In a way it doesn't matter is we are facing warming, a new ice age or neither -- genocidal slaughter for oil and gas resources needs to stop irrespective of the climate. The pollution of the planet with industrial waste and things like DU and the steady extermination of the other species on the planet appear to be the steps down the road to the Earth becoming a DEATH STAR.

Capitalism is the fundamental problem and the C4 documentary was pro-capitalist.

...is on or linked from  http://climatedenial.org/

Ex-RCP film makers, who made Against Nature (eg Hitler was vegetarian & liked planting trees, therefore environmentalists are fascists...). If you believe their specious arguments, you have to get out more and think a little. Though tis easy to doubt, especially when they're feeding our desire to "not believe we have to do something radical now or we're fucked" - all their 'scientists' etc are professional contrarians (have done same for tobacco & nuclear industries), or aren't qualified. See website and others for more info. Oh, and do something. Now.

Obviously George Enron Bush and Dick Halliburton Cheney have something
(more) to hide. The truth must be pretty damning to order them not to
speak the truth. But then we all know exactly how damning it is. Only
the corporterrorists and their supporters are global-warming deniers
now.

U.S. accused of silencing experts on polar bears, climate change
Scientists told not to speak officially at conferences
Jane Kay, Chronicle Environment Writer

Friday, March 9, 2007

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The federal agency responsible for protecting Arctic polar bears has
barred two Alaska scientists from speaking about polar bears, climate
change or sea ice at international meetings in the next few weeks, a
move that environmentalists say is censorship.

The rule was issued last month by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
but was made public this week. The federal government has proposed
listing the polar bear as a threatened species, and the wildlife
agency is receiving public comment on the proposal.

"It's a gag order," said Deborah Williams, a former high-level
Interior Department official in Anchorage, Alaska, who received
documents on Wednesday from Alaska scientists who chose to remain
unnamed. The documents make the subjects of polar bears, climate
change and sea ice off limits to all scientists who haven't been
cleared to speak on the topics.

Two of the memos are copies of those prepared for Craig Perham and
Janet E. Hohn, who are traveling to Russia and Norway this month and
in April. The scientists "will not be speaking on or responding to
these issues'' of climate change, polar bears and sea ice, the memos
say. Before any trip, such a memo must be sent to the administrator of
the Fish and Wildlife Service in Washington.

According to the memos, agency scientists must obtain a memorandum
designating which official, if any, is allowed to respond to
questions, particularly about polar bears, and include "a statement of
assurance that these individuals understand the Administration's
position on these issues.''

Tina Kreisher, communications director of the Interior Department,
which oversees the wildlife agency, said in an interview Thursday that
the government isn't trying to silence scientists from talking about
their findings -- but they don't want them to make policy statements.

At a news conference, Fish and Wildlife Director H. Dale Hall denied
that the memos were a form of censorship. He described the content of
the documents as part of a policy to establish an agenda and the
appropriate spokesperson for international meetings.

Considering the high-profile nature of climate change and the issues
that might come up, it was prudent to know ahead of time what everyone
was going to discuss, he said.

"We are not gagging scientists,'' said Hall. They can speak with other
scientists at international gatherings in conversations or at dinner
but may not speak for the United States government in a formal
setting, he said. The agency would frown on their going to news
conferences in a host country, he added.

When asked for the administration's position with which the Alaska
scientists would have to be familiar, Hall said, "The Earth is
warming, and we have to understand how to deal with that and to slow
down greenhouse gases and manage the changes that will occur,'' he
said.

The agency has taken steps to evaluate whether the polar bear should
be listed and has significant questions about scientific studies,
including those dealing with when sea ice will melt and the effects on
the bear, he said.

Environmentalists who petitioned for the new protections for polar
bears hope that a listing would force mandatory limits to greenhouse
gases. At present, the administration prefers voluntary programs to
cut emissions and has taken the position that carbon dioxide, the
predominate greenhouse gas, can't be regulated as a pollutant under
the Clean Air Act.

Kieran Suckling, policy director of the Center for Biological
Diversity, one of the groups that submitted the petition to list the
polar bear, said muzzling of scientists at international meetings
isn't appropriate.

"That type of memo might be appropriate for the State Department and
purely political issues," he said. "What we're dealing with here is
science. How many polar bears are there? Why are they going extinct?
What is the cause of the ice melting? It's completely inappropriate to
ban scientists from talking about science.''

Williams, an attorney who received the documents about rules for
scientists' speech, was special assistant to the secretary of the
Interior under the Clinton administration for six years. She now heads
an environmental consulting firm, Alaska Conservation Solutions.

"I worked very closely with Fish and Wildlife and other Interior
agencies, and a memo like this is truly inconceivable," she said.
"This is an issue of international significance, and you want your
professional public servants to be able to discuss these issues. It is
unconscionable to gag them.''

The Bush administration has been under fire for several years for
allegedly trying to curb the speech of government scientists who
produce studies that contradict the administration's positions,
particularly on global warming.

Scientists in the Fish and Wildlife Service, the U.S. Geological
Survey and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration have
been chastised for speaking to reporters, and some have been asked to
submit papers and lectures to high-level managers for review.
Political appointees at NASA have turned down journalists' requests
for interviews with scientists, and the Minerals Management Service
has allowed journalists to interview scientists, including on polar
bear observations, only if the agency could record them.

The agencies challenged scientists over studies revealing negative
effects of oil development on the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and
the drownings of polar bears possibly associated with shrinking sea
ice.

The beloved furry Arctic animal has become a symbol for the dire
effects of a warming world. Four dead polar bears floating in Arctic
Ocean waters, which may be attributed to the long swim from the
diminishing sea ice to land, were shown by former Vice President Al
Gore in his documentary, "An Inconvenient Truth.''

The rampART is showing a two evening series of films which includes 'the denial machine', a documentary about the climate denial industry funded by big oil.

Films are thursday 15th and friday 16th from 8pm

see  http://www.rampart.co.nr for details

A number of people have commented to me on the recent c4 programme. If anyone is interested in reading a bit more about how it was received by the climate scientists and some critical comments then please visit realclimate.org . This site also has a contribution by Carl Wunsch who was one of the main scientific contributors to the programme. He has made a formal complaint to the company for misrepresenting his views and opinions in the programme. Please do read this for a more balanced view even if you then decide to believe the solar effect theory - the more facts and opinions the better!

I don't drive a car and I never fly, but I have doubts about man-made global warming.

Doubts - that's all. Doubts are healthy.

If humans aren't causing global warming it doesn't change much. We still need to stop burning fossil fuels like crazy and we still need to look after the environment.

But the truth matters.

to the global warming eco activist mind set mentality which says we should all be unquestionabley swayed by the global warming arguement.....10 years ago a majority of the british people thourght tony blair was an inspirational leader it did not make them right then and now i doubt many of them still think their 1997 vote was well spent.we seem to now live in a society that sends out dictates on certain issues and then works on the public Consciousness so the dictates become doctrines and the masses just swallow it hook line and sink.those enviromental scientists featured in the documentary were not playing games they were giving well informed opinions on issues in which they specialise and it was good to hear an alternative set of opinions.
josh

climate change is the evolution of man or should it be the devolution of man, whatever way the middle class are killing themselevs only thing i object to is they're killing the working class as well..