From Watts Up With That?

From Anthony Watts

The Associated Press has published a piece attacking the Trump administration’s move to challenge the EPA’s 2009 “endangerment finding,” the ruling that declared greenhouse gases a threat to public health and gave bureaucrats license to regulate nearly every aspect of energy and industry. The administration is relying on a Department of Energy report that highlights overlooked and underreported aspects of climate data, but the AP frames the effort as “flawed” and filled with “bias.”

The AP surveyed 64 scientists, with most accusing the DOE of “cherry-picking” and “twisting” evidence to downplay climate risks. One oft-repeated complaint was a mistaken figure: the DOE report said Arctic Sea ice had declined 5% since 1980, which is actually the Antarctic figure. The Arctic, they argue, has lost more than 40%. Another example cited by AP was wildfire data that extended back before 1960, despite warnings that such early records are unreliable. Critics claim these inclusions create a misleading impression that fires were worse in the past.

Climate scientist Zeke Hausfather accused the report of misusing his work, calling the process a “farce,” while Yale’s Jennifer Marlon claimed wildfire data was mishandled. French economist François Bareille said his findings on agricultural resilience were misapplied to broader contexts.

In other words…. WAAAAH! How dare you challenge us! (cue Greta Thunberg)

But the AP quietly admits that some scientists supported the DOE report. James Davidson, an economics professor at the University of Exeter, praised it for breaking away from “unnecessarily alarmist findings” and for voicing views long excluded from official reports. The DOE authors themselves emphasized that their work was not intended to be a full climate assessment, but rather a focused review of neglected evidence and alternative interpretations.

Not surprisingly, the National Academy of Sciences is rushing to produce a “fast-tracked special report” to reinforce the orthodoxy, while activists are already mobilizing online. Public comments on the DOE’s report are open until September 2, with EPA hearings set to close September 22.

The AP ends with its now-standard disclosure: its climate coverage is funded by private foundations with an obvious stake in perpetuating the climate crisis narrative.

In short, the article is less reporting and more sermonizing. The AP wants readers to believe that scientific disagreement is illegitimate and that only the “consensus” counts. Yet the very need to discredit and suppress alternative analyses suggests the opposite: the endangerment finding rests on shakier ground than its defenders want to admit.

NOTE: You are welcome to comment on this article, but WUWT is still in the middle of an upgrade. When that completes in a few days the comments will be lost. This post may or may not survive.

See this post for more information.