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Author: Oropan |
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Date Posted: 14:28:22 12/12/07 Wed In reply to: Oropan 's message, "LOL!" on 12:01:55 12/12/07 Wed Max Mayfield: 'No One Forced Me to Say Anything' Former Hurricane Center Director Contradicts Democrats' Political Pressure Claims By CLAYTON SANDELL Dec. 11, 2007 — The former director of the National Hurricane Center says political pressure did not cause him to change his congressional testimony to downplay the link between global warming and hurricanes contradicting the findings of a Democratic led investigation released Monday. "I can truthfully say that no one told me at any time what to say in regard to possible impacts of climate change on tropical cyclones," said Max Mayfield in an e-mail to ABC News. Mayfield was responding to questions about a section in a new report titled "Political Interference With Climate Change Science Under the Bush Administration" the end result of a 16-month investigation by the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. The committee is chaired by Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif. The report notes that in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, Mayfield was due to testify at a Sept. 2005 hearing before the Senate Commerce Committee on disaster prevention. The connection between global warming and stronger hurricanes had been getting renewed attention after new scientific studies released over the previous summer. The Waxman report details an e-mail from Tom Jones, a staffer for Alaska's Republican Sen. Ted Stevens, that he wrote to Noel Turner, an employee in the Office of Legislative Affairs at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, in the days leading up to the hearings. Jones apparently wanted Mayfield to say that global warming was not making hurricanes stronger. "We're going to work on smacking the [expletive] out of this issue," Jones wrote. "I'd love to have an answer from him that doesn't contain any long words or flavor of equivocation. Something like, 'mr chairman, the individuals who are implying that Katrina has something to do with global warming are just plain wrong. They don't understand the science and they're shamelessly trying to make political hay out of a national tragedy.'" Turner then e-mailed a colleague at NOAA about Jones' request. "If we can get something close and quotable, that would probably be good," Jones wrote. "I think the number one priority with this hearing is making FEMA [the Federal Emergency Management Agency] look bad. Number two could be killing the climate change and hurricanes issue." The Waxman report claims that "this political motivation seems to have impacted NOAA testimony and talking points" because Mayfield's written testimony included a statement similar to what Jones had asked for. For example, Mayfield's written testimony read in part: "the increased activity since 1995 is due to natural fluctuations/cycles of hurricane activity driven by the Atlantic Ocean itself along with the atmosphere above it and not enhanced substantially by global warming." Mayfield, however, denies that anyone told him to alter his testimony as the Waxman report suggests. "I want the record to show that no one forced me to say anything on the subject of climate change and tropical cyclones that I didn't believe at the time," Mayfield told ABC News. "I accept the fact that global warming is real," Mayfield said. "Most meteorologists with knowledge of tropical cyclones think that there will be some impact from global warming on hurricanes. The debate is over how much of an impact." He says he never heard from anyone on the committee about the incident. "No one ever asked me about the context in which my testimony was given. No one from this committee or any other Congressional committee ever asked me if I was improperly pressured to change my testimony," Mayfield said. A spokesperson for the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee could not immediately be reached for comment. Mayfield left the National Hurricane Center earlier this year and now works as a hurricane specialist for WPLG-TV in Miami. Copyright © 2007 ABC News Internet Ventures >I never believe a wrong that Waxman ever writes or >udders. He is a committed socialist and eveything is >partician with him. And I doubt that the Bush admin. >has control of all these scientists from all over the >World that dispute manmade global warming. I guess >that hard for people like you that worship at the >alter of global warming to understand. There is no >scientific facts to prove manmade global >warming....only the wishes of those that want to >believe it for their own goofy religious beliefs. Yes, >nutty environmentism is a religion. > > > > > > > > >>For the past 16 months, the House Oversight and >>Government Reform Committee has been investigating >>allegations of political interference with government >>climate change science under the Bush Administration. >>During the course of this investigation, the Committee >>obtained over 27,000 pages of documents from the White >>House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) and the >>Commerce Department, held two investigative hearings, >>and deposed or interviewed key officials. Much of the >>information made available to the Committee has never >>been publicly disclosed. >> >>This report presents the findings of the Committee’s >>investigation. The evidence before the Committee leads >>to one inescapable conclusion: the Bush Administration >>has engaged in a systematic effort to manipulate >>climate change science and mislead policymakers and >>the public about the dangers of global warming. >> >>In 1998, the American Petroleum Institute developed an >>internal “Communications Action Plan” that stated: >>“Victory will be achieved when … average citizens >>‘understand’ uncertainties in climate science … [and] >>recognition of uncertainties becomes part of the >>‘conventional wisdom.’” The Bush Administration has >>acted as if the oil industry’s communications plan >>were its mission statement. White House officials and >>political appointees in the agencies censored >>congressional testimony on the causes and impacts of >>global warming, controlled media access to government >>climate scientists, and edited federal scientific >>reports to inject unwarranted uncertainty into >>discussions of climate change and to minimize the >>threat to the environment and the economy. >> >>The White House Censored Climate Change Scientists >>The White House exerted unusual control over the >>public statements of federal scientists on climate >>change issues. It was standard practice for media >>requests to speak with federal scientists on climate >>change matters to be sent to CEQ for White House >>approval. By controlling which government scientists >>could respond to media inquiries, the White House >>suppressed dissemination of scientific views that >>could conflict with Administration policies. The White >>House also edited congressional testimony regarding >>the science of climate change. >> >>Former CEQ Chief of Staff Philip Cooney told the >>Committee: “Our communications people would render a >>view as to whether someone should give an interview or >>not and who it should be.” According to Kent Laborde, >>a career public affairs officer at the National >>Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, media requests >>related to climate change issues were handled >>differently from other requests because “I would have >>to route media inquires through CEQ.” This practice >>was particularly evident after Hurricane Katrina. Mr. >>Laborde was asked, “Did the White House and the >>Department of Commerce not want scientists who >>believed that climate change was increasing hurricane >>activity talking with the press?” He responded: “There >>was a consistent approach that might have indicated >>that.” >> >>White House officials and agency political appointees >>also altered congressional testimony regarding the >>science of climate change. The changes to the recent >>climate change testimony of Dr. Julie Gerberding, the >>Director of the Centers for Disease Control and >>Prevention, have received considerable attention. A >>year earlier, when Dr. Thomas Karl, the Director of >>National Climatic Data Center, appeared before the >>House Oversight Committee, his testimony was also >>heavily edited by both White House officials and >>political appointees at the Commerce Department. He >>was not allowed to say in his written testimony that >>“modern climate change is dominated by human >>influences,” that “we are venturing into the unknown >>territory with changes in climate,” or that “it is >>very likely (>95 percent probability) that humans are >>largely responsible for many of the observed changes >>in climate.” His assertion that global warming “is >>playing” a role in increased hurricane intensity >>became “may play.” >> >>The White House Extensively Edited Climate Change >>Reports >>There was a systematic White House effort to minimize >>the significance of climate change by editing climate >>change reports. CEQ Chief of Staff Phil Cooney and >>other CEQ officials made at least 294 edits to the >>Administration’s Strategic Plan of the Climate Change >>Science Program to exaggerate or emphasize scientific >>uncertainties or to deemphasize or diminish the >>importance of the human role in global warming. >> >>The White House insisted on edits to EPA’s draft >>Report on the Environment that were so extreme that >>the EPA Administrator opted to eliminate the climate >>change section of the report. One such edit was the >>inclusion of a reference to a discredited, >>industry-funded paper. In a memo to the Vice >>President’s office, Mr. Cooney explained: “We plan to >>begin to refer to this study in Administration >>communications on the science of global climate >>change” because it “contradicts a dogmatic view held >>by many in the climate science community that the past >>century was the warmest in the past millennium and >>signals of human induced ‘global warming.’” >> >>In the case of EPA’s Air Trends Report, CEQ went >>beyond editing and simply vetoed the entire climate >>change section of the report. >> >>Other White House Actions >>The White House played a major role in crafting the >>August 2003 EPA legal opinion disavowing authority to >>regulate greenhouse gases. CEQ Chairman James >>Connaughton personally edited the draft legal opinion. >>When an EPA draft quoted the National Academy of >>Science conclusion that “the changes observed over the >>last several decades are likely mostly due to human >>activities,” CEQ objected because “the above quotes >>are unnecessary and extremely harmful to the legal >>case being made.” The first line of another internal >>CEQ document transmitting comments on the draft EPA >>legal opinion reads: “Vulnerability: science.” The >>final opinion incorporating the White House edits was >>rejected by the Supreme Court in April 2007 in >>Massachusetts v. EPA. >> >>The White House also edited a 2002 op-ed by EPA >>Administrator Christine Todd Whitman to ensure that it >>followed the White House line on climate change. >>Despite objections from EPA, CEQ insisted on repeating >>an unsupported assertion that millions of American >>jobs would be lost if the Kyoto Protocol were >>ratified. >> >> >>href="http://oversight.house.gov/story.asp?ID=1653">ht >t >>p://oversight.house.gov/story.asp?ID=1653 [ Next Thread | Previous Thread | Next Message | Previous Message ] |
| Subject | Author | Date |
| Are the "wrong"(s) that Waxman "udders" homogenized? Does Norm Crosby know you've stolen his act? | Mo' Green | 11:47:48 12/13/07 Thu |
| Re: Are the "wrong"(s) that Waxman "udders" homogenized? Does Norm Crosby know you've stolen his act? | Oropan | 05:13:22 12/14/07 Fri |