Rick Piltz Website Launched

For those of you who don't know of him already, Rick Piltz is one of the many science whistleblowers to run screaming from the Bush administration. I've written about him here. Formerly of the Climate Change Science Program, Piltz famously drew attention to the editing of government climate reports by White House official Philip Cooney, who subsequently resigned and, as pretty much everyone now knows, went to work for ExxonMobil.

Now Piltz has launched a website, entitled "Climate Science Watch," that's full of goodies like this. For one thing, he has exposed a troubling inquiry by Senator Inhofe into the funding relationship between the National Science Foundation and the National Center for Atmospheric Research. It sounds like Joe Barton, redux.

Inhofe says he's "examining the roles that the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) and the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR) play in researching, analyzing, and understanding the science of global climate change." He then demands:

A basic organization chart for NCAR and UCAR with names and titles of office directors,

A list of all NCAR and UCAR staff, their job title, location, and a brief description of their duties and responsibilities.

A list of all NCAR and UCAR employees working at, or who are under contract with, non-NSF Federal agencies and departments or Non-Governmental Organizations (NGO's), their job title, salary, and length of time on this assignment. Please provide this information for a period of time covering the past 3 years.

Any and all rules, policies, regulations, manuals, internal memoranda, and any other documents that govern NCAR and UCAR employees working at or who are under contract with non-NSF Federal agencies and departments or NGOs.

A list of research projects funded for the last 3 years broken out by institutions and amount of funding by fiscal year.

Hmm, what do you think Senator James "global warming is a hoax" Inhofe plans to do with this information? Hint: It probably doesn't have anything to do with improving government funded climate research. Moreover, as Rick Piltz points out, it's not even clear that Inhofe's Senate committee has any jurisdiction over the National Science Foundation.

For exposing this Inhofe memo, and for all the other stuff on his new site, I'm welcoming Rick Piltz to the web and will be adding Climate Science Watch to my blogroll.

More like this

Great website link! Thanks, Chris.

I have a different readership, so I posted an echo on my blog ( http://www.scienceblog.com/cms/required_reading_in_a_warming_world_1020… ) with links to The Intersection and Piltz's site as well to my own book reviews on the topic ( http://www.scienceshelf.com/climatelinks.htm ).

I'd be interested in your thoughts on whether climate change is likely to become an important issue in the 2006 or 2008 elections. I think another bad hurricane season will change the political winds as well.

I recall the Barton incident, and it prompted me to get familiar with my senators and congressman. I can't say what effect my firing off faxes to them had to do with Barton's backing off (I believe he retreated, especially after a sharp rebuke from another Republican congressman), but I like to think it raises the level of awareness among our representatives in the Congress if grassroots responses start pouring in, as opposed to stuff from recognized interest group, although that has its place. This may count even more if your senator or congressman is a member of a particular committee where the Inhofe- and Barton-like inquisitions originate. I have found it useful (and somewhat cathartic) to go to senate.gov and house.gov to get committee membership information and also Washington, DC office and FAX numbers for my senators and congressman. I then compose succint, pointed, but not strident or hyperbolic messages to my representatives letting them know I want them to oppose whatever outrage the an Inhofe or a Barton may be trying to put across at the moment. I do not e-mail, as I figure that all too readily gets deleted, nor do I send postal mail, apparently that gets hung up forever in the Capitol mailroom being tested for anthrax. Anyway, it's my way of taking a little direct action rather than just consume everyone's time and patience with my venting in a post. Try it, you might like it, there may even be some truth to the rumor that democracy works!

By Harris Contos (not verified) on 13 Mar 2006 #permalink

Do Barton and Inhofe realize that they are actually, literally, the ringleaders of a conspiracy to destroy the world? I mean, if all their goals for US policy are met...the world will be destroyed within 100 years. This is scientific fact.

By Cryptic Ned (not verified) on 14 Mar 2006 #permalink