Posthuman Blues

Demand for Their Data on Climate Chills Scientists

"In a move that many climate scientists find chilling, the chairman of the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Energy and Commerce is investigating three professors whose work suggests that the earth is warmer now than at any time in many centuries, and that greenhouse gases from burning fossil fuels are largely to blame.

"In highly unusual letters sent to the scientists late last month, Rep. Joe Barton, a Texas Republican, demanded detailed documentation of the hundreds of studies on which they have been authors or co-authors.

"Mr. Barton also sent a letter to the director of the National Science Foundation on the same day that requests information about the work of the three professors, as well as a list of all grants and awards the agency has made in the area of climate and paleoclimate science, which in the past 10 years number 2,700.

"Several climate scientists reached by The Chronicle expressed dismay at the investigation and described it as harassment."

Bizarre weather signals threat of monster typhoons

"It remains to be seen if the record-breaking number of typhoons that made direct landings on the Japanese archipelago in 2004 -- 10 of them -- will be exceeded. But just about everyone agrees that the seasonal weather patterns aren't what they used to be.

"'This is just the beginning of real changes in weather patterns on a worldwide scale due to global warming,' says Koji Murayama, a meteorologist who works for the Japan Meteorological Business Support Center. 'Once it begins, the common wisdom in our field is that the frequency of irregular phenomena will increase and their scale will become increasingly greater.'"