Political Climate Articles
Conservatives vow to purge all members who support clean energy or science-based policy
"Feel the heat" for voting to support efforts to stop global warming - yes, irony can be so ironic. Greenwire via the NYT explains the source of the latest ideological purity test of the ever shrinking GOP, "Conservative Ire Rains on 8 Republicans Who Voted for House Climate Bill." For CP readers, these folks are heroes:
The eight Republicans are Mark Kirk of Illinois; Mike Castle of Delaware; Mary Bono Mack of California; Dave Reichert of Washington; John McHugh of New York; and Frank LoBiondo, Leonard Lance and Chris Smith of New Jersey.
But not to the defacto leader of the GOP, Rush Limbaugh: "This is an outrage. This is something that everybody who voted for this thing needs to be sent packing... ."
I always thought "small is beautiful," was a motto of the environmental movement but apparently it's the new motto of the Republican Party, along with Gingrich's "I am not a citizen of the world!" and, of course, "Drill baby, drill."
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G8 "Scorecards" Released
First Place-Germany
Second Place-United Kingdom
Third Place-France
Fourth Place-Italy
Fifth Place-Japan
Sixth Place-Russia
Seventh Place- United States of America
Eighth Place -- Canada
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'Unscientific America': A Review
'Unscientific America' explores how we've come to the point we're now at, examining the historical factors behind the diminishing prominence of science and scientists in the popular culture of the U.S. since its heyday in the years following WW II. The authors uncover more than enough blame to go around. They find fault with the media, both in how it portrays science and scientists (e.g. the icon of the 'mad scientist'), and in the decreasing news coverage devoted to issues involving science and technology. They find fault in the way policy makers often abuse science (cherry-picking those particular scientific findings which suit their agenda), and in the behavior of corporate special interests who, in areas such as our own area of 'climate change', have often deliberately manufactured false controversy and confusion to dissuade the public from demanding action be taken.
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Scientists and the public often don't see eye to eye
Most people view scientists favorably, but the lack of scientific knowledge on controversial issues can impact policy decisions.
Have you hugged a scientist today? Had dinner with one lately? Know anyone who knows someone who knows one? (Watching "Bones" doesn't count.)
If you answered "no" to any or all of these questions, you're not alone. That acquaintance gap symbolizes a broader cultural gap between many scientists and the rest of the public.
That gap is highlighted in new public-opinion research released today by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and the Pew Research Center, both in Washington.
And it's a gap that could lead society to make some unwise choices as a new set of science-related issues looms on the horizon, some science-policy specialists say.
On the one hand, the public generally has a very favorable view of scientists, despite the political tugging and hauling over global warming or teaching evolution as the last theory left standing to explain the emergence and development of life on Earth.
Some 67 percent of respondents said that while science conflicts with their religious beliefs, scientists make significant contributions to society's well-being. Slightly fewer (63 percent) of those who take a literal, biblical view of creation also acknowledge science's general contribution to society.
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Bush Exaggerated Fire Risk in Owl Habitat to Favor Logging
ASHLAND, Oregon, July 7, 2009 (ENS) - The Bush administration made "greatly exaggerated claims" about the severity of wildland fire in the 2008 Recovery Plan for the Northern Spotted Owl, according to new research published Monday.
The controversial recovery plan recommended the elimination of forest reserves on over half of the owl's range in order to promote widespread thinning in forests used by the owl, which is listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act.
The authors of the study, published in the scientific journal "Conservation Biology," concluded that the Spotted Owl Recovery Plan was "inaccurate and misleading" about the severity of fires on spotted owl habitat.
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Jane Lubchenco on Restoring Science To U.S. Climate Policy
Marine biologist Jane Lubchenco now heads one of the U.S. government's key agencies researching climate change - the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. In an interview with Yale Environment 360, Lubchenco discusses the central role her agency is playing in understanding the twin threats of global warming and ocean acidification.
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