"Rick Perry Officials Spark Revolt After Doctoring Environment Report"

"Officials in Rick Perry's home state of Texas have set off a scientists' revolt after purging mentions of climate change and sea-level rise from what was supposed to be a landmark environmental report. The scientists said they were disowning the report on the state of Galveston Bay because of political interference and censorship from Perry appointees at the state's environmental agency."



"By academic standards, the protest amounts to the beginnings of a rebellion: every single scientist associated with the 200-page report has demanded their names be struck from the document. 'None of us can be party to scientific censorship so we would all have our names removed,' said Jim Lester, a co-author of the report and vice-president of the Houston Advanced Research Centre.

'To me it is simply a question of maintaining scientific credibility. This is simply antithetical to what a scientist does,' Lester said. 'We can't be censored.' Scientists see Texas as at high risk because of climate change, from the increased exposure to hurricanes and extreme weather on its long coastline to this summer's season of wildfires and drought."

Suzanne Goldenberg reports for the Guardian October 14, 2011.
 
SEE ALSO:

"Perry Sharpens Rhetoric on Climate Science, Charges Data 'Manipulated' for Money " (Texas Climate News)

"A Texas-Sized Scientific Revolt" (Mother Jones)

"Rice Professor Accepts Gulf Article's Fate" (Houston Chronicle)

"Professor Says State Agency Censored Article" (Houston Chronicle)

"Gulf Algae Bloom Affects Much of Texas Gulf Coast" (Associated Press)

Source: Guardian, 10/18/2011