A scientific panel today released a report critical of the Bush administration’s handling of global warming science, according to Andrew Revkin at the New York Times.
Of the $1.7 billion spent each year on climate research, the report
said only about $25-$30 million a year is going to studies of impacts
on human affairs.
The panel, formed by the prestigious National Academies, had other criticisms as well.
The panel also said insufficient effort has gone into translating
advances in climate science into information useful to local elected
officials, farmers, water managers and others potentially affected by
climate change, whether or not it is driven by human activities.
One
problem is a lack of interaction between government researchers and
officials, industries, or communities facing risks or opportunities in
a shifting climate, the panel’s chairman, Veerabhadran Ramanathan, said
in an interview.
This last charge I can verify. Back in 2003, the US global change research program released a massive report on California. I used this report to put together questions to ask local officials for a story about global warming, such as the doctor in charge of Ventura County’s public health system. I asked him if he had been given a copy of the report — he had never heard of it! He wasn’t happy about that…
Kit Stolz 