Does the NASA guy Hansen have a political agenda? Or is he just reporting facts?

Question

"Cybercast News Service previously reported that Hansen publicly endorsed John Kerry for president in 2004 and received a $250,000 grant from the charitable foundation headed by Kerry's wife"

The above quote is a comment made by Maxx on June 6, 2007 at 1:15 PM


June 6,

http://www.crosswalk.com/1392731/

Read on down the page about his politicing, look who he consulted for, freakin algore. And he says he supports the more extreme "models" or outcomes. This guy is a joke.

Crabby blindguy need to open his eyes to the real world and quit living in democrate la la land.

Answer 1

Just the facts ,Global warming is not a fact . I don't know about u but it will be a burden to the poor. I suspect that most of u are at least in the working person class. It is the reason for the high gasoline prices as the stupids think they are helping the cause. So if they charge more it will reduce how much u drive. Gore wants u to save the fuel for his jet plane but U can walk.

Answer 2

Now can you see the pieces fitting together? John and Teresa Kerry are now writing their own book on Global Warming and I'll bet Hansen plays a big part in it.
Hansen says what the Kerry's want him to say and he gets big money for doing it. Al Gore writes a book and makes a movie, quotes Hansen in them and the book becomes a best seller, making Gore a boat load of money. Does any of this sound fishy? It doesn't end with Kerry/Gore/Hansen. The same theme goes clear through the IPCC. It's about scratching each others backs for the sake of a buck.

What Bob says above is probably true in the sense that Hansen didn't work for grants. But the government is one giant grant - and you play ball or you're out. Even Hansen needs to eat so he caved. And I'll bet that I can draw a picture, put it on a website, and tell you it's the truth, and some of you are going to believe me. The more of you that believe me the more will believe me - it's the herd mentality.

Answer 3

Yes to both questions.

Since the Bush administration's track record on global warming has been totally abysmal, it's completely understandable that a scientist concerned about global warming would have endorsed someone else. The last time I looked, he has a right to do so. But maybe the GOP has re-written the constitution again and didn't tell anybody.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6341451/
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/29/science/earth/29climate.html?ex=1296190800&en=28e236da0977ee7f&ei=5088

Meanwhile, Hansen's scientific credentials are unimpeachable and unchallenged: three time winner of NASA's Goddard Institute award for best scientific paper; winner of the Leo Szilard lectureship from the American Physical Society; winner of the Roger Revelle Medal from the American Geophysical Union; winner of the William Nordberg Achievement Medal from NASA's Goddard Spaceflight Center; winner of the NASA Presidential Rank Award of Meritorious Executive; and many, many others. And that's not even mentioning his authorship or co-authorship of dozens and dozens of peer-reviewed scientific papers.

Answer 4

he's going to consult for government officials, because he works for an organization that consults for our government officials. That isn't political bias.
he has also advised Bush, but bush chooses to ignore research about global warming ......well up until now.
maybe you would like to read some of Hansen's research publications??
http://pubs.giss.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/oai/?method=search&mode=simple&order=DESC&keywords=global+warming
Note where he works....NASA
you know the place where the head administrator is appointed by the president?? You do know what NASA is right??

but you can't blame a guy for deciding to support a canidate whom he feels will address the issues he feels important.
if you consider that as havign a "political agenda", then we all have one. so the point of your question is what??

Answer 5

Hansen earned his living as a government scientist for many years. He received no grants for most all of that time, just the usual salary. He reported facts that made his bosses very angry. He testified to Congress about the reality of global warming in 1988, when it was surely not "fashionable". That's not a misprint, 1988.

For years he was subjected to derision and pressure from his bosses to change what he was saying.

The grant was as much an honor for his courage to continue to tell the truth over the years as anything else.

By the way, here's a short picture of the truth, with references:

http://www.globalwarmingart.com/wiki/Image:Climate_Change_Attribution.png

EDIT: I have to respond to the notion that Hansen "played ball". You've got to be kidding. He was pressured by his bosses for years to change his statements. They tried to shut him up. He was as far from playing ball as you can get. Video about it:

http://thinkprogress.org/2006/03/20/administration-muzzles-scientist/

Answer 6

Hanson is a legitimate scientist--and the attempts by the Bush administration to silence him are not allegations--they are proven fact.

As for this story--and the libelous statements made about Hanson--that is a website run by the religious right. Hardly honest or credible.

Answer 7

Yes he does have a political agenda. See this report for a good analysis of his testimony before congress.

http://www.co2science.org/scripts/CO2ScienceB2C/education/reports/hansen/hansencritique.jsp

Answer 8

it's all 'bout the facts