NASA's Chief Climate Scientist Stirs Controversy With Call for Civil Disobedience

[bananas]

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,501064,00.html

NASA's Chief Climate Scientist Stirs Controversy With Call for Civil Disobedience

Friday, February 27, 2009
By Joshua Rhett Miller

NASA's chief climate scientist is in hot water with colleagues and at least one lawmaker after calling on citizens to engage in civil disobedience at what is being billed as the largest public protest of global warming ever in the United States.

<snip>

Officials at the U.S. Office of Special Counsel, which investigates possible Hatch Act violations, disagreed, saying Hansen is in the clear since it's an "issue-oriented activity," according to Hatch Unit attorney Erica Stern Hamrick.

The majority of federal government employees are allowed to take an active part in political activities, while workers at other departments like the FBI, Secret Service and National Security Council are subject to more restrictions on their political activities.

NASA spokesman Mark Hess also defended Hansen.

"He's doing this as a private citizen on his own time and there's nothing wrong with that," Hess told FOXNews.com. "There's nothing partisan here. You don't give up your rights to free speech by becoming a government employee."

<snip>

http://scienceblogs.com/deltoid/2009/01/so_who_is_john_s_theon.php

So who is John S Theon?

Posted on: January 29, 2009 3:17 PM, by Tim Lambert

<snip>

M. J. Murphy has some information about Theon. It seems that Inhofe's claim that Theon was Hansen's supervisor is completely untrue:

Theon wrote to the Minority Office at the Environment and Public Works Committee on January 15, 2009. "I was, in effect, Hansen's supervisor because I had to justify his funding, allocate his resources, and evaluate his results. I did not have the authority to give him his annual performance evaluation...

Read the last bit closely. Being "in effect" Hansen's supervisor is here contrasted with being "in reality" Hansen's supervisor--being the guy who gives Hansen his annual performance appraisal, in other words--which, frankly, does linguistic violence to the term.

Gavin Schmidt writes:

Dr. Theon appears to have retired from NASA in 1994, some 15 years ago. Until yesterday I had never heard of him (despite working with and for NASA for the last 13 years). His insights into both modelling and publicity appear to date from then, rather than any recent events. He was not Hansen's 'boss' (the director of GISS reports to the director of GSFC, who reports to the NASA Administrator). His "some scientists" quote is simply a smear - which scientists? where? what did they do? what data? what manipulation? This kind of thing plays well with Inhofe et al because it appears to add something to the 'debate', but in actual fact there is nothing here. Just vague, unsubstantiated accusations.

<snip>

[bertman]

1. If anyone should be calling for civil disobedience it should be those experts who see this

onrushing train up close and personal day in and day out. Thank Dog we have people like Hansen. A true public servant.

Thanks for the post, bananas.

Rec and kick.

[struggle4progress]

2. Largest US protest on climate change today (2 Mar 09)

At 1 PM EST activists from across the US plan to engage in civil disobedience at Capitol Power Plant in Washington DC. Organizers from 90 different groups estimate that more than 2,500 people will be joining in the protests making it the largest US protest on climate change to date. Owned by congress Capital Power Plant is seen by activists as a longtime symbol of the US government’s consistent support for the use of coal, the leading source of CO2 emissions in the US.

Many activists see this year as a possible turning-point in how the US government views energy policy and climate change. Since taking office in January, President Obama’s administration has already signaled that it plans to take climate change far seriouser than its predecessors. Just last week, President Obama released a preliminary budget that included revenue from cap-and-trade programs, though congress has yet to take up the issue. Activists have been calling for a cap-and-trade program on CO2 emissions for years.

“This is just the moment to up the ante,” said Bill McKibben, professor and founder of 350.org, a climate change group. "Barack Obama–an organizer himself–has asked us all to give him the political backing he needs to make the change that science requires. When civil disobedience works, it demonstrates a willingness to bear a certain amount of pain for a larger end — a way to say, ‘coal is bad enough that I’m willing to get arrested.’”

Along with McKibben other notable scientists and environmentalists are at the capitol today. Dr. James Hansen, head of the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies and professor at Colombia University, has signaled his willingness to get arrested at the protests. In addition author Wendell Berry, former Salt Lake City mayor Rocky Anderson, environmental lawyer and writer Gus Speth, activist and writer Vandana Shiva, and actress Daryl Hannah will be in attendance ... http://news.mongabay.com/2009/0302-hance_protest.html

[stuntcat]

3. I'll be there :D

We're having our first big snow right now so I'll have to wear Yak Trax and bags over my shoes to get to the busstop. They asked us to dress nice for this but I won't be able to with this weather.
And my camera batteries don't work well in the cold but I'll take pictures if I can!

Some visitors to the Facebook page about this are saying crap like "look it's snowing, you people are so stupid" :eyes:
Maybe the snow will keep the assholes away, like the "Minnesotans for global warming" signs at a rally a couple of years ago.

[notesdev]

4. How come

it seems like every big global warming event comes on the day of a blizzard or historically cold day?