Policy-focused reconstruction financing to rebuild the country; NY Times: Putting “the manufactured controversy known as Climategate behind us”; NASA: first half of 2010 set global temperature record; Giant ice sculpture to be unveiled outside U.S. Senate July 15; U.S. Climate Change Adaptation Task Force public outreach meeting. Taking notice of some current developments.
Post by Rick Piltz
Bringing the rule of law to Wall Street; Policy-focused reconstruction financing
Outstanding analysis by James K. Galbraith and strategic prescription for rebuilding the country that includes dealing with climate, energy, the Gulf Coast, and a host of priorities neglected for the past 30 years.
New York Times: “A Climate Change Corrective” (Editorial, July 11 print edition)
“Perhaps now we can put the manufactured controversy known as Climategate behind us and turn to the task of actually doing something about global warming. On Wednesday, a panel in Britain concluded that scientists whose e-mail had been hacked late last year had not, as critics alleged, distorted scientific evidence to prove that global warming was occurring and that human beings were primarily responsible….
“There have since been several reports upholding the U.N.’s basic findings, including a major assessment in May from the National Academy of Sciences. This assessment not only confirmed the relationship between climate change and human activities but warned of growing risks — sea level rise, drought, disease — that must swiftly be addressed by firm action to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases.
“Given the trajectory the scientists say we are on, one must hope that the academy’s report, and Wednesday’s debunking of Climategate, will receive as much circulation as the original, diversionary controversies.”
On this, also see:
CSW, July 1: Interview with Michael Mann on the Penn State Final Report and the war on climate scientists
CSW May 26: NRC: US should act now to cut emissions, develop a national strategy to adapt to inevitable impacts
Climate Progress commentary
Joe Romm at Climate Progress recalls for the record: “It most be pointed out, however, that the NYT overhyped the ‘manufactured controversy known as Climategate’ as much if not more than other media outlets, from the beginning.‘Climategate’ Debunking Gets Less Coverage Than Original [So-called] Scandal
“…what sort of stories drive coverage: a braying spectacle of scandal-mongering is sure to get attention. Dry, academic studies written by experts, not so much….This is, unfortunately, quite common. The right erupts with anger, the media treats the ‘controversy’ as a legitimate story, and the public hears all about it. We eventually learn that the story was nonsense, but at that point, the media has lost all interest.”
Giant Ice Sculpture to be Unveiled Outside U.S. Senate (July 15, Noon)
At an event at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., on 15 July 2010, youth groups and climate experts will highlight the melting disinformation campaign of climate deniers.
12 Noon, East Front Lawn, U.S. Capitol (Senate side); near 1st St and Constitution NE ( Sculpture will be unveiled at noon and will be out all afternoon)
First Half of 2010 Set Global Temperature Record
Global temperature data released July 9 by NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies show that the first half of 2010 was the warmest January-June period in the 130 year record (0.70 C above the long term mean. The warmth was especially pronounced in the Arctic.
U.S. Saw Much Above Normal Temperatures in June
U.S. temperature and precipitation data released July 8 by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration showed that April through June in the Eastern U.S. was the hottest on record.
When President Obama signed the Executive Order on Federal Leadership in Environmental, Energy, and Economic Performance, on October 5, 2009, he called on the Task Force to develop, within one year, Federal recommendations for adapting to climate change impacts both domestically and internationally.
Also see:
CSW May 28, part 1: Text of remarks by Obama science adviser John Holdren to the National Climate Adaptation SummitCSW May 28, part 2: Holdren at Adaptation Summit: We’re not serious until we put a price on greenhouse gas emissions
Finally:
It’s hard to be optimistic about the effectiveness of fact-checking.