Cli Sci Legal Def Fund CSLDF
<font size="4" face="Times New Roman"></font><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">818</font></div><div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">see shukla</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">During the Trump administration, we saw a disturbing increase in the number of scientists targeted with political interference through censorship, rules to restrict science, as well as budget cuts for research and environmental programs. While Biden has promised that “[s]cience will always be at the forefront of [his] administration,” recent data from the </span><a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="blank" href="https://csldf.us4.list-manage.com/track/click?u=635c98e780ac7191328d30eeb&id=b931cf11d9&e=15e3916d62" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Silencing Science Tracker</a><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">, a database maintained by CSLDF and Columbia Law School’s </span><a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="blank" href="https://csldf.us4.list-manage.com/track/click?u=635c98e780ac7191328d30eeb&id=90e153ce60&e=15e3916d62" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Sabin Center for Climate Change Law</a><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">, reveal a dispiriting trend of continued anti-science actions at both the state and federal levels through his first year in office – with a majority of the attacks aimed at climate and COVID-19 researchers.</span><br style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> </span><br style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Read more about these findings in our blog</span><strong style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> </strong><a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="blank" href="https://csldf.us4.list-manage.com/track/click?u=635c98e780ac7191328d30eeb&id=6666172010&e=15e3916d62" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">here</a><strong style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">.</strong></font></div><div><p open="open" sans="sans" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">=</font></p><p open="open" sans="sans" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">3 22</font></p><p open="open" sans="sans" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Dr<a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="blank" href="https://csldf.us4.list-manage.com/track/click?u=635c98e780ac7191328d30eeb&id=b43f4b84f1&e=15e3916d62" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">. Shukla’s story</a><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> is an example of how scientists are threatened or silenced for being outspoken on climate misinformation.</span><br style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> </span><br style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Professor Jagadish Shukla is a prominent climate scientist and a distinguished professor of climate dynamics at George Mason University. He has also been the recipient of targeting, including through hate mail, invasive open records requests, smear campaigns by blogs and news outlets, and a lengthy investigation launched by then-Rep. Lamar Smith (R-TX).</span><br style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" /><br style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Read Dr. Shukla’s story </span><a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="blank" href="https://csldf.us4.list-manage.com/track/click?u=635c98e780ac7191328d30eeb&id=c3d8c52c78&e=15e3916d62" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">here</a><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">. Check out the rest of our Scientists’ Stories </span><a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="blank" href="https://csldf.us4.list-manage.com/track/click?u=635c98e780ac7191328d30eeb&id=c9c74e753f&e=15e3916d62" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">here</a><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">. </span></font></p><p open="open" sans="sans" sans-serif="sans-serif" font-size="font-size" px="px" style="margin: 1em 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">=</font></p></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">=</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">1/22</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">...<span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Lauren Kurtz, our director, and Romany Webb, a Senior Fellow and Associate Research Scholar at Columbia's Sabin Center for Climate Change Law, wrote </span><a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="blank" href="https://csldf.us4.list-manage.com/track/click?u=635c98e780ac7191328d30eeb&id=f709f61f05&e=15e3916d62" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">an op-ed for The Hill</a><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> evaluating how the Biden administration has approached science during its first year.</span></font></div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><br style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 153, 0);">We documented <a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="blank" href="https://csldf.us4.list-manage.com/track/click?u=635c98e780ac7191328d30eeb&id=9b3df061a9&e=15e3916d62" style="">328 anti-science actions</a> taken by the Trump administration; a year in, the Biden administration has reversed or reconsidered only nine of these</span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">. Biden has made some important strides forward, but the pace must pick up, especially to protect against a future science-hostile administration. ...</span></font><div><p style="margin-top: 8px; margin-bottom: 8px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"></font></p><p style="margin-top: 8px; margin-bottom: 8px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">ATI NASA bs</font></p><p style="margin-top: 8px; margin-bottom: 8px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></p><p style="margin-top: 8px; margin-bottom: 8px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><a href="https://archive.thinkprogress.org/what-is-the-climate-science-legal-defense-fund-74d020a4eb04/"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000">https://archive.thinkprogress.org/what-is-the-climate-science-legal-defense-fund-74d020a4eb04/</font></a></p><div class="postheader" style="box-sizing: inherit; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><h1 class="posttitle" style="box-sizing: inherit; line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">What is the Climate Science Legal Defense Fund?