cmooney | March 27, 2007My column from the latest issue of Seed just went up. It's a rather ambitious one, laying out a five step plan for restoring scientific integrity in Washington, D.C. You can read the piece to see all of the steps that I propose, but so far, it's clear that Congressional Democrats are excelling at one above all others: Investigations and oversight. By contrast, when it comes to the final step that I suggest--"Learn From Their Mistakes"--I don't see as much evidence as I would like that Democrats really get it.
My own view is that if the Democrats are really going to save science from rampant…
cmooney | March 26, 2007My latest Huffington Post entry is up; it's an attempt to add to the ongoing dialogue about why so many in the GOP are still in denial about global warming.
cmooney | March 26, 2007Matt Nisbet has some heartening news: A science communication bill has been introduced in Congress, one that would fund the National Science Foundation to invest in training scientists to become better communicators. Committee chair Bart Gordon and Rep. Doris O. Matsui get the credit. This is a positive first step, albeit perhaps something of a symbolic one. What we really have to do is change an entire scientific culture which all too frequently relegates communication to the back-burner, instead emphasizing the racking up of scientific publications as the be-all-and-end-all of a successful…
cmooney | March 26, 2007I'm a worst-case scenario kind of thinker. My May 2005 article about the destruction of New Orleans by a Category 5 hurricane--an article published about 100 days before Katrina--certainly demonstrated as much. I think it's rational to worry about extreme scenarios in direct proportion to how bad they would be if they actually happened--not to simply dismiss them because they're "unlikely" at any given moment or in any given year.
So perhaps that's why it is that lately, I find myself thinking a lot about the possibility of nuclear terrorism in a major U.S. city. How many people, when they…
cmooney | March 23, 2007Last weekend here in D.C., I could be found hanging out at Toledo Lounge with fellow science bloggers (left to right) Evil Monkey of Neurotopia, Tara of Aetiology, and Orac of Respectful Insolence. I guess I was too drunk to notice that thing he was wearing on his head. (Just kidding.) Anyway, here (via Tara) is an action shot:
cmooney | March 23, 2007My apologizes for not writing yesterday...I was working hard on a big blog entry which I finally got up at HuffingtonPost. I felt there was a need to clarify my views on Al Gore's scientific accuracy--especially with respect to hurricanes--and I've taken the occasion of Gore's recent testimony to do so. My two cents: There are definitely things that you can critique about An Inconvenient Truth in this regard. But when you put Gore alongside critics like Joey Barton and Jimmy Inhofe, there's simply no doubt who takes the science seriously, and who doesn't.
cmooney | March 21, 2007I'll be doing the Morning Show on New York City's WOR Morning Show, at 7:10 am, with hosts Joe Bartlett and Donna Hanover. The subject: Global warming and Al Gore's testimony. You can listen live by going to the WOR page and clicking...."Listen Live." I won't be on for all that long, so if you're interested, tune in promptly....
cmooney | March 21, 2007I found Al Gore's opening testimony--which I just watched--deeply stirring. Whenever I hear the guy talk, my feeling is always the same: He exudes intelligence.
By contrast, I found the behavior of Rep. Joe Barton--constantly raising petty parliamentary objections, quibbling over whether Gore's actual presentation did or didn't match his written testimony closely enough, and then trying to fight over the science once again--to be small indeed.
But the question is, when it comes to Gore, do other Americans share my perceptions? They may well not. Matt Nisbet suggests that reactions to the…
cmooney | March 21, 2007The former veep hits both houses of Congress today--David Roberts has a very useful rundown of the hurdles he will face, including cross-ex from good old Inhofe. I am not particularly worried that on an intellectual level, Gore will have a serious problem with questions from any individual member. He knows climate science better than all of them.
Apparently the first hearing, beginning at 9:30, will be live webcast here. I will be watching closely to see if anyone actually scores any points against Gore on the science. More likely, we'll get the standard misbehavior and disregard for…
cmooney | March 20, 2007...in the "General Excellence" category for publications with a circulation between 100,000 and 250,000. Details here. The issues nominated are June/July, November, December/January.
I've posted the covers below, along with my pieces from each issue. Congrats to all the hardworking and visionary folks at the magazine!
As Science Goes, So Goes the Nation: How the White House misunderestimated the height, width, breadth and depth of a crucial cultural meme.
Science 2006: For too long scientists have approached politics with one hand tied behind their backs. This November, that's going to…
cmooney | March 20, 2007
I had the fortune last night of seeing a really cool IMAX docu, Hurricane on the Bayou, at the Smithsonian Natural History Museum. The film is not only visually spectacular; it's a powerful musing on the loss of coastal wetlands, and how that has, in turn, increased the vulnerability of the Louisiana Gulf Coast to hurricane destruction. Most of all, the film is suffused with local Louisiana music, culture--and plenty of cute shots of baby alligators to boot.
