Nebraska approves climate-denying study; scientists refuse to conduct it

http://www.salon.com/2013/10/24/nebraska_approves_climate_denying_study_scientists_refuse_to_conduct_it/

Thursday, Oct 24, 2013
By Lindsay Abrams

A study on the impact of climate change on Nebraska, recently approved by the state, may not be carried out — because its own scientists are refusing to be a part of it.

The problem, according to members of the governor-appointed Climate Assessment and Response Committee, is that the bill behind the study specifically calls for the researchers to look at “cyclical” climate change. In so doing, it completely leaves out human contributions to global warming.

At a discussion yesterday, the Omaha World-Herald Bureau reports, Barbara Mayes, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service, pointed out that “cyclical” isn’t even a scientific term.

And it’s not just a misuse of language: State Sen. Beau McCoy, who added the word to the bill, is a known climate denier. “I don’t subscribe to global warming,” McCoy said during an earlier debate about the legislation. ”I think there are normal, cyclical changes.”

At the meeting, a number of scientists stood up to declare that they refused to take part in the study:

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