Censoring Science: Inside the Political Attack on Dr. James Hansen and the Truth of Global Warming
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Product Description
From acclaimed writer and physicist Mark Bowen, Censoring Science tells the true story of the Bush administrations censorship of the worlds preeminent climatologist, and the science behind global warming that they do not want you to know. The facts dont lie:
2005 was the warmest year since the invention of the thermometer.
2006 is on track to become the hottest year ever recorded in the United States.
The six hottest years on record have occurred in the last eight years, and the twenty-two hottest years on record have occurred in the last twenty-six years.
Preeminent climatologist and leading NASA scientist Dr. James Hansen has been studying climate for over three decades. It was his testimony to a Senate committee in 1988 that first brought the threat of global warming to the worlds attention. In January 2006, news broke that the Bush administration had been attempting to censor Dr. Hansenobscuring his message and suppressing the vast body of his scientific work, which unequivocally demonstrates the reality and immense danger of global warming. Now, for the first time and with unfiltered access, writer and physicist Mark Bowen finally tells the exclusive story of Hansens decades-long battle to bring the truth about global warming to light. Censoring Science illuminates the real science behind global warming and maintains that we can still prevent environmental disaster, while both strengthening our economy and our national security. In the tradition of Ron Suskinds blockbuster bestseller, The Price of Loyalty, Censoring Science exposes the truth behind the administrations spin doctors, and shares the inside story of one of the most important and influential scientists of our time.
Spotlight Customer Reviews:
Summary:
excellent after the first 100 pages
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Comment:
I would caution the reader not to be discouraged by the first 100 pages which are a detailed account of the back and forth exchange of memos and directives handed down from NASA public relations as they attempted to reign in the scientists from making scientific statements that were interpreted as critical the coal and petroleum industry. Clearly we can solve a lot of our problems by burning NASA PR hacks instead of coal. If however you are employed by a government agency where your work could be surpressed or politicised, then this book is essential reading. The book focuses heavily on Hansen and the singular importance of his work. My only criticism is that I was often confused about the timeline of what was happening. I was often lost as to when and in what order statements and discoveries were actually made. What is remarkable about this book is that it names names. It names a LOT of names. A lifetime of scores are being settled here. The second half of the book does bring the reader up to late 2007 in the global warming debate. Things are changing fast, however, none of it in the right direction. This book may soon be out of date as a current summary of developing global warming issues, but it is priceless as an historical record which may prove to be as important as the Manhatten project .
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Summary:
Important Story on Suppression of Global Warming Science
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Comment:
I have had the opportunity to hear James Hansen deliver a lecture, and he is truly inspiring to many of us in the environmental field. Certain politicians simply did not want to hear what he had to say about global heating, so they tried to censor his message. A very important story that has finally seen the light of day.
If you've followed general environmental news for the past few years, the revelations within this book may not come as a big surprise, but I still found the actual mechanics behind science suppression to be very interesting.
The book is essentially two books in one - the first part is about Dr. James Hansen, and the second part is more on the general topic of global warming. Although several reviewers have stated the book did not become interesting until the second half, I had the opposite reaction, as the second half was largely review to me, while the Hansen story was new.
My main quibble with the book was not the message, but the organization. The organization of the book was a little difficult to follow at times, with the story presented in a non-chronological manner, with lots of shifting among different years from chapter to chapter. I think the narrative would have flowed much more smoothly if the years covered had been boldly placed at each chapter title page. Several times, the year being covered wasn't clear, as the author kept changing between 2005, 2001, the 1980s, and so on.
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Summary:
Extremely tedious but informative.
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Comment:
I struggle trying to decide what to write about this book. On the one hand, large portions of it are extremely tedious to get through and seem like overkill. On the other hand, a few parts are some of the best writing on the global warming issue I have read recently. The book begins with a section that covers about the first half, which is basically an almost blow-by-blow accounting of all sorts of censorship, editing, distortion, and intimidation by political appointees in NASA. I suspect many people will give up on this book before finishing this part. I think it is too long and detailed. Perhaps more summary with a few well-placed examples would have sufficed. Around the middle of the book, the tone changes greatly, and there is much more coverage of Hansen's actual work through the years and what it showed about global warming. In this section Hansen is depicted as a careful scientist who basically got it right 30 years ago and has been getting better since. This section contains some of the best descriptions of how real-world data and modeling fit the picture, and why global warming deniers are way off base. Finally, towards the end of the book emphasis shifts to Hansen's more recent advocacy in favor of doing something, and (the author's)dire predictions for what's in store if we don't. Curiously, the descriptions of how much Hansen has been doing found at the end of the book seem a little out of synch with the claims of censorship and muzzling found at the beginning of the book.
