Judge to Climate Change Denier: Get Real
Virginia's attorney general, aka climate change Enemy No. 1, was soundly shot down in court this week—and the victory smells so sweet.
In a ruling Monday, a city circuit judge quashed Cuccinelli's witch hunt—er, investigation—into climate scientist Michael Mann, who formerly worked at the University of Virginia. The rogue AG claimed Mann used grant funds to produce "junk science" about our warming planet. Too bad he lacked any solid evidence that that was the case.
But what really sunk Cuccinelli in the court was what the judge ruled a lack of "objective basis." Gee, you think?
This is a guy who has gone on a separate campaign to take down U.S. EPA, first because the agency declared carbon dioxide a pollutant and then because it passed new nationwide fuel economy standards, On several occasions, he has said he doesn't believe in global warming. Objective, he most definitely is not.
As I've written before, what's painful about Cuccinelli's one-man crusade is how it involves such a toxic abuse of power. In a time of economic crisis, with the education system in disrepair and corruption rife in the political system, Cuccinelli has chosen to use his role as Virginia's premier lawyer to badger the climate science community because, well, he just doesn't like it, ok? Not to mention this tireless battle is taking place on the taxpayers' pretty penny.
In the face of such strong judicial opposition to the investigation, you'd think Cuccinelli would call it a day and consider tackling real issues. Instead, just as he did in the face of previous, separate exonerations for Mann, he has stated he will soldier on. "(We will) continue our investigation into whether or not fraud has been committed against the commonwealth," he declared, while his spokesman said an appeal was on the table.
Mann, for his part, took his victory in stride, saying "I'm looking forward now to trying to get back full time to the things I really care about: doing research and extending the forefront of our scientific understanding of the science of climate and climate change, teaching and advising students and postdoctoral scholars, and doing the best I can to communicate to the public important scientific findings."
Sounds like a decent use of his time. Cuccinelli, are you listening?
Click here to tell Cuccinelli it's time to give up his climate change shenanigans and focus on the stuff that really matters, like protecting the welfare of his constituents.
Photo credit: KentonNgo/flickr (Creative Commons)
Nikki Gloudeman
is a senior fellow at Mother Jones magazine where she writes about the environment and other topics.
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