Trying to Silence Science
January 28th, 2006 by Jim SpadacciniThe top climate scientist at NASA says the Bush administration has tried to stop him from speaking out since he gave a lecture last month calling for prompt reductions in emissions of greenhouse gases linked to global warming.
The scientist, James E. Hansen, longtime director of the agency’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies, said in an interview that officials at NASA headquarters had ordered the public affairs staff to review his coming lectures, papers, postings on the Goddard Web site and requests for interviews from journalists.
Dr. Hansen said he would ignore the restrictions.
We appreciate that Dr. Hansen will continue to speak out. Censorship isn’t healthy for science or democracy.
Update (1/29/06): An interesting article in the Washington Post, Debate on Climate Shifts to Issue of Irreparable Change quotes Dr. Hansen rather extensively and talks about efforts by the administration to silence him.
February 9th, 2006 at 8:27 pm
[...] A New York Times Editorial has more on the the controversy surrounding the Bush administration’s alleged effort to silence NASA scientist Dr. James E. Hansen after he gave a lecture calling for quick reductions in greenhouse emissions. [...]
March 20th, 2006 at 2:17 pm
[...] Last night 60 minutes aired a piece entitled “ReWriting the Science” about NASA scientist Jim Hansen and the efforts of the Bush administration to silence him. I posted about this story back in January and February with various links to articles in the New York Times and Washington Post. Ironically, all of the attention has helped Dr. Hansen get the word out… “There’s no doubt about that, says Hansen. “The natural changes, the speed of the natural changes is now dwarfed by the changes that humans are making to the atmosphere and to the surface.” [...]