Gag order and suspension for the scientist who revealed polar bear drownings

[pscot]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/jul/28/arctic-scientist-polar-bear-oil

It was seen as one of the most distressing effects of climate change ever recorded: polar bears dying of exhaustion after being stranded between melting patches of Arctic sea ice.

But now the government scientist who first warned of the threat to polar bears in a warming Arctic has been suspended and his work put under official investigation for possible scientific misconduct.

Charles Monnett, a wildlife biologist, oversaw much of the scientific work for the government agency that has been examining drilling in the Arctic. He managed about $50m (£30.5m) in research projects.

Some question why Monnett, employed by the US Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement, has been suspended at this moment. The Obama administration has been accused of hounding the scientist so it can open up the fragile region to drilling by Shell and other big oil companies.

"You have to wonder: this is the guy in charge of all the science in the Arctic and he is being suspended just now as an arm of the interior department is getting ready to make its decision on offshore drilling in the Arctic seas," said Jeff Ruch, president of the group Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility. "This is a cautionary tale with a deeply chilling message for any federal scientist who dares to publish groundbreaking research on conditions in the Arctic."

[villager]

1. good ol' hope n' change!

:thumbsup:

[GreenPartyVoter]

4. Apparently. :^(

[Name removed]

12. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[nashville_brook]

20. do enlighten us with links and such.

[villager]

21. links and facts? When snark will do!?

;-)

[happyslug]

22. Nobody else does either, including the accused Scientist, he has NOT been told of his "Misconduct"

http://www.kypost.com/dpps/news/national/apnewsbreak%3A-arctic-scientist-under-investigation_6588431

Investigators have not yet told Monnett of the specific charges or questions related to the scientific integrity of his work, said Jeff Ruch, the watchdog group's executive director. His group released excerpts of interviews investigators conducted with Monnett and fellow researcher Jeffrey Gleason, in which they were questioned about the observations that led to the article

Read more: http://www.kypost.com/dpps/news/national/apnewsbreak%3A-arctic-scientist-under-investigation_6588431#ixzz1TSVLN5Hc

The group trying to help the Scientist:
http://www.peer.org/

They report on this situation:
http://www.peer.org/news/news_id.php?row_id=1503

Although the IG probe has been going on for months, Dr. Monnett was suddenly suspended on July 18, 2011, due to the IG’s “on-going inquiry.” He has not been informed of any specific charge or question relating to the scientific integrity of his work, nor is it clear why the IG has mounted a multi-month investigation of a five-year-old journal article. IG interview transcripts do reveal, however, that –

The probe is being conducted by criminal investigators with no scientific training or background, who, based upon their questions, have little grasp of the scientific issues they are investigating;
They have rifled through all of Dr. Monnett’s e-mails and seized his papers and equipment, impeding his ability to work even before he was ordered to stay home; and
The investigators are seeking a link to former Vice President Al Gore, who referenced the polar bear paper in his book and movie, An Inconvenient Truth.

PEER's actual Complaint in SUPPORT of this Scientist:
http://www.peer.org/docs/doi/7_28_11_Scientific_Misconduct_Complaint.pdf

Oh, actually found the article where the alleged "Misconduct" was written, hope someone can see the Misconduct, no one else can and my quick read failed to catch anything that would be Misconduct:
http://www.peer.org/docs/doi/7_28_11_Polar_Bear_paper.pdf

[robinlynne]

40. wow. This is disgusting. Good work happyslug!

[hlthe2b]

2. how can we help him?

I find this incredibly distressing

[CurtEastPoint]

3. As do I. How can we support him? n/t

[pscot]

35. Here are some additional contacts:

Boemre is Dr. Monnett's employer and the invetigating agency

Bureau of Ocean Energy Mnagement, Regulation and Enforcement
http://www.boemre.gov/ooc/newweb/contactus.htm

John Holdren, Whitehouse Science advisor
http://www.whitehouse.gov/administration/eop/ostp/contactus

Dr.Steven Chu
Energy Secretary
202-586-6210
[email protected]

Dr. William F. Brinkman
Director of the Office of Science
Department of Energy
http://science.energy.gov/about/contact-us/
[email protected]

[Autumn]

8. There is an address in the PDF of the complaint

Office of the Executive Secretariat and Regulatory Affairs
U.S. Department of Interior
1849 C Street, NW
Washington, DC 20240


Dr. Charles Monnett is not allowed to discuss this. Perhaps a letter to the above might help;

[Doctor Hurt]

14. Why should I help him?

If he's committed scientific misconduct, I want to know. It makes my entire profession look bad.

And if he hasn't, we'll find out.

[pscot]

19. Are gag orders customary procedure

in investigations of scientific misconduct?

[saras]

28. Nope. Absolutely not. They're reserved for whistle-blowers.

[Lorien]

26. Try setting your kneejerk pro-corporate reactions aside and read the article. nt

[uppityperson]

46. I read the article and can't see specific info that I'd like to see. Want to insult me too?

IF he did commit scientific misconduct, it IS bad. Notice the IF?