</font></h1></div><div class="postmetashare--wrapper" style="box-sizing: inherit; display: flex; margin-bottom: 1.5625em; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><header class="postmeta" style="box-sizing: inherit; letter-spacing: 0.15625rem; line-height: 2rem; text-transform: uppercase; margin-bottom: 0px; display: flex; flex-wrap: wrap;"><span class="postbyline" style="box-sizing: inherit; -webkit-box-align: center; align-items: center; display: flex; flex-wrap: wrap;"><span class="postbylineauthor" style="box-sizing: inherit; -webkit-box-align: center; align-items: center; display: flex; margin-right: 1rem;"><a href="https://archive.thinkprogress.org/author/thinkprogress/" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; white-space: nowrap;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000">THINKPROGRESS</font></a></span></span><span class="posttimestamp" style="box-sizing: inherit; letter-spacing: 0.15625rem; margin-right: 1rem;"><time class="post__date" datetime="2012-07-16T13:41:08-04:00" style="box-sizing: inherit; letter-spacing: 0.15625rem;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">JUL 16, 2012</font></time></span></header></div><p style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 2.1875rem; line-height: 2.2rem; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span style="box-sizing: inherit;">by Doug Bostrom, via </span><a href="http://www.skepticalscience.com/news.php?n=1538" rel="noopener" target="blank" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(144, 141, 255);"><span style="box-sizing: inherit;">Skeptical Science</span></a></font></p><p style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 2.1875rem; line-height: 2.2rem; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">A year ago Professors Scott Mandia and John Abraham witnessed with growing dismay burgeoning legal attacks on scientists performing climate related research. Mandia and Abraham had discussed for some time how they might help defray legal costs incidental to inconvenient research results being borne by scientists; the pair were catalyzed into action upon learning that Dr. Michael Mann was dipping into personal funds to defend himself against a litigious fishing expedition by the extremist anti-regulatory <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=American_Tradition_Institute" rel="noopener" target="blank" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(144, 141, 255);">American Tradition Institute</a>. Mandia and Abraham crystallized their thinking into concrete form and action with the inception of the <a href="http://climatesciencedefensefund.org/" rel="noopener" target="blank" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(144, 141, 255);">Climate Science Legal Defense Fund</a> (CSLDF)....</font></p></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">augusta wilson ~ secret sci bs:</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);"><span style="font-family: " times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" font-size="font-size" large="large" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb">In </span><a href="https://theintercept.com/2017/02/05/republicans-want-to-make-the-epa-great-again-by-gutting-health-regulations/" style="font-family: " times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" font-size="font-size" large="large" box-sizing="box-sizing" border-box="border-box" outline="outline" none="none" text-decoration-line="text-decoration-line" display="display" inline="inline" position="position" relative="relative" border-bottom="border-bottom" px="px" solid="solid" rgb="rgb">a memo written</a></span><span style="font-family: " times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" font-size="font-size" large="large" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);"> for R.J. Reynolds in 1996, lawyer Chris Horner explained that the goal of this so-called “secret science” strategy is to create “explicit procedural hurdles” that will hinder EPA and other agencies’ review of unfavorable scientific studies. </span>The game-plan described by Horner was famously carried out by </span><a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Steven_J.Milloy" style="font-family: " times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" font-size="font-size" large="large" box-sizing="box-sizing" border-box="border-box" outline="outline" none="none" text-decoration-line="text-decoration-line" display="display" inline="inline" position="position" relative="relative" border-bottom="border-bottom" px="px" solid="solid" rgb="rgb">a lawyer named Steve Milloy</a><span style="font-family: " times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" font-size="font-size" large="large" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb">, who for years headed an industry-funded PR group for Phillip Morris called </span><a href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/The_Advancement_of_Sound_Science_Coalition" style="font-family: " times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" font-size="font-size" large="large" box-sizing="box-sizing" border-box="border-box" outline="outline" none="none" text-decoration-line="text-decoration-line" display="display" inline="inline" position="position" relative="relative" border-bottom="border-bottom" px="px" solid="solid" rgb="rgb">The Advancement of Sound Science Coalition (TASCC),</a><span style="font-family: " times="Times" new="New" roman="Roman" font-size="font-size" large="large" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb">and who has by his own account made a career of advocating for the secret science agenda. </span></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">=</font><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="text-decoration-line: none; outline: none;"><a href="https://www.wunderground.com/cat6/Court-Forces-University-Arizona-Release-Climate-Scientists-Traditionally-Confidential-Emails">https://www.wunderground.com/cat6/Court-Forces-University-Arizona-Release-Climate-Scientists-Traditionally-Confidential-Emails</a></font></div><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><h1 ngcontent-c2="" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 0.5rem; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; line-height: 1.4;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="font-weight: normal;">Court Forces </font><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="">University of Arizona </font><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="font-weight: