AAAS Board To VA A.G. Cuccinelli - Either Justify Investigation Of Michael Mann Now, Or End It - AFP

[hatrack]

The AAAS Board of Directors has asked Virginia Attorney General Kenneth Cuccinelli to either justify his investigation of climate researcher Michael Mann or end it, calling it "an apparently political action" that could have a chilling effect on scientific research. The position was underscored in a commentary by Alan I. Leshner, the AAAS chief executive officer and executive publisher of Science, published 23 May in the Richmond Times-Dispatch. Leshner wrote that Cuccinelli's investigation "goes beyond the bounds of appropriate oversight, and could threaten the free exchange of scientific findings and ideas."

On 23 April, Cuccinelli requested detailed information from the University of Virginia on five grants for climate change research involving Mann while he was on the school's faculty from 1999 to 2005. Mann is currently director of the Earth System Science Center at Pennsylvania State University. The AAAS Board, while acknowledging the responsibility of state and federal officials to oversee the proper use of grant funds, said Cuccinelli's request "goes far beyond what is needed to determine financial propriety, including substantive emails with colleagues, computer codes, and the detailed data resulting from Dr. Mann's work." The lack of a clear rationale for the inquiry suggests that it "may be aimed at something other than financial malfeasance," the Board said in its 18 May statement.

The AAAS Board said scientific progress occurs largely through a self-correcting system of peer review, shared results and critical evaluation of new data and ideas. It noted that thousands of studies, including Mann's work, have "produced a growing mountain of evidence leading to the scientific consensus on human-induced global climate change." AAAS and other leading scientific organizations have affirmed that consensus.

Cuccinelli, who believes the jury is still out on whether climate change is caused by human activity, has said he is investigating whether Mann defrauded taxpayers when seeking state grant money for his research. "Mr. Cuccinelli's investigation, unless based on a much more substantial body of evidence than is apparent, could inappropriately inhibit the free exchange of scientific findings and ideas and thus limit the progress of science," the AAAS Board said.

EDIT

http://www.terradaily.com/reports/Investigation_Of_Climate_Scientist_Threatens_Research_999.html

[kristopher]

1. Kick and recommend

[jpak]

2. Cuccinelli should be investigating Patrick Michaels - not Mann

Michaels has well known financial ties to the fossil energy industry,