[Coral-List] Good News from Australia

Dokken, Dr. Quenton qdokken at gulfmex.org
Sat Dec 20 22:24:01 EST 2008


This line of discussion highlights one of the great failures and challenges
of science today - the ability to accurately get science into the public's
awareness and understanding.  Journalists, lawyers, courts, vested
interests, etc have distorted fact to support a position or advance a
financial interest.  Scientists as a rule are not geared to working outside
of peer reviewed literature.  The reality is that peered reviewed science is
not driving society - spin masters are.  Just tune your TV to any political
talking head program to see reality driven by opinion/ideology and not fact.
We in science should be finding ways to work together to support scientific
reality based on fact rather than biased interpretation. I believe that if
scientists can get their act together, there are many that are ready to
follow. 

Quenton Dokken, Ph.D.
Executive Director
Gulf of Mexico Foundation, Inc.
PMB 51  5403 Everhart Rd.
Corpus Christi, TX 78411

361-882-3939
361-442-6064 cell

qdokken at gulfmex.org
www.gulfmex.org



-----Original Message-----
From: coral-list-bounces at coral.aoml.noaa.gov
[mailto:coral-list-bounces at coral.aoml.noaa.gov] On Behalf Of Billy Causey
Sent: Saturday, December 20, 2008 11:32 AM
To: Ove Hoegh-Guldberg
Cc: coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov; Gene Shinn
Subject: Re: [Coral-List] Good News from Australia

Ove ....
Your research and peer-reviewed science speaks for itself.  We are half 
a world apart, yet your observations have been as relevant for the Wider 
Caribbean, as they are for the Western Pacific.  The only difference is 
that our problems started about 10-12 years in advance of your's.  But 
now ... we are all suffering the sames woes.    Keep up the great work 
...... and I am confident that you will not let postings like this one 
distract you from your research.  Billy

Ove Hoegh-Guldberg wrote:
> Thank you Gene.  
>
> Now that you have dredged this up, I feel it is important to let the
> readership know, needless to say, that the column is full of misquotes
> and inaccuracies.  Perhaps not surprising given that the columnist
> (Andrew Bolt) is well-known for his endless 'opinions', poor
> understanding and disregard for the truth.  In this respect, he claims
> that there is no science (none at all!) behind global climate change,
> nor truth in the fact that Australian aboriginal people were mistreated
> in recent history (this is despite many victims still being alive
> today).  With respect to his disregard for the truth - Andrew has been
> successfully sued for defamation and other inaccuracies
> (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_Bolt). What more can I say?
>
> This source is neither accurate nor science-based, and perhaps should
> not have appeared on coral list.
>
> Regards,
>
> Ove
>
> Ove Hoegh-Guldberg
>
> Smart State Premier's Fellow (2008-2013), Director, Stanford Australia;
> Reviewing Editor at Science Magazine, and Deputy Director, ARC Centre
> for Excellence in Coral Reef Studies; BLOG: www.climateshifts.org
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: coral-list-bounces at coral.aoml.noaa.gov
> [mailto:coral-list-bounces at coral.aoml.noaa.gov] On Behalf Of Gene Shinn
> Sent: Saturday, 20 December 2008 12:28 AM
> To: coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov
> Subject: [Coral-List] Good News from Australia
>
> Good News from the Melbourne Australia Herald Sun. "PROFESSOR Ove 
> Hoegh-Guldberg, of Queensland University, is Australia's most quoted
> reef expert.
> He's advised business, green and government groups, and won our rich 
> Eureka Prize for scares about our reef. He's chaired a $20 million 
> global warming study of the World Bank.  
> In 1999, Hoegh-Guldberg warned that the Great Barrier Reef was under 
> pressure from global warming, and much of it had turned white.
> In fact, he later admitted the reef had made a "surprising" recovery.
> In 2006, he warned high temperatures meant "between 30 and 40 per 
> cent of coral on Queensland's great Barrier Reef could die within a 
> month".
> In fact, he later admitted this bleaching had "a minimal impact".
> In 2007, he warned that temperature changes of the kind caused by 
> global warming were again bleaching the reef.
> In fact, the Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network last week said 
> there had been no big damage to the reef caused by climate change in 
> the four years since its last report, and veteran diver Ben Cropp 
> said this week that in 50 years he'd seen none at all."  Gene
>
>   

-- 
Billy D. Causey, Ph.D., Regional Director
Southeast Atlantic, Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Region
National Marine Sanctuary Program
33 East Quay Road
Key West, Florida 33040

305.809.4670 (ex 234)
305.395.0150 (cell)
305.293.5011 (fax)

Billy.Causey at noaa.gov

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