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Monday, August 21, 2006

Yes, Virginia, there is global warming

With not much action happening at the federal level in terms of global warming, states are taking action -- including distancing themselves from those who deny it's a problem.

This weekend, the governor's office in Virginia sent a letter to the University of Virginia asking that Patrick J. Michaels -- one of the few scientists who believes warming isn't caused by human activity -- "not use his title of state climatologist when conducting his private consulting business," reports the Richmond Times-Dispatch.
The state is concerned that the U.Va. professor's controversial views on global warming could be mistaken for the state's views.
Michaels also appears to have some ethical problems related to who funds his research:
Michaels, who has been the state climatologist since 1980, has come under fire after news reports last month said a Colorado utility raised at least $150,000 in donations and pledges to help him analyze other scientists' global-warming research.
The University and the governor's office are now embroiled in a debate about whether Michael's actually is the state climatologist. Stay tuned.

(H/T to Grist for the blog headline)
posted by Chris Kromm at 4:33 PM | Email this post | Post a Comment
1 Comments:
Anonymous Pete H said...

No, Virginia, Chris didn't read his book. Simply thumbing through "Meltdown" you would realize that Michaels does believe some of the global climate change can be attributed to anthropogenic, i.e. manmade, greenhouse gases. He quotes from various sources, including the IPCC. He believes, as many in the IPCC believe, that the effect will be modest and predictable. Read the book, then sling the mud. An interesting sidenote is that the rest of the title of his book is "The Predictable Distortion of Global Warming by Scientists, Politicians, and the Media." Thanks for proving his point Chris

8/23/2006 7:59 AM  

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CHRIS KROMM blogs three days a week for Facing South. Chris is Executive Director of the Institute for Southern Studies and publisher of the Institute’s award-winning magazine, Southern Exposure.

SUE STURGIS blogs four days a week for Facing South. Sue is the Institute’s Editorial Director and a former reporter for The Independent Weekly and The Raleigh News & Observer.

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