The Real Terror Awaits

Slate has a good rundown on the latest climate change stories:

The NYT reports that James Hansen, NASA's "top climate scientist," says the Bush administration has tried to silence him ever since he gave a lecture last month calling for "prompt reductions" of greenhouse gases linked to global warming. (The administration's policy: Voluntary measures should be used to slow emissions.) Hansen, who directs NASA's Goddard Institute of Space Studies, claims that after the speech, the NASA public affairs staff was ordered to review his lectures, papers, web postings and requests for interviews. NASA higher-ups deny the muzzling, but one public affairs officer claims that another officer rejected an NPR request to interview Hansen because NPR's "liberal" slant would interfere with the officer's job "to make the president look good." The WP explains that now that scientists agree that global warming is caused by "human activity," they are free to debate how much the climate is changing and whether or not the change is dangerous. President Bush's chief science advisor suggests the danger may not be so grave: "There's no agreement on what it is that constitutes a dangerous climate change." The WP also reports that NASA officials tried to discourage a reporter from interviewing Hansen for the article and gave him the go ahead to talk only if an agency spokeswoman listened in on the conversation.

Apologies to Slate for "stealing" this wrap-up, but it's Monday morning and I am tired. Baby is still not sleeping well. Maybe she's worried about her future...?