No surprise there. The emperor is not wearing any clothes, and neither, apparently, are his minions. Griffin wouldn't have a job if he didn't tow the administration's line that there's no problem. Kim -----Original Message----- From: utah-astronomy-bounces+kimharch=cut.net@mailman.xmission.com [mailto:utah-astronomy-bounces+kimharch=cut.net@mailman.xmission.com] On Behalf Of Seth Jarvis Sent: Thursday, May 31, 2007 8:29 AM To: Utah Astronomy Subject: RE: [Utah-astronomy] Unusual NASA release http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=10571499 Seth -----Original Message----- From: utah-astronomy-bounces+sjarvis=slco.org@mailman.xmission.com [mailto:utah-astronomy-bounces+sjarvis=slco.org@mailman.xmission.com] On Behalf Of Patrick Wiggins Sent: Wednesday, May 30, 2007 9:18 PM To: utah astronomy listserve utah astronomy Subject: [Utah-astronomy] Unusual NASA release The following just arrived from NASA Hq. I have not seen the NPR release it refers to. Anyone seen the NPR release in question or know what this is all about? pw May 30, 2007 David Mould Headquarters, Washington 202-358-1898 RELEASE: 07-125 STATEMENT IN RESPONSE TO INQUIRIES RELATED TO NPR PRESS RELEASE NASA Administrator Michael Griffin responded Wednesday to inquiries related to a National Public Radio press release. The radio network's release contained excerpts from an interview that included comments on global climate change. "NASA is the world's preeminent organization in the study of Earth and the conditions that contribute to climate change and global warming. The agency is responsible for collecting data that is used by the science community and policy makers as part of an ongoing discussion regarding our planet's evolving systems. It is NASA's responsibility to collect, analyze and release information. It is not NASA's mission to make policy regarding possible climate change mitigation strategies. As I stated in the NPR interview, we are proud of our role and I believe we do it well." For additional information about NASA and its programs, visit: http://www.nasa.gov -end- _______________________________________________ Utah-Astronomy mailing list Utah-Astronomy@mailman.xmission.com http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/utah-astronomy Visit the Photo Gallery: http://www.utahastronomy.com _______________________________________________ Utah-Astronomy mailing list Utah-Astronomy@mailman.xmission.com http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/utah-astronomy Visit the Photo Gallery: http://www.utahastronomy.com ______________________________________________________________________ This e-mail has been scanned by Cut.Net Managed Email Content Service, using Skeptic(tm) technology powered by MessageLabs. For more information on Cut.Nets Content Service, visit http://www.cut.net ______________________________________________________________________

And yet here is a piece on a NASA web site, posted today, saying "NASA and Columbia University Earth Institute research finds that human-made greenhouse gases have brought the Earth’s climate close to critical tipping points, with potentially dangerous consequences for the planet." http://www.nasa.gov/vision/earth/environment/danger_point.html Maybe they figured Columbia U was going to release the data so NASA should too? (Or maybe someone at NASA is soon to be out of a job...) pw On 31 May 2007, at 08:38, Kim wrote:

No surprise there. The emperor is not wearing any clothes, and neither, apparently, are his minions. Griffin wouldn't have a job if he didn't tow the administration's line that there's no problem.

Kim

And then, of course, they followed it up with an equal amount of time by global warming skeptics or others that may have understood his point. Oh, they didn't??? Gee, I thought that National Subsidized Radio was the "real" fair and balanced radio. I'm amazed that people that have studied evolution or "Ptomely vs Copernicus" are so upset by what the man said. As I take it - he said essentially, "what is so special about the temperatures, etc. at this point in time?" Was the temperature during the reign of the dinosaurs the "wrong" temperature? Was the temperature during the last ice age the "wrong" temperature? Was the temperature when people first settled on Greenland the "wrong" temperature? If you truly believe in evolution - do you not think that life will adapt to climate changes? If you also truly think that we are on our way to a runaway greenhouse effect and it warrants turning our economy into that of a third world nation - do you not think that your extraordinary claims warrant extraordinary proof? Clear skies, Dale.