In the second half of the book, Bowen seems to rely on the work of Journalist Ross Gelbspan, who shares an interest in how political forces have tried to distort or derail the science of global warming, and some of the material from his own previous book on the study of ice.
I think the following extremely important points can be gleaned from the book:
1) Hansen is a very meticulous scientist who shys away from political involvement or spectacular claims in public, in spite of how is he generally characterized by those hoping to smear him.
2) Hansen is perhaps the most important global warming researcher in the US, and has an incredible 30+ year record of solid work and correct predictions or views on things.
3) We have essentially lost many years of attacking the problem of global warming by allowing short-term corporate interests to dictate a policy that puts profit above long-term stability of the environment.
4) There is overwhelming and basically unassailable evidence of what is going on, and a strong basis for solid predictions of what could happen.
I will conclude by suggesting this book, while being very important in some aspects could have been much better in many ways. It can't decide if it's a biography on Dr. Hansen, an investigative report on Bush administration attempts to stymie science, or a scientific wake-up call on global warming. I give it three stars because it's so hard to get through the first half. However, I do suggest that anyone interested in this topic give it a try.
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Summary:
The Bad Liquor of Censorship
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Comment:
It used to require bad drugs or hard liquor if one wished to hide from reality and get wasted. Now the federal government quite intentionally shields everyone from frustrating and embarrassing reality. In response to NASA findings, for example, they hire a college failure to correct punctuation, and in so doing, the failure edits scientific papers that are of ultimate consequence and importance. For example, "melting perennial ice and replacement with thinner ice" becomes "melting perennial ice and replacement with thinner ice, or it could be thicker ice."
We stand at the crossroads where half of us want to journey down the road to further truth and enlightenment and the other half believe they know too much already and that fate and destiny will end their misery. The enlightened are labeled as elitists and are condemned by biased politicians and mainstream media to banishment from our beloved Constitution and the Bill of Rights. We are called to wonder "Is our children learning?", but the apparent response is, if they is then we must certainly stop that. Inconveniently for the people of the world, truth is too awful to be believed.
The War on Intelligent Thought has escalated from habitual lies to organized bureaucratic idiocy. The truth hides in the closet while consequences are thrust upon the people. It is evident in Iraq when secret lies come out one at a time. It is evident in science when scientists have to seek permission from the federal government to speak. It is evident when activists are required to be inside "free speech zones" to exercise the First Amendment. It is evident when knowledgeable people are labeled "elitists" and the mainstream media fires up the crosses and pushes hate. All of these are battle maneuvers in the War on Intelligent Thought. Petrifaction, stupefaction, and hopelessness all are weapons used against the people.
No book is more pertinent today. Mark Bowen tells the story of Dr. James Hansen and his fight for the truth of global warming.
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Summary:
Administrators Without Conscience!
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Comment:
Living in Phoenix and continually experiencing record-setting temperatures, I don't need another book to remind me of global warming. That, however, was only a portion of the material in "Censoring Science."
The initial focus is on Dr. James Hansen, director of NASA's Climate Research Center for 25 years, and a member of the National Academy of Sciences for ten. Despite over 95% of credible climate scientists agreeing that average temperatures have been climbing at an accelerating, and nearly as many agreeing that man-made greenhouse gases are the major factor, Dr. Hansen's reports of his supporting findings came under extensive bureaucratic attack in the Bush II administration through efforts to suppress, limit access to him, "edit," firing threats, and budget cuts. While clearly unconscionable, this campaign becomes almost comic when implemented largely through those lacking even a basic science degree, and in one instance, any degree whatsoever - all to save the utilities (who pass on all their costs to consumers anyway, and lack overseas competition) and encourage "intelligent design."
Bush II, however, is not the only culprit - the Bush I administration also engaged in rewriting scientists' findings. Nor have censorship efforts been limited to NASA - NOAA (weather specialists) and other agencies also incurred similar harassment, in many cases directly traced to the White House.
"Censoring Science" at times becomes overly detailed, especially regarding Dr. Hansen and those immediately around him. However, it also takes time to reassert important points in making the case for global warming, including refuting Michael Crichton's silly foray into the topic (he has no recognized expertise in the area), and explaining how one of the few "peer-reviewed" articles refuting global warming was snuck into a little-known journal without following normal procedures.
"Censoring Science" is not especially optimistic about American policy addressing global warming in time, citing the tobacco industry's ability to postpone meaningful action for over three decades at the cost of hundreds of thousands of lives each year.
Hansen's Recommendations: 1)Phase out coal, except where CO2 is captured and sequestered, impose rising carbon emission taxes, and reduce methane and black carbon emissions.
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