Hotcold Take: NOAA Climate Cultists To Rename It “Air Quality”

I’m not even sure what kind of graphic do I use for this. The animated BS meter? One of the various climate cult ones? A GIF of laughter? Something new? (via Jo Nova)

Anxious scientists brace for Trump’s climate denialism: ‘We have a target on our backs’

Something new

As the world’s largest gathering of Earth and space scientists swarmed a Washington venue last week, the packed halls have been permeated by an air of anxiety and even dread over a new Donald Trump presidency that might worsen what has been a bruising few years for science.

The annual American Geophysical Union (AGU) meeting drew a record 31,000 attendees this year for the unveiling of a slew of new research on everything from seismology to climate science to heliospheric physics, alongside a sprawling trade show and bouts of networking as scientists jostle to advance their work.

Did they take fossil fueled trips?

The prospect of an even more ideologically driven Trump administration slashing budgets and mass-firing federal staff has given America’s scientific community a sort of collective anxiety attack. “We all feel like we have a target on our backs,” said one National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration scientist, who added that agency staff are already seeking to “pivot” by replacing mentions of the climate crisis with more acceptable terms such as “air quality”.

“My god, it’s so depressing,” said another federal scientist about the incoming administration. A doctoral candidate, when asked about entering the workforce under Trump, simply puffed her cheeks and groaned. “If someone offered me a departmental position now, I’d jump,” said one Nasa researcher. “It’s hard, particularly for younger people. Hopefully we will survive it all.”

Nice try, cultists. Hypocritical cultists. They’re like people at Jonestown trying to cajole others into drinking the kool aid while they themselves don’t.

Some researchers think scientists should adapt to this hyper-partisan environment by sticking to unadorned facts, rather than anything that could be seen as campaigning. “We have been come to be seen as just another partisan lobbying group,” said Ken Caldeira, a climate scientist.

You are. As Jo writes “One day most scientists will say “we always knew it was overdone”. But right now, brave scientists are sticking to their beliefs … playing the victim card and adopting new advertising to keep their funding.”

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