Hide the Decline ... and More

Real Clear Politics ^ | dec 16, 2009 | David Harsanyi

[XHogPilot]

In this country, even a global warming denialist with a carbon fetish and bad intentions has the right to see the inner workings of government.

Or, at least, he should.

When leaked e-mails recently exposed talk of manipulating scientific evidence on global warming, Kevin Trenberth, head of the Climate Analysis Section at The National Center for Atmospheric Research, argued that skeptics had cherry-picked and presented his comments out of context.

To rectify this injustice, I sent Trenberth (and NCAR) a Freedom of Information Act request asking for his e-mail correspondences with other renowned climate scientists in an effort to help contextualize what they've been talking about. (snip)

Trenberth, lead author of the 1995, 2001 and 2007 assessments of climate change by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, obtains approximately 95 percent of his funding through the federal government, via the National Science Foundation.

(snip)I was informed by NCAR's counsel that the organization is not a federal agency -- because its budget is laundered through the National Science Foundation -- and thus is under no obligation to provide information to the public.

"Why don't you put all your e-mails online for everyone to see?" Trenberth helpfully suggested to me. "My e-mail is none of your business."

(snip) Trenberth's work is one reason the nation is moving toward cap-and-trade legislation. His work is one reason the EPA, through its endangerment findings on carbon emissions, can regulate industry by decree. It is Trenberth's government-financed science that drives public policy. Yet Trenberth has less accountability to the public than the local parks department. (snip)

Taxpayers certainly should not have to beg those they pay to hand it over.

At the very least, taxpayers should be able to hold government-funded institutions to the same level of accountability to which they hold their local dog pounds.

[XHogPilot]

Let's see the inner workings of: ACORN, National Endowment for the Arts, NPR, et al. They are all criminal money laundering schemes of the Democrat Party.

[Zhang Fei]

"Why don't you put all your e-mails online for everyone to see?" Trenberth helpfully suggested to me. "My e-mail is none of your business."

Global warming peddler Trenberth is the recipient of government grants. Harsanyi, the author of the article, is not.

[grey_whiskers]

This is the first time I've ever come across your postings that I can recall...

Thanks for your service to our country: and congrats on flying such a fine, fine warplane.

Cheers!

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Thanks for posting this.

[PGalt]

Thanks for posting. Very good article, naming names...one (Kevin Trenberth) sounds like a real piece of work...working to undermine us.

[jnsun]

Trenberth helpfully suggested to me. "My e-mail is none of your business."

Having a background with NIH grants I don't agree with that conclusion on any level, legally, ethically, or scientifically.

If it is taxpayer funded work then as a taxpayer it very much is my business. I doubt even a private corporation doing work under contract with the government can sequester its applicable emails. And as a government technical worker, over and over I would be called out to defend our data and findings, and fully expected that.

Mr Trenberth's private emails at home may be his private business (which incidentally the NSA can monitor whenever it wants) but certainly not for publicly financed technical investigations; unless of course it is officially classified (FBI).

I can understand one personally being upset by the interception, but science and logic should be above that. I will admit that the world of front line granted research can be very nasty, secretive, and avaricious, in the name of proprietary credit. That is a personal imposition, not scientific.

[Tzimisce]

This is just a taste of how they’re going to run things when they’re done putting themselves in charge.

Welcome to Liberal-Land: your money at work.

[gibtx2]

Excellent Post.

Keep it coming.

THEY CAN NOT STAND CONSTANT PRESSURE.

[KTM rider]

NOAA (national oceanographic and atmoshperic administration) is also a player . The home page is always loaded with GW propaganda, I go there a lot for pin-point forecasts to help plan adventures

[KTM rider]

NOAA may have got a huge stimulus payout, I saw a huge figure of our kids money allocated for climate study IIRC

[steelyourfaith]

Thanx !

 

Beam me to Planet Gore !

[sig226]

"Chris Horner, an attorney and senior fellow at CEI working on the NASA case, says of NCAR: "Without government, these jobs would not exist; that is a reasonable threshold test to determine whether documents should be available to the taxpayer."

A very agreeable proposition.

[mvpel]

The Competitive Enterprise Institute -- one of those troglodyte-funded, big-screen-television-loving outfits -- was forced to file three notices of intent to file suit against NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies, demanding the organization provide documents and raw data that were requested under the Freedom of Information Act three years ago.

One is left to wonder why the CEI doesn't just file suit, instead of filing notices of intent to file suit over and over again.

"All bark and no bite" is not a useful way to strike fear into the hearts of conniving government functionaries.

[chilltherats]

That’s exactly what should happen. Bury the bastards with FOIA request and be prepared to go to court anf fight every detail of every excuse thet offer.

[Marine_Uncle]

Yet another name to remember regarding the global warming scam. One thing is almost for sure. We won’t be hearing any squawking of foul play coming out of the main stream media regarding the role this guy plays in this world wide scam.