Scientists give harsh grades to Trump administration work aimed at undoing a key climate finding
By ASSOCIATED PRESS
By SETH BORENSTEIN and MICHAEL PHILLIS
Excerpt: WASHINGTON (AP) — Two key documents from the Trump administration aimed at revoking the long-standing finding that climate change is dangerous were filled with errors, bias and distortions, according to dozens of scientists surveyed by The Associated Press.
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Jennifer Marlon, director of data science at the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication, was among those.
“The work and conclusions appear biased. The data and graphs use classic mis- and disinformation techniques,” she said. “It is almost a user’s guide on how to lie with figures.”
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“I would give them both a D on truth and an A on deviousness,” wrote climate scientist Jennifer Francis of the Woodwell Climate Research Center. She said the analysis was twisted to support the desired narrative.
“The EPA report gets an ‘R’ for ridiculous,” she said.
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“The report’s preface states clearly that it is not meant to be a comprehensive review of climate science but rather is focused on important data and topics that have been underreported or overlooked in media and political discussions,” the DOE report’s authors said in a joint statement provided by co-author Ross McKitrick, a professor at the University of Guelph in Canada specializing in environmental economics.
“Generic accusations of bias or cherry-picking are not helpful for serious scientific discussions,” they said.
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One economics expert cited in the report praised it, saying it departed from unnecessarily alarmist findings of other national and international climate assessments.
“The problem is that mainstream ‘climate science’ is pretty worthless. Hopelessly politicized, mired in groupthink and virtue signaling,” said James Davidson, a professor at the University of Exeter. His work was cited to dispute the mainstream scientific finding that rising carbon dioxide levels in the past drove warming.
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End excerpt
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