in_feds_climate.html
December 09, 2015 at 11:39 AM
http://image.al.com/home/bama-media/width620/img/news_huntsville_impact/photo/john-christy-senate-hearing-12815-fef50935fc664761.jpg
The Obama administration is reluctant to provide funding for studies that may not validate the president's concern about the dangers of climate change, a Huntsville climate expert told a U.S. Senate subcommittee on Tuesday.
John Christy, director of the Earth System Science Center at the University of Alabama in Huntsville and a well-known skeptic of human-caused climate change, participated Tuesday in a panel hearing before the Senate subcommittee on Space, Science and Competitiveness.
The subcommittee's chair is Republican presidential hopeful Ted Cruz, who presided over the hearing.
The panel was stacked with climate experts who dispute the belief that human influence is causing climate change, a reflection of Cruz's position that he outlined at the beginning of the hearing.
While Christy repeated talking points he has made in previous appearances before Congress – particularly about how climate models that project global temperatures are rising at a rate faster than reality – he also said opposing views are squashed by the government denying funding for those studies.
"The attempt to study climate change with an objective eye is thwarted by the federal funding process," he said.
Christy said Congress needs objective studies in order to make more informed decisions.
"My view, Congress needs to fix this problem by directly funding red teams which are not part of the climate model and industry that tests the basis for the claims that human-induced climate change is dangerous," Christy said in his opening statement. "Congress needs objective eyes on this issue because it is such a big ticket item for everyone involved."
Judith Curry, chair of the School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences at Georgia Tech and a fellow skeptic on the panel, echoed Christy's position about federal funding allocated to studies with predetermined conclusions.
"The social contract currently between the Obama administration and climate scientists is if you say alarming things, you'll get plenty of funding," she said. "That seems to be how it's working. And that is very, very pernicious for scientists."
Democrats on the subcommittee spoke as fervently about the dangers of climate change as much as Cruz spoke dismissively of it.
"It's ironic that we're holding this hearing in the committee with jurisdiction over science because this committee is turning its back on the real science," said Sen. Brian Schatz of Hawaii, citing the "97 percent" of scientists who accept the theory of human-caused climate change.
Sen. Gary Peters, D-Michigan, gave an opening statement outlining the possible "catastrophic" effects of climate change.
"From the models and our understanding of the science, we see a range of potential outcomes, a range of potential warming trends, a range of consequences based on those trends," Perry said. "There are implications for our national security, for the economic health of our country, for our food supply and agriculture and for the health and safety of Michiganders, Americans as well as people around the planet.
"The possible consequences range from the bad to the catastrophic. Given our best scientific judgment of our risk posture, of the consequences we face as a civilization and the likelihood of those consequences occurring, we must do what we can to mitigate these risks."
Cruz repeatedly referred to a 2009 comment by now-U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry in which he asserted that the arctic ice caps would be ice-free by 2013. Cruz also cited other evidence that humans aren't the primary cause of climate change as "inconvenient facts" – mocking former vice president Al Gore's documentary on global warming titled "An Inconvenient Truth."
Cruz also ridiculed Democrats for holding a press conference before the subcommittee hearing.
"What does it say when members of the United States Senate are protesting?" Cruz said. "How dare the science subcommittee in the United States Senate hear testimony about science from actual scientists? How dare we focus on such topics? I think that's exactly what we were elected to do."
Christy ended his opening statement by saying the White House's proposals to combat climate change would only add an economic burden to the country.
"Even if the United States of America disappeared today – no people, no cars, no factories – the impact would be negligible on whatever the climate does," Christy said.
"To me, it is not scientifically justifiable or economically rational that this nation should establish regulations whose only discernible consequence is an increase in economic pain (placed) most directly and harshly on the poorest among us. This happens when the scientific process that allegedly underpins regulations lacks objectivity and transparency."
Click here to see the video of the hearing. Christy's opening statement begins at 52:30.
Click here to see Christy's written testimony and documents for the subcommittee.
