[Radix] US Climate Big Science managers turn spin doctors!

[Ben Wisner]

Here is the latest on the NCAR decision to close the unit responsible 
for building capacity in the world to adapt to climate change.  It is 
from the science policy blog maintained by Dr. Roger Pielke, Jr. at 
University of Colorado (you can go directly to the blog at

http://sciencepolicy.colorado.edu/prometheus/tone-deaf-damage-control-4504


    Tone Deaf Damage Control

Posted by: Roger Pielke, Jr. 
<http://sciencepolicy.colorado.edu/prometheus/author/roger/>

I find this hard to believe. As readers of this blog know, earlier this 
week NCAR administrator Eric Barron made the difficult decision to cut 
the organization's Center for Capacity Building, which is focused on 
helping developing countries adapt to climate. The decision prompted a 
flurry of compaints and international media coverage.

I was thus surprised to see the email copied below (which was sent to a 
bunch of people) from Eric and UCAR Vice President Jack Fellows:

    From: "Jack Fellows"
    Date: August 5, 2008 7:36:07 PM EDT
    To: Bierbaum Rosina , peter backlund , Kelly Redmond , kelly redmond
    , Brad Udall , david yates , Jonathan Overpeck , kathy hibbard ,
    linda mearns , mary hayden , lawrence buja , tom warner , kathleen
    miller , philip mote , caitlin simpson , Chester J Koblinsky , lisa
    goddard , Nolan Doesken , Alan Robock , Mark Abbott , "Mark Z.
    Jacobson" , dan vimont , Anthony Janetos , greg carbone , "Rudnicki
    Mark" , Keith Talbert Ingram , brian oneill , Paty Romero Lankao ,
    Liz Moyer , david battisti , urc
    Cc: eric barron
    Subject: 2008 AGU Fall Session on Climate Adaptation

    Eric Barron and I are putting together the AGU session described
    below. If you have put one of these AGU sessions together, you know
    that I can't promise you that it will be an oral session or the
    day/time it will happen, and you are restricted to no more than 3
    first author abstracts for the Fall AGU mtg. That said, we'd love to
    have you participate in this session. Let me know if you are
    interested by _17 August _so I can meet an 18 Aug AGU deadline. If
    you can't participate but know of a great person, please forward
    this email on to them. Thanks. This is a large email list, so pls
    just respond to my email address. Jack

    Description: PA03: *How Can the Science Community Help Local and
    Regional Decision Makers Who are Exploring or Implementing
    Adaptation Options to Climate Change?* All weather is local! The
    same will be true regarding adapting to climate change. This session
    will examine how local universities and decision makers are working
    together to adapt to anticipated climate change impacts and explore
    how these independent activities might be networked together into a
    "national adaptation network or model". NOTE: we are primarily
    interested in people who have really interesting policy research or
    a project that is partnering with local and regional decision makers
    to deal with climate adaptation, mitigation, or even geoengineering.

Note that the time stamp of the email is after the brouhaha started 
about the decision to cut CCB. This appears to be an exercise in damage 
control --- "We really care about adaptation, no really, we do. Look we 
sponsored a session at AGU!" --- since neither Barron or Fellows have 
even done any work in adaptation (and to my knowledge Fellows is an 
administrator, not at all a researcher).

Let me try my hand at answering the question that they pose:

*How Can the Science Community Help Local and Regional Decision Makers 
Who are Exploring or Implementing Adaptation Options to Climate Change? 
. . . This session will examine how local universities and decision 
makers are working together to adapt to anticipated climate change 
impacts and explore how these independent activities might be networked 
together into a "national adaptation network or model". *

First thing, don't cut a program with a 34-year track record of success 
in doing exactly this. Are these guys serious that they now want to 
discuss how to /recreate/ the functions of the NCAR CCB at an AGU 
session? Seriously?

I'd love to give NCAR/UCAR management the benefit of the doubt and 
believe that they have a rigorous method for setting priorities and 
making cuts. But not only is this sort of tone deaf damage control/spin 
insulting to the actual adaptation research community, but a sign that 
NCAR/UCAR may have a management problem rather than a budget problem.


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