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Congressman Investigates Climate Scientists
By Gwendolyn Bradley
The chair of the House of Representatives Committee on Energy and Commerce in July launched an investigation of three climate scientists whose research showed a sharp rise in global temperatures in recent decades. The scientists attributed the rise largely to greenhouse gases produced by burning fossil fuels. Representative Joe Barton sent letters to the scientists—Michael Mann of the University of Virginia, Raymond Bradley of the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, and Malcolm Hughes of the University of Arizona—demanding that they submit detailed information about hundreds of studies and turn over the computer programs used to analyze data.
The investigation has met with widespread criticism, with many observers characterizing it as harassment or intimidation. Each of the three professors criticized the request, and the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the National Science Foundation, and other science groups wrote letters of protest. In an unusual development, the chairperson of another House committee publicly chastised Barton for his request. Representative Sherwood Boehlert, chair of the Science Committee, characterized the investigation as “illegitimate” and said that it “raises the specter of politicians opening investigations against any scientist who reaches a conclusion that makes the political elite uncomfortable.”
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