FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, January 19, 2011
Contact:
Christopher Horner, chris.horner@atinstitute.org
ATI Environmental Law Center Seeks NASA Records on Dr. James Hansen
Today the American Tradition Institute’s Environmental Law Center filed a federal Freedom of Information Act request with NASA, seeking records detailing whether and how ‘global warming’ activist Dr. James Hansen of NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS) has complied with applicable federal ethics and financial disclosure laws and regulations, and NASA Rules of Behavior.
This request seeks records of longtime, taxpayer-funded activist Hansen, in the knowledge that FOIA-released records and other documents show his GISS colleague, Dr. Gavin Schmidt, has edited the activist blog RealClimate on regular business hours when he is nominally working for the taxpayer. In fact, FOIA-released records indicate this third-party activism was considered part of Schmidt’s job, seeking to rehabilitate the discredited ‘hockey stick’ and otherwise promoting GISS’s activist line.
The request for Hansen’s ethics-compliance records comes on the heels of his latest adventures in public advocacy, writing in the Chinese newspaper South China Morning Post to blame the United States for modern climate change and his ritually exaggerated claims of future catastrophe, as well as some by now typically nasty sneering at American democracy in a follow-up article published on his website (now taken down but surely produced, as FOIA records have already revealed that so much of his privately posted work has been produced, on taxpayer time).
This is the latest in a long line of often radical behavior by Hansen that, were it engaged in by a government employee on the other side of the ‘global warming’ issue, would have resulted in discipline and possibly termination years ago. Dr. Hansen may state that he is speaking as a private citizen — in fora ranging from his testimony supporting lawbreaking in the name of global warming, to extreme public advocacy only tolerated, if even celebrated, because of his position with NASA — but the obvious truth is that he is trading on his platform as a NASA scientist to gain the wide audience he has (Hansen is an astronomer).
“It seems that Hansen’s access to and use of the media has so cowed his NASA superiors that his office has been allowed to operate unencumbered by applicable ethics requirements which other NASA employees, not so darling to the media, must comply with,” said Christopher Horner, ATI’s senior director of litigation. “In fact, in public court pleadings filed in Competitive Enterprise Institute v. NASA, NASA recently revealed that Hansen’s office operated for years in violation of these obligations.”
ATI’s requests build on that record, seeking specific records since 2004 relating to:
- Required Approvals and Waivers for Outside Employment
- Required Financial Disclosure/Conflict of Interest Disclosure
- Internal discussion of possible or actual disciplinary actions
ATI looks forward to NASA’s compliance with this request, in stark contrast to how it has recently treated other requests for GISS records, with expectation that NASA will provide the responsive records in the statutorily permitted period of time.
See ATI’s Freedom of Information Act request to NASA seeking James Hansen’s records relating to compliance with ethics and financial disclosure laws. ( http://www.atinstitute.org/uploads/File/ATI_NASA_Hansen_Ethics_FOIA.pdf )
For an interview with Christopher Horner, senior director of litigation for the American Tradition Institute Environmental Law Center, contact him at chris.horner@atinstitute.org.
@Smokey says January 19, 2011 at 8:42 pm:
First, I do what I can where practical – just finished the energy audit and associated work at our new home. Second, when propaganda is advance in similar context as used by the tobacco industry for decades, yes, that’s a bad thing … and, fyi, I’m a finance major with keen interests in world economies and power structures, which I do spend significant time studying. BTW, I’m a capitalist.
I couldn’t agree more with your sentiment about many “not knowing how the real world works”.
Martin says:
January 19, 2011 at 8:18 pm
Gavin Schmidt is reported to be blogging during working hours. I see many here are calling for an inquiry into it.