normal;">to Release Climate Scientists’ Traditionally Confidential Emails</font></h1><p _ngcontent-c2="" style="margin: 0px 0px 1rem; box-sizing: inherit; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.6; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span _ngcontent-c2="" class="article-author" style="box-sizing: inherit;"><span _ngcontent-c2="" style="box-sizing: inherit; line-height: inherit;"><a _ngcontent-c2="" class="article-author-link" href="https://www.wunderground.com/cat6/author/jeff.masters" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; outline: none; box-sizing: inherit; background-color: transparent; line-height: inherit; cursor: pointer;">Dr. Jeff Masters</a> </span> · </span><span _ngcontent-c2="" class="article-created-date" style="box-sizing: inherit; white-space: nowrap; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">December 1, 2018</span></font></p><p _ngcontent-c2="" style="margin: 0px 0px 1rem; box-sizing: inherit; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.6; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);"><span _ngcontent-c2="" class="article-created-date" style="box-sizing: inherit; white-space: nowrap;">S</span>cience has suffered an unfortunate loss in a legal battle in Arizona, where the courts have ordered the public release of 13 years of email correspondence of two climate scientists who worked at the University of Arizona, Jonathan Overpeck and Malcolm Hughes. The plaintiff was a coal industry-funded group called <a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/energy-environment-legal-institute" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; outline: none; box-sizing: inherit; line-height: inherit; cursor: pointer;">Energy & Environment Legal Institute</a> (<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Energy%26_Environment_Legal_Institute" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; outline: none; box-sizing: inherit; line-height: inherit; cursor: pointer;">E&E Legal</a>). The group is led by <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/11/climate/climate-emails-group-lawsuit.html" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; outline: none; box-sizing: inherit; line-height: inherit; cursor: pointer;">David Schnare</a>, who has made a career of suing and harassing climate scientists by abusing the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and state open record laws to demand masses of scientists’ emails.</font></p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 1rem; box-sizing: inherit; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.6; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">E&E’s victory was obtained <a href="https://www.csldf.org/resources/50-state-report/" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; outline: none; box-sizing: inherit; line-height: inherit; cursor: pointer;">via State of Arizona open records laws</a>. </span>These laws, which allow taxpayers to request copies of government records, have been misused by anti-science groups to target scientific research. In response to this abuse by both conservative and liberal groups that have economic, political, or ideological reasons for seeking to suppress particular types of scientific inquiry, most states where the issue has arisen have sought to make it clear by statute, regulation, or judicial decision that their public records or freedom of information laws do not destroy traditional areas of confidentiality that protect the scientific endeavor. Unfortunately, not all states have enacted such reforms.</font></p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 1rem; box-sizing: inherit; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.6; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The emails provide an opportunity for hostile groups to take phrases, including scientific jargon, out of context in order to mislead and confuse the public, and divert time, energy, and resources of the scientists involved away from science. A classic example of this occurred in 2009, with the public release of stolen climate scientists’ emails from the UK: the so-called “Climategate” incident. In an attempt to mislead the public regarding the existence and severity of the climate change problem, climate science deniers published misleading excerpts from the stolen materials to attack the integrity of the scientists who had published seminal studies demonstrating the high probability of human-caused climate change. Numerous investigations found no merit in the criticisms, and no evidence of any wrongdoing by the scientists whose emails had been exposed and distorted.</font></p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 1rem; box-sizing: inherit; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.6; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">In the current University of Arizona case, Malcolm Hughes' emails were released on November 30, and Jonathan Overpeck will have his emails released on January 15. Dr. Hughes testified it took him ten weeks to go through all the emails to respond to the court order, and he lost an entire research summer to reviewing old emails as well as losing a grant that expired. Dr. Overpeck testified it took him six weeks to go through everything and he was unable to use his sabbatical. Climate scientist Dr. Michael Mann, whose email correspondence to the Arizona scientists involved has now been released to E&E Legal, <a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/2018/11/29/michael-mann-statement-arizona-emails-released-eeli" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; outline: none; box-sizing: inherit; background-color: transparent; line-height: inherit; cursor: pointer;">posted all of his emails involved online</a> on Friday, complete with commentary explaining their content.</font></p><table cellspacing="1" cellpadding="1" border="1" style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px 0px 1rem; border: 0px; border-collapse: collapse; box-sizing: inherit; border-spacing: 0px; width: 835px; border-radius: 3px;"><tbody style="box-sizing: inherit; border: 1px solid rgb(242, 242, 242);"><tr style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit;"><td style="padding: 0.5rem 0.625rem 0.625rem; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></td></tr><tr style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; background-color: rgb(247, 247, 247);"><td style="padding: 0.5rem 0.625rem 0.625rem; margin: 0px; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span style="box-sizing: inherit; line-height: inherit; font-weight: 700;">Figure 1.</span> