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

[Dennis Hubbard]

Re: Gene's comments on CO2 skeptics feeling threatened, I would point out
the concerns by some researchers to use terms like "climate change" in NSF
proposals under the present administration. I cannot verify either
scenario, but I have no problem with my present NSF grant and reading the
listserve. I do get frustrated by the repeated (and repeated and
repeated.....) themes/arguments by regular pairings, but I still know where
the DELETE key is on my computer. I also try to keep up on the "climate
denier" literature as there are interesting arguments and bits of
historical information there as well. Neither substitutes for nor changes
my habits when reading or contributing to peer-reviewed discussions. The
listserve is a valuable resource and I don't personally know of any peers
that see the two as contradictory or in conflict.

On anonymity, I will not use any information provided in confidence and
attribute it to "some people" (too "presidential" for me). If I am
sufficiently interested, I can just email the contributor off-line and ask
for the name of the source - and usually get positive responses from the
poster. Journals and listserves are different beasts and, as long as we
don't conflate the two, I value both.

Best,

Dennis

On Tue, Jun 18, 2019 at 11:55 AM Eugene Shinn via Coral-List <
coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov> wrote:

>      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
> ---------------------------------- -----------------------------------
>
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-- 
Dennis Hubbard
Chair, Dept of Geology-Oberlin College Oberlin OH 44074
(440) 775-8346

* "When you get on the wrong train.... every stop is the wrong stop"*
 Benjamin Stein: "*Ludes, A Ballad of the Drug and the Dream*"