[Coral-List] carbon off setting and slowing slowing down

Eugene Shinn eugeneshinn at mail.usf.edu
Mon Jun 17 18:20:48 UTC 2019


     I too joined the coral list back when it started. At the time we 
were nearly all reef scientists. Of course things change. Now at around 
9,000 who do you think they are? I gather many are Charter boat 
captains? NGOs? Environmental activists? Gee I know quite a few 
hard-core reef scientists that publish peer-reviewed papers who now 
refuse to read the coral-list. They say they do not have the time to 
sort through and find real science questions and data squeezed in 
between activists and people complaining about something. I agree I to 
worry a little about unsigned posting but the New York Times has been 
getting away with a lot of that lately.

In my case I would not has posted that note if I was not sure it was 
from a responsible person. (Incidentally I received a similar much 
longer letter from one of the original coral reef scientists whom I 
trust explicitly). When the writer mentioned bullying he meant something 
like this. Suppose you have 5 grad students and they are supported by a 
grant from a large Government agency. Now what if the professor and his 
group of 5 students come up with data indicating it is not mainly CO2 
that is raising atmosphere and oceanic temperature but something else. I 
would call that an advancement in scientific knowledge. The problem is 
if you publish that and it did not confirm the agenda you were funded to 
prove do you think that agency would continue funding your work? It 
could happen and I know of instances where the funding ceased. The 
agency of course will probably say, “we ran out of funds” or “the new 
administration cut our funds” for the up coming Fiscal Year. Does this 
sound familiar to any federal workers out there?And don’t forget what 
happened during “Climategate.” The premier science journal in the world 
was accused of being involved in that cover-up.

I sincerely hope my posting does not lead to the coral-list getting 
their hands tied. We need science, Gene

-- 


No Rocks, No Water, No Ecosystem (EAS)
------------------------------------ -----------------------------------
E. A. Shinn, Courtesy Professor
University of South Florida
College of Marine Science Room 221A
140 Seventh Avenue South
St. Petersburg, FL 33701
<eugeneshinn at mail.usf.edu>
Tel 727 553-1158
---------------------------------- -----------------------------------



More information about the Coral-List mailing list