Counteracting and Confronting The Lies Locally - a local story (North Carolina headsup!)

[Lodestar]

Here's a perfect example of how big money manipulates local governments and silences truth in very destructive ways.
This situation urgently requires local attention and response which is where most battles need to be fought. And those pulling the strings behind a protective curtain of anonymity need to have the curtain thrown back and their names in lights for what they are doing.

As real science has made clear and as we are all now witnessing first hand the world over, there are undeniable earth changes happening that demand that communities make plans and changes to keep their citizens safe. In fact it is urgent that we have open discussions and planning sessions on local, national and global levels. One such effect that needs to be addressed immediately is sea rise and questions of development and rebuilding efforts along coastlines. These are NOT political issues, but are being placed in that arena in order to keep response divided and buried by big money.

Read the following story and if you live in this area of North Carolina or are experiencing a similar situation in your local community, ask yourself what you can do to confront these 'quiet' attempts at squashing information and discussion by a million small cuts. Vigilance!


N.C. Museum of Natural Sciences director puts kibosh on documentary about sea-level rise

The director of the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences is refusing to allow a documentary about sea-level rise to show at the museum’s Science Café.

Shored Up, a film by director Ben Kalina, explores issues regarding coastal communities, specifically the New Jersey shore and the Outer Banks of North Carolina, in light of super storms and rising seas.
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Coastal federation officials told the INDY that the science is solid in the documentary, although it is clearly advocacy work that shows the policy failings regarding sea-level rise. It does not include rebuttals from people who think sea-level rise is either not happening or is not a threat. The film also contains footage from The Colbert Report in which Stephen Colbert ridicules North Carolina legislators who, in 2012, outlawed scientifically sound methods of measuring sea levels along the coast.

As the INDY reported in June 2012, the law restricts the ability of state agencies to accurately forecast and prepare for sea-level rise. As a result, developers could continue to profit from building in vulnerable, low-lying coastal areas free of additional regulations that would apply if the state accounted for higher seas.

The law was a victory for NC-20, a nonprofit governmental group stacked with coastal development and real estate interests, who successfully persuaded a science panel of the Coastal Resources Commission to significantly change its policy proposal. Those amendments included restricting state and local governments to using only select historical data to predict sea-level rise. Under those conditions, the forecast is not 3 feet, but 8 inches.

MORE
http://www.indyweek.com/triangulator/archives/2013/11/15/nc-museum-of-natural-sciences-director-puts-kibosh-on-documentary-about-sea-level-rise

[uppityperson]

1. Is your point that these restrictions (copy/pasted below) are too much, or that we need vigilance at

local levels?

Coastal federal officials said they were told the film had to be reviewed by several levels of museum management, including the programming committee. Ultimately, because of the politically sensitive subject matter, museum leadership wanted more control over the event. That could have included a post-screening panel discussion with people who could express differing viewpoints. In addition, museum officials reportedly told the federation that the Science Café space is too small to accommodate the potentially large crowd that would be interested in the film.

In addition, coastal federation officials said they were led to believe that the film would show at a later date in a different space and with a panel discussion. However, Koster told the programming committee that the museum would not show the film at all.

[Lodestar]

2. They are being given the run-around and have no intention of showing the film.

So the vigilance needs to be directed at confronting the Museum for its decision not to show the film, as well as at the amendments and its supporters who have attempted to block the science.

As the INDY reported in June 2012, the law restricts the ability of state agencies to accurately forecast and prepare for sea-level rise. As a result, developers could continue to profit from building in vulnerable, low-lying coastal areas free of additional regulations that would apply if the state accounted for higher seas.

The law was a victory for NC-20, a nonprofit governmental group stacked with coastal development and real estate interests, who successfully persuaded a science panel of the Coastal Resources Commission to significantly change its policy proposal. Those amendments included restricting state and local governments to using only select historical data to predict sea-level rise. Under those conditions, the forecast is not 3 feet, but 8 inches.

[uppityperson]

3. Do you have a direct link for the museum so people can contact them?

[Lodestar]

4. Yes. Should be ATTN: Museum Director, Emlyn Koster

Last edited Sat Nov 16, 2013, 09:04 PM - Edit history (1)

http://naturalsciences.org/form/contact-us
Main Online Contact form

Staff Directory:
http://naturalsciences.org/contact-us/staff-directory

Emlyn Koster, PhD
Title: Museum Director
Phone: [phone]
Email:
Section: Administration

The main Museum building is located at:
11 West Jones Street
Raleigh, NC 27601
Phone: [phone]
TTY: 919.715.6464

Mailing address:
NC Museum of Natural Sciences
1626 Mail Service Center
Raleigh, NC 27699-1626

The Nature Research Center is across the street at:
121 West Jones Street
Raleigh, NC 27603
Phone: [phone]

Would be nice to see this issue show up in the editorials of the local papers too!