Global Warming is Ruining Science... At Least for Me

Before this class, I never really looked into the controversy of global warming. I thought that it was occurring and scientists were trying to come up with ideas, and methods to fix it. However, I did not realize how much politics plays a role in the controversy. In this article a New York Times reporter, Andrew Revkin, who was steadfast in his belief that global warming was in fact occuring, was threatened with a big "cutoff" when he added a joke about the Copenhagen Climate Summit in his article. Revkin recieved harsh criticisms because of this joke, but what really sparked this threaten of a "cutoff" was when Revkin relayed the words of others that criticize the close relationships between climate scientists and liberal advocacy groups. In response, Michael Schlesinger sent an email to Revkin saying, "I sense that you are about to experience the 'Big Cutoff' from those of us who believe we can no longer trust you, me included."
Revkin linked a blog post by Roger Pielke Jr who questions the legitimacy of scientists work with the Center for American Progress, which is a far-left political group pushing climate policy.

The story later goes on to say that "In the global warming debate, dissent can mean ostracism. When skeptical scientists insisted on publishing studies questioning the supposed "consensus" on global warming, the now-infamous staff at the East Anglia Climate Research Unit, which is where the hacking of emails of climate research and researches occurred, conspired to boycott publications if they did not expunge their pages of such blasphemy."

Even if this is not the whole story about what exactly goes down when new discoveries are made, it makes me wonder whether it really is all a hoax. If politics plays such a role, then it seems to me its not about whether or not we, the people inhabiting this great and still mysterious planet, should be changing to either save the planet or become more sustainable life forms, but who gets the bigger paycheck, who can stay in office the longest, and who can put the most fear into the general public. I feel like more and more people nowadays question the legitimacy of science because of the politics behind it. In my mind, science was the purest truth in the world, but after doing research and listening to those around me, I'm not sure what to believe anymore.

As anyone can see, no matter their political background/opinion it seems that scientists and research about global warming is far from reliable. If we cannot even trust the experts to relay the correct information to the pulbic who are we supposed to trust? However, i would rather not be that cynical in thinking that no sicentist or study about climate research is wrong, but you definitely have to take it with a grain of salt.

This article shows how politics and science intermingle to form world views. It has certainly tainted my view of science, and changing my world view on climate change.

http://newsbusters.org/?q=blogs/lachlan-markay/2009/12/07/climate-alarmist-threatens-nyt-reporter-big-cutoff