Fired for not toeing the line.
Speaking truth to power can get you fired.
Meet
Mark Albright:
Associate State Climatologist Fired for Exposing Warming Myths
University of Washington climate scientist Mark Albright was dismissed on March 12 from his position as associate state climatologist, just weeks after exposing false claims of shrinking glaciers in the Cascade Mountains.
Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels (D) had asserted in a February 7 Seattle Times editorial, "the average snow pack in the Cascades has declined 50 percent since 1950 and will be cut in half again in 30 years if we don't start addressing the problems of climate change now."
Albright knew from his research that the Cascade Mountains snow pack had not declined anywhere near what Nickels asserted, and that the snow pack has actually been growing in recent years.
Albright sent out some emails correcting Nickels errors and this happened:
Albright noted in his emails the current snow pack is only marginally lower than the long-term average since 1943. Moreover, the Cascade Mountains snow pack has been growing since the late 1970s.
Albright's emails were particularly embarrassing to Philip Mote, the Washington state climatologist.
Mote had become well-known within the scientific community through his work documenting an asserted decline in Cascade Mountain glaciers. In late February, University of Washington atmospheric scientist Dennis Hartmann agreed to referee the brewing dispute.
Hartmann basically agreed with Albright but Mote went ballistic:
After Hartmann announced his conclusions, Mote became increasingly upset that Albright was distributing emails keeping his colleagues informed of the latest developments regarding the Cascade snow pack.
In early March Albright was told he would have to submit any emails connected with his associate state climatologist position to Mote for pre-approval prior to distribution.
When Albright refused to submit to Mote's censorship, Mote stripped him of his associate state climatologist title.
Mote asserted he was not trying to censor Albright's views, but that Albright's emails simply needed to go through proper quality checks.
Emphasis mine -- yeah riiight... But Mote's actions have been noted:
Cliff Mass, a professor of atmospheric sciences at the University of Washington, told the March 15 Seattle Times, "In all my years of doing science, I've never seen this sort of gag-order approach to doing science."
"Anytime politics intrudes on science, science is degraded and society as a whole is the loser," said Sterling Burnett, senior fellow at the National Center for Policy Analysis. "That is why the whole global warming issue is a mess right now. Scientists have not reached a scientific conclusion yet, but the politicians want to jump the gun and be seen as saviors on the issue. This is a recipe for disaster."
Slowly the cracks in the facade are starting to form. We need this monolith to tumble down into rubble before more damage is done...
Posted by DaveH at May 21, 2007 8:12 PM