Dissenting opinions among the climate scientists working for the Bush administration’s 10-year climate report have driven apart colleagues, and propelled one scientist out the door. Quite simply put:
“A scientist who has long disagreed with the dominant view that global warming stems mainly from human activity has resigned from a panel that is completing a report for the Bush administration on temperature trends in the atmosphere.”
The report has at its core the question of disparity between tropospheric and surface-level temperatures (some explanation from the US Climate Change Science Program). Outburts such as these make a clear statement, but unfortunately, little directional change in governmental climate science can be seen through the media after such instances. A year ago, when a collaborative effort from the Union of Concerned Scientists – including many Nobel prize laureates – declared the Bush administration a science-phobic ostrich, that was it. So too with the recent “hockey stick” controversy.
When the report is published, it will fall prey to heavy scrutiny… but it’s anyone’s guess as to whether it will be up for revisions.
An aside: The Markets keep on truckin’… fleets once became economically viable by adding airdams to the tops of their truck cabs, back when oil prices were too high in the 70’s. Now, BioDiesel is becoming a close competitor for diesel. It’s happening in Oregon.