I think it should be widened though to ALL Government employee’s that have a blog or post articles to blogs or read blogs such as Judith Curry, Roy Spencer, Richard Lindzen (he also speaks at skeptics conferences did you know? and probably on the taxpayers dime too) the list is endless…
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Let’s see, Judith Curry is an employee of Georgia Tech, which is not government employment, though it is a state funded school.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judith_Curry
Roy Spencer is an employee of the University of Alabama at Huntsville, again, a state funded school but not government employment. He does do some work for NASA, but it is not his primary emplyment.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roy_Spencer_%28scientist%29
Richard Lindzen is an employee of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, which gives him the exact same status as Curry and Spencer, an employee of a state funded institute, but not a government employee.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Lindzen
0 for 3, Martin. That makes your batting average almost as good as Hansen’s.
Others here have said that the purpose of this is to silence Hanson. As an American citizen and taxpayer, a firm supporter of the first amendment, I don’t want to silence him, I simply don’t want to pay him to spout his opinions instead of doing his job. Do his job on my time and preach on his.
Precisely what do you think Hansen, Scmidt, Cullen, and others have been doing for decades with their subordinates? Are you seriously going to argue Hansen at al have a one-sided privilege to gag everyone else while they totally ignore their own obligations to their employers?
The deletion of the Date/Time stamps from the realclimate.org site’s archives is an admission that there was something to hide. Realclimate’s ignorance of the Wayback Machine is typical of their ignorance in general.
So do I have this right?
We have the American Tradition Institute which appears to be a government funded activist organization harassing other supposed government funded activists by exploiting the FOI laws.
What exactly is the motivation for this?
Is Chris Horner doing this out of the goodness of his heart or is he being paid a big fat salary?
Is he a lawyer? Lawyers typically except to get paid mucho doleros.
Is he getting paid more than your typical climate scientist?
Inquiring minds would like to know.
LazyTeenager says:
January 20, 2011 at 3:51 am
So do I have this right?
We have the American Tradition Institute which appears to be a government funded activist organization harassing other supposed government funded activists by exploiting the FOI laws.
Hi LazyTeenager – um, no, you don’t have it right. The ATI is a charity under 501(c)3. As for “exploiting” the FOI laws, perhaps you could explain what you mean?
“If he was posting from NASA resources, it does not matter if he was on the public clock, he was using public resources.”
This is starting to sound a bit petty. Now it’s a big deal that in his off hours he might have been using the company internet connection or the company computer? Since neither is paid for by the hour, I don’t see the drain to public resources unless you’re referring to some sort of potential wear and tear on the equipment…
I’ll exemplify it this way Mr. Horner is looking for information about Mr. Hansen’s work, research etc. . I do not know if this is new but yesterday I read this:
Researcher who proved continental drift theory dies – January 12, 2011
http://blogs.nature.com/news/thegreatbeyond/2011/01/researcher_who_proved_continen.html
When you read the article you find the theory was old but took time to prove . . . it took even longer for the Tectonic theory to be accepted . . . I remember discussing it in Science class in the 1970’s and many were skeptical. Knowledge gets found, lost, hidden or just plain forgotten.
As I read the FOIA there were many references to many statutes . . . of which would have to be researched because there are no links attached to easily reference.
Hansen has the right to research and collaborate, and Horner has a right to know, even if it is a limited right . . .
Our Canadian Government should take similar action toward government paid activists ie David Suzuki
Sad to read that Hansen is (was?) an astronomer. No wonder he and his climate “science” are so derided amongst the community of real astronomers. As the say, if you can’t do science, become a global warmist.
“The deletion of the Date/Time stamps from the realclimate.org site’s archives is an admission that there was something to hide. Realclimate’s ignorance of the Wayback Machine is typical of their ignorance in general.”
If it’s proven they did that in order to hide their fraudulent use of their work time with NASA, then we can talk about: US Code Title 18, Part 1, Chapter 73, section 1516.
JPeden says:
January 19, 2011 at 7:04 pm
“Yes, it’s quite flattering. Maybe it could even go ‘T-shirt’ for him.”
Thanks JPeden. I surrendered a 1/2 hour sleep for that self-amusement and I’m glad that at least one other person got a chuckle out of it. Thanks for the shout out. Like pullin’ teeth sometimes in this joint sometimes. Off to bed. Another 13-hour day tomorrow and, yippee, we’re working through the weekend. Pleasant dreams and as always, Cheers!