What they are saying is changing. It used to be that in any formal science setting, the scientists who look at the issue professionally would usually talk about what the scientific evidence is. For something as complex as predicting the future of earth's atmosphere, and as difficult as determining causes of the present changes, they nearly had to say that the case wasn't settled. Irritatingly enough, since the right wing used the scientific caution to support their "do-nothing" approach.
It's been changing this year. But still I was surprised to see the editorial in the latest issue of Science.
Science is the official publication of the AAAS, the American Association for the Advancement of Science. A publication is that journal is a major career event. It is as much a part of the science establishment as anything is.
Donald Kennedy, the editor-in-chief of the journal has two very important pieces in the journal's Jan. 20, 2006, issue. The first is on global warming and it's entitled "Acts of God?" After connecting hurricane strength with ocean temperature, he says:
We know with confidence what has made the Gulf and other oceans warmer than they have been before: the emission of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases from human industrial activity, to which the United States has been a major contributor. That's a worldwide event, affecting all oceans...Not only is the New Orleans damage not an act of God; it shouldn't even be called a "natural" disaster. These terms are excuses we use to let ourselves off the hook.
Well, finally! Thank goodness.
The other contribution he has is a mark of the concern he has with the truth; it's the journal's official retraction of the tainted Korean stem cell research.