Representatives of 194 nations who met in South Africa in December reached a last-minute agreement to sign a treaty to reduce greenhouse emissions. It was an imperfect conclusion at best: an agreement to have a binding agreement in place by 2020, a date many climate scientists consider too late to turn around the climate trends […]

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The aim, of course, was to make researchers working on projects like “computer models to analyze the on-field contributions of soccer players” look profligate and foolish. Though mutual skepticism between lay citizens and academic scientists is nothing new, harnessing this ambivalence to further the aims of the Republican party was ingenious. Despite the fact that […]

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Cuccinelli In Court—In the September 1 issue we referred to the scientific critique that Virginia Attorney General Kenneth Cuccinelli included in a broad subpoena of the correspondence of climate scientist Michael Mann. In denying the subpoena, a circuit court judge in Virginia made it clear that he’s not buying Cuccinelli’s science. “The court has read […]

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GRAND ISLE IS Louisiana’s only inhabited barrier island and is normally a destination spot for tourists who want to experience the Gulf Coast Cajun-style. The sandy beaches that summer tourists and residents once flocked to are closed after being sullied by the crude oil washing up since late May, following the April 20 explosion of […]

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A (Dead) Man, A (Response) Plan Rep. Markey: Mr. Lutz died in 2005, four years before the plan was actually filed. How, Mr. Tillerson, can you justify in a response plan having a person who has been dead for four years? Is that also an embarrassment? Mr. Tillerson: Well, it’s embarrassing. —Rep. Edward Markey questioning […]

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