After the film ended, I helped out with the Q & A when a question came up on the subject of hurricanes and global warming. (Chris…
cmooney | March 20, 2007Finally my first reflection on yesterday's revealing hearing is up--at HuffingtonPost.com. I've been hoping to write there more frequently, and some of the material that came out yesterday was so juicy that I devoted an entire entry to it. I have merely pulled one of many threads from the latest hearing, but I think you'll enjoy it. Hint: It involves James Hansen and George Deutsch....
UPDATE: This is currently a top post at HuffingtonPost, there are already 23 comments, including a lot from conservatives who are slamming Hansen and have weirdly come up with some absolutely bizarre talking…
cmooney | March 19, 2007I just got back from Capitol Hill. The hearing is ongoing, and you can watch it here. I had to leave if I was going to get anything written today. The upshot: There were a lot of new revelations and developments, and there is really a ton to say. I'm on the case, but it may take a while to process everything....
cmooney | March 19, 2007The big action today in science and politics is clearly going to be on Capitol Hill, where Henry Waxman is holding his second "scientific integrity" oversight hearing. According to Rick Piltz, C-SPAN will be broadcasting the hearing live for those who are interested.
As for me, I'm heading to the Hill early to get a seat, and will only be blogging again once I get back.....
P.S.: To ready yourself for the fireworks today, why not re-read a few of Andrew Revkin's "greatest hits"--exposes in The New York Times that really helped launch Henry Waxman's investigations:
"Bush Aide Softened…
cmooney | March 18, 2007I just received a long blog comment from Rich, who manages the Black Rock Tourist Park in South Hedland, Australia. They bore the brunt of Cyclone George down there, and Rich's comment makes for fascinating--and harrowing--reading. Here's one tidbit:
The ceilings literally rose and fell inches as the wind whipping over the building sucked at the roof. Walls and windows flexed visibly, as debris, like bullets, peppered the house, tearing long gashes in the colourbond steel cladding. and shattering double glazed windows behind security grills designed to stop impacts.
The rest of Rich's comment…
cmooney | March 16, 2007
NASA now has an image up of what was our strongest storm so far this year--Cyclone Indlala, which was a mid-range Category 4 at its peak with 125 knot winds (144 mph). Pressure is estimated, by the University of Wisconsin folks, to have dropped down to 919 millibars.
As for damage, we don't know that much yet, but there have apparently been heavy losses to the vanilla crop in Madagascar and especially around the cyclone-plagued Antalaha. Today the U.N. made an appeal for $ 9.6 million in humanitarian aid to Madagascar.
Some other news: the gigantic Cyclone Gamede, which also affected…
cmooney | March 16, 2007
At least according to a report I just read from E&ENews (unfortunately subscription only), Henry Waxman's politics and science oversight hearing on Monday is going to feature:
* NASA's James Hansen
* Philip Cooney, formerly of the American Petroleum Institute, currently of Exxon Mobil, accused of editing climate reports while working at the White House Council on Environmental Quality
* James Connaughton, director of the Council on Environmental Quality
* George Deutsch, NASA public affairs appointee accused of blocking Hansen's media access
* Roy Spencer, University of Alabama,…
cmooney | March 15, 2007My recent post on the New York Times attack on Gore has gotten around a lot (see Slate, for example). Robert Wright (of Nonzero fame) also brought it up on BloggingHeads.tv in a dialogue with Mickey Kaus. I encourage you to watch the whole segment, as I think it really has the right take on this incident. Wright says I've been "even-handed" towards Gore, and I take that as a compliment. To reiterate: Gore has the science almost entirely right, although there are certainly areas where you can take him to task. If I do pick around the edges, it's because a) I've become a severe storm junkie;…
cmooney | March 15, 2007
I just got the press release from the Union of Concerned Scientists: Yesterday, the House of Representatives passed a whistleblower bill (H.R. 985; PDF) that lays out explicit protections for scientists in government who expose abuses. The UCS release (for which I do not have a link) notes some interesting details when it comes to how people voted and how this debate went down on the floor:
The bill passed by a 331 to 94 vote, with 229 Democrats and 102 Republicans voting in favor.
Hmm...partisanship on this issue clearly remains a significant factor, although the picture is not…
cmooney | March 15, 2007
Antalaha, the namesake of this post, is a town on the northeastern coast of Madagascar.
In 2000, according to CNN, Cyclone Hudah struck Antalaha and leveled "nearly every building." It appears that Hudah was a Category 4 storm at landfall. The United Nations added that the town was "approximately 95 perent destroyed," leaving three-quarters of the population, or 130,000 people, in need of emergency assistance.
Four years later, Antalaha got hit again and it was--if that's possible--even worse. The storm was Cyclone Gafilo, and it was a full-fledged Category 5 at landfall. The hit on…