Continuing on the scientific theme, check out the New York Times' latest bombshell, this time accusing the Bush administration of trying to muzzle the government's leading global warming researcher, NASA scientist James Hansen.
This is not a post about whether global warming is real or imagined. It's real, at least based on about 100 years of instrument data and several thousand years of tree rings. There are disagreements about the cause, and if we had several thousand years of reliable data it might allow us to make more informed decisions. There's still a lot we don't know.
Therefore it's irresponsible to speak with absolute certainty about mitigation strategies, which is what Dr. Hansen wants to do. As bad as this sounds, federal employees don't have the right to promote personal opinions on politics or policy when speaking for their agencies. Just soze Dr. Hansen doesn't feel he's being picked on, this restriction applies throughout Uncle Sam-dom. He wasn't hired as some kind of environmental pope.
There are good reasons for this. Imagine each CIA station chief telling the media what they think our foreign policy should be, or a Census official offering opinions on how to handle diversity or border issues. When they speak for their agency they speak for the administration, like it or not. Similar restrictions apply in the corporate world.
There's an easy way around this. Dr. Hansen can simply retire into private consulting where he'll be free to speak his mind all the live long day.
MORE 1/29/06
Here is Dr. Hansen's University of Iowa speech. Frankly speaking he's making an end run around administration rules, and that's my only beef. Allow me to make a comparison.
Say the Director of the National Weather Service, a government agency, shows up at a climate seminar and announces he's paid his own way and will speak as a private citizen. He then proceeds to blast the Bush administration--his bosses--for making a Faustian bargain by underfunding NWS in the face of record numners of hurricanes and tornadoes, stating that the country is heading for disaster. He says thank you, gets in his car and drives back to DC, then reports to work Monday morning. Think he'd get away with it?
SOTU REPLY?
It's probably only a coincidence that Bush plans to speak about alternative energy/energy independence on Tuesday night, but it certainly could be viewed as a response to the Hansen story.
2 comments:
"As bad as this sounds, federal employees don't have the right to promote personal opinions on politics or policy when speaking for their agencies."
True, but he wasn't speaking for his agency. He was clear that he was offering his personal opinion and not a statement from NASA.
Now if NASA enforced it's pre approval regulation on all NASA employees it might be more fair. But as they describe, Indur M. Goklany who's views were more in line with the administration had no restrictions on interviews.
And seriously, given the administrations history of cherry picking intelligence as well as "doctoring" federal science I'll happily put up with some honest officials pointing out the fact that in the Bush administration, science is relative.
I didn't read the column that way. Mr. Hansen mentioned NASA's mission statement in context to his presumed muzzling, therefore I figured he was referring to events where he was acting in his official capacity. If it was the latter, then I agree with you that he can speak with certain disclaimers and permission.
But Hansen knows that policy--he also knew going to the Times would carry more weight in the effort to undermine policies of his boss, the president, more than he could do by himself. In that regard--mission accomplished. Hope he enjoys his new assignment.
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