integrityofscience

It's been a while since we checked in with Flamy McGassy, but here's a toon from a couple months ago. Despite the Supreme Court ruling on C02, Flamy is unabashed in this episode: "Feeling the Heat." The takeaway message is that despite the Court's intervention, enemies of science-based…

Here's a nugget to start the week: MediaMatters, an organization that works to expose bias, discrimination, and misinformation in the news, has put together a Global Warming: Misinformation Action Center. Bookmark it!

John Marburger, director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy, and James Connaughton, chairman of the Council on Environmental Quality are still peddling their Feb. 7 Open Letter on the President's Position on Climate Change, a letter that plays fast-and-loose with the historical record.…

For those of you in the Bay Area, look for me on TV tonight. I just taped an interview serving as a counterpoint to the AEI and Pacific Research Institute-backed documentary "An Inconvenient Truth ... or Convenient Fiction?" Tonight is its World Premeire in San Francisco. Click here for the…

The Seattle Post Intelligencer editorial page didn't hold back in opining on Monday's federal appeals court rejection of a Bush Administration salmon restoration plan. In strong and appropriate terms, a federal court has rejected the false ways the administration tried to revise science and the…

With a calculator in one hand and a red pen in the other, the White House Office of Management and Budget is in an ugly light when it comes to scientific integrity and policymaking. The calculator hit yesterday with a recess appointment that is directly related to January's OMB rule change (see "…

In attempts to find climate changing culprits aside from greenhouse gases, numerous suggestions have been made. Some have been plausible but didn't match the data. Others were dubious. One, however, is downright devious. We're talking, of course, about Lex Luthor. The plays on "Inconvenient Truth…

Last week, Tom the Dancing Bug introduced us to a parallell universe, where Al Gore never won the Best Documentary Oscar. Click below for the full cartoon.

It's taking all weekend to sort through everything that happened last week, a banner one if you're concerned about scientific integrity. Thankfully, we can stream the past. The biggest science integrity news of the week had to be the House Committee on Government and Reform's continued…

From Union of Concerned Scientists: WASHINGTON (March 14, 2007) - The House of Representatives today overwhelmingly passed the Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act, which would, for the first time, grant federal scientists and contractors the right to expose political interference in their…

In Friday NCAA men's hoops, Arkansas beat Vanderbilt 82-81, advancing the Razorbacks to the SEC Semi Finals and sending the Commodores back to class for now. Now imagine, if following his team's defeat, Vanderbilt coach Kevin Stallings had had this to say in the post-came news conference: "If you…

It's been more than 3 weeks, 6 flights, 4 states, 2 presentations, 1 AAAS meeting, 1 new nephew, and more than 1500 new e-mail messages since our last post. Sorry 'bout the lapse. It's a busy time in the world of scientific integrity, but we hope to be back up to pace shortly. In the meantime…

Two House Committees are currently running a concurrent hearing to discuss revised Executive Order 12866, the January 18 Order that looks to delay and constrain several federal agencies' abilities to implement new regulations and provide guidance to businesses, doctors, and others. E&E Daily (…

Political distortions of the scientific process have undergone a dramatic rise in Washington over the past six years, according to the Senate testimony of Dr. Peter Gleick, president of the Pacific Institute. Gleick's testimony (download - PDF) was provided to the Senate Committee on Commerce,…

Bill Brennan, acting director of the Climate Change Science Program, was spinning the White House's treatment of scientists at this morning's Senate Commerce Committee Hearing on Climate Change Research and Scientific Integrity. "The administration takes the concerns of its scientists very…

The Daily Show is reporting that Punxsutawney Phil has been reassigned for statements he made during last week's Groundhog Day celebration in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania. After attempting to use media attention to warn against the dangers of anthropogenic climate change, Phil was put back in…

The American Enterprise Institute offered British and American scientists cash for critique of the just-released IPCC report, according to UK's Guardian newspaper. Scientists and economists have been offered $10,000 each by a lobby group funded by one of the world's largest oil companies to…

In Wednesday's column, Boston Globe opinion writer Derrick Z. Jackson draws an interesting contrast between two presidents' handling of the nation's body of science in the face of adversity. Publicly, President Eisenhower downplayed the significance of Sputnik. A "useless hunk of iron." Privately,…

The reports from today's hearing, "Political Interference with the Work of Government Climate Change Scientists," are coming in. Hosted by Representative Henry A. Waxman (D-Calif.), the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee hearing will be the first of many such investigative hearings.…

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) will be releasing the first of four reports on Friday, including a 12-page summary of policy recommendations. In its first report since 2001, it finds that the planetary warming observed since 1950 is 90% likely to be due from human activities.…

A Congressional hearing on politicization of science will take place Tuesday morning. The House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, chaired by Representative Henry A. Waxman (D-Calif.), will be holding a hearing on "Allegations of Political Interference with the Work of Government Climate…

Recently, Australia's leaders seem to have been second only to the Bush Administration in their denial of the consensus around climate science. Just in case anyone thought being a researcher in Australia was all toast and Vegemite (not that we've actually heard that anywhere), the Sydney Morning…

Spinmeister Frank Luntz spoke with Salon recently, touching on a number of Washington buzz topics. If you're not familiar with him, check out the infamous Luntz memo, and you will understand why he is a chief enemy of transparent policy and scientific debate. At the end of the print interview, they…

The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences has nominated "An Inconvenient Truth" for an Oscar for Best Documentary Feature. The announcement was made this morning. Prepare yourself for savage overuse of the phrase "liberal Hollywood elite" and its permutations between now and the February 28…

President Bush signed a whole heap of bad yesterday. Amendments to a Clinton-era executive order will substantially increase the influence of the President's Office of Management and Budget (OMB) over federal agencies such as NASA, the EPA, and the FDA. From Greenwire (subscription required): Under…

On October 1 of last year, the EPA closed the libaries in its headquarters and several regional braches (Federal Record notice). The penny-pinching Bush Administration policy is now on hold, pending congressional review. According to Greenwire (subscription required): Responding to a request from…

Some stories we're reading but won't have time to blog: "Cutbacks Impede Climate Studies" from today's Washingotn Post "Exxon meets green groups as climate focus surges" from Reuters "How Should Scientists Work with the Media and How Should Journalists Report on the Debate Over Evolution?" from…

This morning, we highlighted a story out of London that suggested the White House was about to make a "historic shift" on climate change. We were skeptical. As it turns out, it didn't take long for our skepticism to be realized. The White House on Tuesday denied it was planning a U-turn on its…

According to sources close to Prime Minister Tony Blair, President Bush is going to be signaling a "historic shift" on his administration's climate change policy during next Tuesday's State of the Union speech. According to The Observer Bush and Blair held private talks on climate change before…

Two brief entries following last weeks' revelation that the Federal Way (Washington) School Board placed a moratorium on the showing of "An Inconvenient Truth" in its classrooms. On Friday, the Seattle Post Intelligencer editorial board took the school board to task. In "Climate Change: Teach the…