Union of Concerned Scientists wants a one-sided Senate hearing panel, asks for money

7/17/13, "Kenji gets mail – ‘Union of Concerned Scientists’ wants a one-sided Senate hearing panel, asks for money," WUWT, Anthony Watts

"UCS supporter—

It’s bad enough that climate deniers get elected to Congress.

But it gets much worse: some purveyors of disinformation sit on the House Science Committee. 

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Rep. Lamar Smith, who chairs the committee, wrote a recent Washington Post op-ed replete with misleading information about the science of global warming.¹ Rep. Jim Bridenstine believes atmospheric temperatures have more to do with solar activity than human activity. AND he is about to introduce a bill to defund climate change research. Oh, and he wants President Obama to apologize for funding it.²

I wish I were making it up, but I’m not. We need your help today so we can continue our work mobilizing prominent scientists, armed with facts, to testify on Capitol Hill, meet with lawmakers, and speak out in the press. What we do works—but it doesn’t happen without support and resources from people like you.

Before MIDNIGHT TONIGHT all gifts will be matched dollar-for-dollar, up to $125,000. Give now—time is running out! 

Thank you for fighting for science.

—Kathy

P.S. Need more reasons to donate before midnight? Check out our previous message below.

1. http://www.ucsusa.org/news/press_release/policymakers-climate-science-0383.html
2. http://thehill.com/blogs/e2-wire/e2-wire/304801-gop-bill-would-boost-weather-forecasting-reduce-climate-research

So much for the Democratic process. I wonder how UCS will use money sent today to somehow make a change to the list of people testifying on Thursday? The previous message they reference is also pretty funny. They claim Shaun Marcott was abused by ‘hate mail’ and “bloggers twisted his research” but provide no proof of it, simply linking to his FAQs on RealClimate and a USA today story about James Hansen as a reference. Pretty lame.
Here’s the previous pitch for money:

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Dear UCS supporter,

When Dr. Shaun Marcott published a groundbreaking paper showing the world is warmer today than it has been for thousands of years, climate deniers went ballistic.¹ They sent him hate mail, and bloggers twisted his research.

When Dr. Joseph Skorupa’s research showed that phosphate mines were polluting waterways and poisoning trout, his supervisors at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service told him not to go on The Daily Show to publicize the findings, saying: “the leadership doesn’t want you to go on and they will make your life hell,” according to Skorupa. “Part of the threat was that my colleagues would also be punished.”² Skorupa felt he had no choice but to decline to go on the show.

The truth can’t always protect itself. When researchers get targeted, sound science can lose out to ideology and corporate agendas. The Union of Concerned Scientists helps researchers like Dr. Marcott and Dr. Skorupa, providing technical, moral, and media support.

Today, you can help even more scientists brave enough to stand up for the facts: There are only two days left to help us reach our goal. What we’re able to raise before Wednesday will have major implications for the work we can do in the months ahead.

Help scientists in jeopardy, and your online donation will be MATCHED dollar-for-dollar, up to $125,000. 

When you make a tax-deductible gift to the Union of Concerned Scientists, you make a difference for science. Here are just some of the reasons why:

• You’re empowering scientists. We helped Dr. Marcott focus the media on his findings—not the false controversies dreamed up by talking heads. “I never expected this to happen,” said Dr. Marcott. “I’m glad there’s a group like UCS that can be there for scientists when they’re attacked for their work.”
• You’re helping stand up for the facts. UCS teaches scientists how to clearly communicate their research to the public and respond to attacks. And our Science Network gives 20,000 scientists and technical experts opportunities to connect with policy makers, directly impacting laws that protect our families and our planet.
• You’re protecting scientists who speak the truth. UCS members were instrumental in passing groundbreaking whistleblower protections—in part by showing lawmakers over 400 federal experts who are uncomfortable with their agency’s timid approach to censorship of publicizing the results of their science.

Will you be there for scientists who need you? The next round of attacks could happen any day—for Dr. Skorupa, Dr. Marcott, or another courageous scientist. When you give now, you’ll help them face down the insults, misinformation, and intimidation.

Don’t miss your chance. Give now to have your contribution MATCHED dollar-for-dollar, up to $125,000. 

Our opponents aren’t resting—and we can’t either. Together, we’ll make sure the truth wins out. We have to—the world is depending on scientists and concerned citizens like you and me to create a healthy, sustainable future.

On behalf of all the scientists we work with, thank you for your support.

Sincerely, Kathleen Rest, PhD, MPA Executive Director

1. http://www.realclimate.org/index.php/archives/2013/03/response-by-marcott-et-al/
2. http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/columnist/vergano/2013/04/06/hansen-federal-scientists-communication/2053077/

It seems Kevin Knobloch is out and Kathleen Rest is in as president. Given the ever present drumbeat for money

, perhaps the “Union of Concerned Shysters” might be a better name?"...

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Five climate lies told to the US Senate on August 1, 2012:

8/1/12, "IPCC Lead Author Misleads US Congress," RogerPielkeJr blog

"The politicization of climate science is so complete that the lead author of the IPCC's Working Group II on climate impacts feels comfortable presenting testimony to the US Congress that fundamentally misrepresents what the IPCC has concluded. I am referring to testimony given today by Christopher Field, a professor at Stanford, to the US Senate.

This is not a particularly nuanced or complex issue. What Field says the IPCC says is blantantly wrong, often 180 degrees wrong. It is one thing to disagree about scientific questions, but it is altogether different to fundamentally misrepresent an IPCC report to the US Congress. Below are five instances in which Field's testimony today completely and unambiguously misrepresented IPCC findings to the Senate."...

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Following are two examples of science UCS couldn't use to raise money. Two federally funded studies: man caused global warming not connected to Superstorm Sandy, 2012 US drought not connected to global warming or man-caused climate change:

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5/28/13, Peer reviewed NASA study says Superstorm Sandy not due to man-caused global warming or climate change:

5/28/13, "On the impact angle of Hurricane Sandy's New Jersey landfall," Geophysical Research Letters, Hall and Sobel

"Hall and Sobel report their findings in a paper published last week (29 May 2013) in Geophysical Research Letters, a journal of the American Geophysical Union."...

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NOAA study says US 2012 weather extremes due to natural causes, not global warming:

 
4/12/13, “Study Reveals Global Warming Not To Blame For Last Year’s Crippling Drought,” stlouis.cbslocal.com with AP
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“A new federal study reveals that global warming is not to blame for last year’s extreme drought that crippled the central Great Plains. The study conducted by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Drought Task Force places the blame on natural variations.“…  

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If Senators, UCS, and others get their science news only from broadcast television networks, they'll never know that global warming has "paused" for at least 15 years:

7/11/13, "Networks Do 92 Climate Change Stories; Fail to Mention 'Lull' in Warming All 92 Times, ABC, CBS and NBC ignore 'mystery' warming plateau in favor of alarmism about sea levels, allergies, weather." Wall St. Journal, Julia A. Seymour

"Just since Jan. 1, 2013, ABC, CBS and NBC morning and evening news programs have aired 92 stories about "climate change" or "global warming." Not a single one of those stories mentioned the "warming plateau" reported even by The New York Times on June 10."...  

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