Global Science Report is a feature from the Center for the Study of Science, where we highlight one or two important new items in the scientific literature or the popular media. For broader and more technical perspectives, consult our monthly “Current Wisdom.”
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On June 8th, the public comment period on the draft report on climate and health from the U.S. Global Change Research Program (USGCRP) closed. Never liking to miss an opportunity to add our two cents’ worth to the conversation, we submitted a set of comments that focused on the weakness of the underlying premise of the report, more so than the specific details (although we did include a sample set of those to show just how pervasive the selective and misuse of science is throughout the report).
Our entire Comments are available here. But, for convenience, here’s the highlight reel. In summary, we found:
What is clear from this report, The Impacts of Climate Change on Human Health in the United States: A Scientific Assessment, and all other similar ones that have come before, is that the USGCRP simply chooses not to accept the science on human health and climate and instead prefers to forward alarming narratives, many based on science fiction rather than actual science. To best serve the public, this report should be withdrawn. By going forward without a major overhaul, its primary service [will] be to misinform and mislead the general public and policymakers alike.
Here we lay out the general problem:
Read the rest of this post →The authors of the USGCRP draft of The Impacts of Climate Change on Human Health in the United States: A Scientific Assessment report have an outstanding imagination for coming up with ways that climate change may negatively impact the health and well-being of Americans, but a profound lack of understanding in the manner in which health and well-being is impacted by climate (including climate change).