[pscot]

49. Try this

http://www.peer.org/docs/doi/7_28_11_Monnett-IG_interview_transcript.pdf

This is the transcript of the investigators interview with Dr. Monnett. Monnett describes what the survey team was doing, tells how and when they saw the swimming bears, followed by the dead bears. He published a peer reviewed paper on what he saw, that was signed off on by his supervisors. Toward the end it becomes apparent that the interviewers are math challenged. The smackdown comes right at the end, but you have to read enough of the paper to understand what's going on. This is a witchhunt, plain and simple. The paradigm is "Drill, baby. Drill". Drowning polar bears are an inconvenient truth, so they are trying to discredit Monnett. This will blow up in their faces.

[uppityperson]

50. Thank you. I appreciate the information. And I appreciate

not being bashes for having questions. I find it good to ask for more info, to read more when I don't know, and thank you for giving me more.

[Name removed]

48. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Wilms]

5. Obama sticks with Bush-era polar bear rule

Obama sticks with Bush-era polar bear rule

Protection was granted, but limits were set on what to do

5/8/2009

WASHINGTON — The Obama administration will retain a Bush-era rule for polar bears, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar announced Friday, in a move that angered activists who noted the rule limits what can be done to protect the species from global warming.

The administration had faced a weekend deadline to decide whether it should allow government agencies to cite the federal Endangered Species Act, which protects the bear, to impose limits on greenhouse gases from power plants, factories and automobiles even if the emissions occur thousands of miles from where the polar bear lives.

"We must do all we can to help the polar bear recover, recognizing that the greatest threat to the polar bear is the melting of Arctic sea ice caused by climate change," Salazar said in a statement. "However, the Endangered Species Act is not the proper mechanism for controlling our nation’s carbon emissions.

"Instead, we need a comprehensive energy and climate strategy that curbs climate change and its impacts – including the loss of sea ice," he added. "Both President Obama and I are committed to achieving that goal."

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/30635672/ns/us_news-environment/t/obama-sticks-bush-era-polar-bear-rule/

[femrap]

45. W and Obama

have the sames bosses.

One of these days Mother Earth is simply going to shrug her shoulders and turn on her axis as these greedy pieces of slime are washed from the planet.

Seriously, the planet can't take much more.

[kenny blankenship]

6. Drat that George W. Bush!

What an ASSHOLE. What's that? It wasn't Bush?

Oh well, I'm sure there was a good legal reason for hogtying and gagging this guy.

[QC]

7. Hopetastic!!! n/t

[EFerrari]

9. Another battle in Obama's war on whistleblowers. n/t

[suffragette]

39. Yup. n/t

[WillyT]

10. HUGE K & R !!!

:mad:

:wtf:

[freshwest]

11. Hey, don't scare the folks.

[Doctor Hurt]

13. Somtimes the good guys cheat

scientific fraud/misconduct is a real problem, and even scientists I've liked have gotten caught at it.

[pscot]

15. And sometimes they get tossed

under the bus for political reasons.

[Marr]

18. And very very often, government officials collude with big business.

I'll give their accusations credence when they've been proven and not before, thanks.

[Lucian]

27. I'm pretty sure the scientist didn't lie about this.

I saw the pictures.

:eyes: :eyes: :eyes:

[obliviously]

16. If you can't proove it,

make something up!

[Starry Messenger]

17. Well that's fucking special.

x(

[happyslug]

23. Transcript of Interview of the Scientist by the Investgators

http://www.peer.org/docs/doi/7_28_11_Monnett-IG_interview_transcript.pdf

[pscot]

24. Utter horseshit

They got nothing. This is reallly raw. They're just trying to shut Monnett up. They'll be sorry they tried this.

[Viking12]

43. The key info is from page 83 to the end....Monnett unleashes on the obstruction from MMS

[Lorien]

25. Didn't we just go through this BS with BushCo? The enemy of my enemy is

sometimes still my enemy. Obama administration: YOU SUCK!!! :grr: :nuke:

[LooseWilly]

29. Is this gonna be added to The List?

[SammyWinstonJack]

31. ...

:evilgrin:

[DainBramaged]

32. This list?

Olive Garden, AppleBees, Cigarettes, breastfeeding, circumcision, narwhals, pit bulls, smoking bans, Spitzer, High school bands and soda pop

kids on planes drinking caffeine, bombing the moon, tax fast food, Rapture, PETA, screaming kids in restaurants

Vaccinations, Jessie James, Ipads, Michael Vicks, Octomom, unicorns and Charlie Sheen, now the Weiner's gone.




Depends on how long DU angst's over it......

[Ignis]

36. !

:spray:

[blindpig]

30. Why should we be surprised?

Given the government's behavior during and after the Gulf Spill it is clear who calls the shots and where the priorities lie. That's Capitalism for ya.

[swilton]

33. SICK!!

[muffin1]

34. K&R

:cry:

[myrna minx]

37. K&R n/t

[Pooka Fey]

38. K&R

[Eyerish]

41. K&R

[Eyerish]

42. K&R

[a simple pattern]

44. Disgusting.

Shameful.

[MissDeeds]

47. K&R

:kick:

[DirkGently]

51. Wow. Can't wait to hear the justification for this. Or do we even bother with that now?