General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsTrump's Interior Department Reportedly Changed Scientific Reports to Say Climate Change Is Good
Mar. 2, 2020
Trumps Interior Department Reportedly Changed Scientific Reports to Say Climate Change Is Good
By Matt Stieb
The presidents habit of changing facts to fit his personal outlook appears to be trickling down within the administration: According to the New York Times, an official at the Interior Department has, in at least nine reports, edited the agencys studies and impact statements to include misleading information including the debunked claim that rising levels of carbon dioxide driving climate change are beneficial to the planet.
The official, Indur M. Goklany, was promoted in 2017 to the office of the deputy secretary responsible for reviewing climate policies. His practice of altering reports was so well known within the agency it had its own shorthand: Goks uncertainty language. Goklany, who is an electrical engineer and not a climate scientist, often pushed inaccurate analysis into reports, like the claims that global warming is positive for agriculture because it may increase plant water use efficiency and lengthen the agricultural growing season. Neither idea reflects the scientific consensus that climate change will cause significant disruptions to agriculture in the U.S. and abroad.
Goks uncertainty language also attempted to question the accuracy of climate modeling, which is quite reliable, according to a recent study by scientists at the University of California, Berkeley. As the Times notes, Goklany has a long history of inaccurate climate skepticism and was only recently empowered within the agency he has worked for since the 1980s:
But Mr. Goklanys Interior Department responsibilities expanded substantially in the early months of the Trump administration, when he was elevated by Trump appointees to a position guiding the Interior Departments climate policy and began attending senior-level meetings and weighing in on early policy moves such as changes to the departments website In interviews, four current and former Interior Department officials said Mr. Goklanys rise was abrupt and unexpected.
Goklanys misleading language made it into reports that impacted major watersheds in the West including the agricultural powerhouse of the Klamath, Californias second-largest river by volume. According to environmental attorney Kristen Boyles, the ultimate goal of placing the information in the reports was to make it part of the record. She told the Times that having contradictory analysis in official scientific reports will allow climate skeptics in the agency to say, Were not going to consider climate change.
more...
https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2020/03/interior-edited-docs-to-say-climate-change-is-good-report.html