Climate Science Not to Be Censored in Texas Report

 

The fossil fuel industry, the think tanks it funds, and the politicians it supports have a strong influence on communication of climate change and even climate science in the U.S. This has result in many an edited statement and even report. Luckily, a recent battle in Texas has resulted in favor of science.

“A public conflict between a Rice University oceanographer and the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) has been resolved, ending a case that brought back unpleasant memories of the climate science censorship scandals of the George W. Bush administration. The agreement, reported Wednesday by the Houston Chronicle, will allow a chapter on sea level rise to be included in a report on the state of Galveston Bay,” Andrew Freedman of Climate Central notes.

In October, it was revealed that TCEQ had heavily edited the sea level rise chapter by removing references to manmade causes of sea level rise, among other edits, spurring the oceanographer who wrote it, John Anderson, to withdraw his name from the report. In a show of solidarity, all the other scientists who contributed to the report withdrew their names as well.

Anderson issued a statement Wednesday expressing relief that the conflict has been resolved: “My research found that the rising sea levels in Galveston Bay are due to climate changes that are caused in part by humans. It is important that people have access to my complete scientific findings.”

In October, Anderson had slammed the Perry administration for censoring the report, saying: “I don’t think there is any question but that their motive is to tone this thing down as it relates to global change… It’s not about the science. It’s all politics.”

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