-----Original Message----- From: utah-astronomy-bounces+dale.hooper=sdl.usu.edu@mailman.xmission.com [mailto:utah-astronomy- bounces+dale.hooper=sdl.usu.edu@mailman.xmission.com] On Behalf Of Seth Jarvis Sent: Friday, June 01, 2007 11:46 AM To: Utah Astronomy Subject: RE: [Utah-astronomy] Re: Unusual NASA release

I've just been in my car coming back from an off-site meeting and heard NPR's "On Point" program that included a discussion about the bizarre statement that Michael Griffin recently made about climate change. They aired Griffin's original comment on NPR, then followed up with short statements from the heads of multiple atmospheric researchers to the effect that they'd never heard anything so seriously "uninformed and out of touch" from the head of a major science research organization. The last person who commented on the subject put it into perspective, however. I'll paraphrase: "Griffin's a Bush appointee. In the last election the Bush campaign received $4.3 million from oil & gas, so what did you expect him to say?"

I think you can listen to it as an archive from NPR's web site:

http://www.onpointradio.org/shows/2007/06/20070601_a_main.asp

Seth

-----Original Message----- From: utah-astronomy-bounces+sjarvis=slco.org@mailman.xmission.com [mailto:utah-astronomy-bounces+sjarvis=slco.org@mailman.xmission.com] On Behalf Of Patrick Wiggins Sent: Thursday, May 31, 2007 4:56 PM To: Utah Astronomy Subject: [Utah-astronomy] Re: Unusual NASA release

And yet here is a piece on a NASA web site, posted today, saying "NASA and Columbia University Earth Institute research finds that human-made greenhouse gases have brought the Earth's climate close to critical tipping points, with potentially dangerous consequences for the planet."

http://www.nasa.gov/vision/earth/environment/danger_point.html

Maybe they figured Columbia U was going to release the data so NASA should too? (Or maybe someone at NASA is soon to be out of a job...)

pw

On 31 May 2007, at 08:38, Kim wrote:

...

No surprise there. The emperor is not wearing any clothes, and neither, apparently, are his minions. Griffin wouldn't have a job if he didn't tow the administration's line that there's no problem.

Kim

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The guy's a foreigner Patrick, what do you expect??? ;) Quoting Patrick Wiggins <paw@wirelessbeehive.com>:

ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY PRESS RELEASE: RAS PRESIDENT CONDEMNS NASA CHIEF’S COMMENTS ON GLOBAL WARMING Date: 1 June 2007 For Immediate Release Ref.: PN 07/32

Issued by: Robert Massey RAS Press Officer Royal Astronomical Society Burlington House Piccadilly London W1J 0BQ Tel: +44 (0)794 124 8035, +44 (0)20 7734 4582 E-mail: rm@ras.org.uk

Available for interview: Professor Michael Rowan-Robinson President, Royal Astronomical Society Mobile: +44 (0) 781 793 9950 Tel: +44 (0) 1502 725 223 E-mail: m.rrobinson@imperial.ac.uk

RAS website: http://www.ras.org.uk

RAS PRESIDENT CONDEMNS NASA CHIEF’S COMMENTS ON GLOBAL WARMING

Professor Michael Rowan-Robinson, President of the Royal Astronomical Society (RAS) and chair of the Astrophysics Group at Imperial College, London has roundly condemned remarks by NASA Administrator Michael Griffin that global warming is not an issue of pressing concern.

Dr Griffin, speaking on America's National Public Radio, accepted that man-made global warming exists but stated that it was something that we neither could, nor should, tackle.

Professor Rowan-Robinson, who is currently serving as president of the RAS, which represents more than 3000 astronomers worldwide, issued the following statement:

“I was disturbed to read the comments by the Head of NASA, Michael Griffin, on global warming and climate change. While accepting that a trend of global warming exists, he questions whether this ‘is a problem we must wrestle with’.

This is counter to the strong advice of the world's climate scientists, expressed through the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, who have urged the world's leaders to act swiftly to limit the rise in warming to no more than 2 degrees Centigrade. It is also counter to the Stern Report, which demonstrated that limiting global warming is both do-able and affordable.

Europe's space scientists, astronomers and solar system scientists, will be dismayed by Michael Griffin’s position and it will undermine their confidence in his leadership of NASA, an organisation with which the UK has a strong shared purpose.

I call on Michael Griffin to withdraw these comments.”

RELEASE ENDS

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