IS A GLOBAL WARMING AGENDA IS BEING DRIVEN BY THE NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION AND IS
THE AMERICAN METEOROLOGICAL SOCIETY
IS BEHIND IT!

It isnt often that i stray from my usual writings about master limited partnership stocks but i need to share this with my readers. I recieved this email a few weeks ago and quite frankly i did not think too much of it.


dear AMS/NWA or RTDNA member,

I invite you to participate in a National Science Foundation-funded
survey of TV meteorologists and news directors being conducted by George
Mason University in cooperation with the American Meteorological
Society, the National Weather Association, and the Radio and Television
Digital News Association. We are conducting this research to better
understand TV meteorologists' and news directors' opinions about climate
change, and how they cover the issue in their work.


We understand that climate change is a controversial issue among TV
meteorologists and news directors. Our aim, therefore, is to have every
member of your professional community participate in this survey so that
we - and you - can have the fullest possible understanding of the range
of opinions and actions among your peers.


To that end, everyone who completes the survey will receive a $30
Amazon.com gift coupon as a token of our appreciation, and a report that
summarizes our findings. If you participate, it will take you about 20
minutes to complete the survey.


The survey will be conducted online; we will provide you (via email)
with a web-link to the survey. All data collected in this study -
including the names and contact information of people who choose to
participate - will be treated with the strictest of confidence: your
name will not be released, and your answers will be analyzed only in
aggregate with those of all other participants.


No action on your part is required today. On Tuesday, January 12th, you
will receive an email from us with a link to the survey. You may take
the survey at your convenience - anytime between January 12th and
January 28th - by clicking on the link in that email.


We hope that you will participate in this important research. Thank you
for your consideration.


Sincerely,


Ed Maibach, MPH, PhD
Professor and Director
George Mason University Center for Climate Change Communication
climate@gmu.edu

Now at first glance i thought; okay i will do the survey and get a 30 buck Amazon Gift Certificate to buy a couple of dvd's or something. Then this morning i recieved emails from a few of my fellow meteorologists and one of them called to question the motives the man in charge of the study. So i jumped on google and found that Ed Maibach is who we says he is with George Mason University Center for Climate Change Communications. But what struck me was his bio.

Here is the opening paragraph:

In 2006, while on a walk in the mountains – with Director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, Professor Hans Joachim Schellnhuber – Ed had an epiphany that forever changed his life. He realized that climate change is the ultimate threat to the public’s health and wellbeing, worldwide, and Ed responded by refocusing his work entirely on climate change prevention and adaptation. Ed moved to Mason in 2007 to join the communication faculty and create the Center for Climate Change Communication.

EPIPHANY??? It is interesting that Mr Maibach chooses to use the word Epiphany. Words have meaning and it is no accident that a word used mostly in religous context is used here. We all pretty much know the significance of the Epiphany in the Christian faith. "Little Christmas" as it is called is celebrated on January 6th. In the Catholic Church it is usually the first Sunday after January 1st. Dictionary dot com has this meaning for Epiphany.

1.	(initial capital letter) a Christian festival, observed on January 6, commemorating the manifestation of Christ to the gentiles in the persons of the Magi; Twelfth-day.

2.	an appearance or manifestation, esp. of a deity.

3.	a sudden, intuitive perception of or insight into the reality or essential meaning of something, usually initiated by some simple, homely, or commonplace occurrence or experience.

4.	a literary work or section of a work presenting, usually symbolically, such a moment of revelation and insight.

I assume Mr Maibach's epiphany falls under number 3. He clearly states he realized at that momment on the mountaintop that he had a mission to focus his attention on Climate Change and its threat to public health..or for that matter i guess it would not be a stretch to say our very existence. His aim as stated on his bio is as follows.

Ed’s research interest is focused on the question: How can we use communication and marketing to influence the behavior of populations for the benefit of society?

After digesting all of this i cannot tell you how disturbing this is to me both professionally and as someone who has been a meteorologist for nearly 30 years, that i am being asked to participate in a survey whose ultimate aim is to influence the behavior of populations for the benefit of society. I have been at best a skeptic on the man made global warming theory that has taken on a religous fervor among the believers. What is even more disturbing is that the American Meteorlogical Society ( to which i am no longer a member) apparently saw fit to release my name and email without asking. I assume the AMS is okay with the upfront bias but i wonder has anyone there even bothered to check all this out?

I for one am not going to participate and i urge my fellow on air meteorologists to think very carefully about being part of this. Suppose you are a skeptic and word gets out; are you going to be labeled a denier? Might this have future impact on where you work or for that matter if you will work? I am not one who normally believes in conspiracies but it was just a few years back where Heidi Cullen of the Weatherchannel said that those who do not toe the line on global warming should have their American Meteorological Society crudentials decertified. This is a world where politics have completely taken over the science. Science should be allowed to function without the push and pull of zealots on either side dictating outcomes before studies are even conducted. Climate change, global warming or whatever you want to call it is not settled science. Let me make this clear...THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS SETTLED SCIENCE...never was...never will be. But there is such as thing as zealotry and politics and people with agendas. And frankly its very dangerous for anyone who is drawn into these circles because they move you from matters of science to matter's of faith. Something this important should not be left to those who can shout the loudest. The AMS should at the very least be involved with work that has no agenda stated ahead of time...or at least be honest with its members before going in. And the AMS needs to guarantee the integrity of those whose answers could be misconstrued or, later on even used against them in matters regarding professional employement.

If anyone thinks i'm off the wall might want to ask anyone from the University of East Anglia. All it took was a hacker and a server in Siberia. Damage to peoples lives could be done with much less.