Some people simply don't get it. When it comes to science, you don't begin a study already knowing the outcome. Generally, you begin a study by asking a question, then conducting tests to determine whether or not you were correct. But to far too many politicians, science is simply another tool to advance a political agenda.
In this case, it's politicians in Alaska, mainly Republicans, who want to hire "scientists" to disprove studies already conducted by the state's Interior Department.
See, the politicians don't like the idea that scientists are showing polar bears are threatened by climate change, and need to be named as a protected species. Actually doing that would mean one thing... less windfall profits for their buddies in big oil.
The Alaskan government wants to find scientists who will study polar bears to prove they are not threatened by global warming, officials say.
Republican legislative leaders in Alaska say the current scientific stance that polar bears are being "threatened" by global warming could potentially have a negative impact on Alaska's economy and arctic oil development, The Anchorage Daily News reported Sunday.
"We want to have the money to hire scientists to answer the Interior (Department) scientists," House Speaker John Harris, R-Valdez, said of the scientific fight.
Unfortunately, these politicians will most likely get their way, and in the process all they'll accomplish, other than further oil profits, is to confuse the public even more about the realities of climate change.
You know, it's news like this that really makes me hate getting up early on Monday mornings. I apologize for the short diary before heading out for work, but seeing this story really annoyed me this morning, and I just couldn't leave the house without sharing.
What bothers me the most, however, is that these politicians are openly calling for junk science so that they can continue their political agenda, and they feel absolutely no shame in doing so. That, my friends, is what I call disgusting.