December 09, 2015 at 11:39 AM
http://image.al.com/home/bama-media/width620/img/news_huntsville_impact/photo/john-christy-senate-hearing-12815-fef50935fc664761.jpg
The Obama administration is reluctant to provide funding for studies that may not validate the president's concern about the dangers of climate change, a Huntsville climate expert told a U.S. Senate subcommittee on Tuesday.
John Christy, director of the Earth System Science Center at the University of Alabama in Huntsville and a well-known skeptic of human-caused climate change, participated Tuesday in a panel hearing before the Senate subcommittee on Space, Science and Competitiveness.
The subcommittee's chair is Republican presidential hopeful Ted Cruz, who presided over the hearing.
The panel was stacked with climate experts who dispute the belief that human influence is causing climate change, a reflection of Cruz's position that he outlined at the beginning of the hearing.
While Christy repeated talking points he has made in previous appearances before Congress – particularly about how climate models that project global temperatures are rising at a rate faster than reality – he also said opposing views are squashed by the government denying funding for those studies.
"The attempt to study climate change with an objective eye is thwarted by the federal funding process," he said.
Christy said Congress needs objective studies in order to make more informed decisions.
"My view, Congress needs to fix this problem by directly funding red teams which are not part of the climate model and industry that tests the basis for the claims that human-induced climate change is dangerous," Christy said in his opening statement. "Congress needs objective eyes on this issue because it is such a big ticket item for everyone involved."
Judith Curry, chair of the School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences at Georgia Tech and a fellow skeptic on the panel, echoed Christy's position about federal funding allocated to studies with predetermined conclusions.
"The social contract currently between the Obama administration and climate scientists is if you say alarming things, you'll get plenty of funding," she said. "That seems to be how it's working. And that is very, very pernicious for scientists."
Democrats on the subcommittee spoke as fervently about the dangers of climate change as much as Cruz spoke dismissively of it.
"It's ironic that we're holding this hearing in the committee with jurisdiction over science because this committee is turning its back on the real science," said Sen. Brian Schatz of Hawaii, citing the "97 percent" of scientists who accept the theory of human-caused climate change.
Sen. Gary Peters, D-Michigan, gave an opening statement outlining the possible "catastrophic" effects of climate change.
"From the models and our understanding of the science, we see a range of potential outcomes, a range of potential warming trends, a range of consequences based on those trends," Perry said. "There are implications for our national security, for the economic health of our country, for our food supply and agriculture and for the health and safety of Michiganders, Americans as well as people around the planet.
"The possible consequences range from the bad to the catastrophic. Given our best scientific judgment of our risk posture, of the consequences we face as a civilization and the likelihood of those consequences occurring, we must do what we can to mitigate these risks."
Cruz repeatedly referred to a 2009 comment by now-U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry in which he asserted that the arctic ice caps would be ice-free by 2013. Cruz also cited other evidence that humans aren't the primary cause of climate change as "inconvenient facts" – mocking former vice president Al Gore's documentary on global warming titled "An Inconvenient Truth."
Cruz also ridiculed Democrats for holding a press conference before the subcommittee hearing.
"What does it say when members of the United States Senate are protesting?" Cruz said. "How dare the science subcommittee in the United States Senate hear testimony about science from actual scientists? How dare we focus on such topics? I think that's exactly what we were elected to do."
Christy ended his opening statement by saying the White House's proposals to combat climate change would only add an economic burden to the country.
"Even if the United States of America disappeared today – no people, no cars, no factories – the impact would be negligible on whatever the climate does," Christy said.
"To me, it is not scientifically justifiable or economically rational that this nation should establish regulations whose only discernible consequence is an increase in economic pain (placed) most directly and harshly on the poorest among us. This happens when the scientific process that allegedly underpins regulations lacks objectivity and transparency."
Click here to see the video of the hearing. Christy's opening statement begins at 52:30.
Click here to see Christy's written testimony and documents for the subcommittee.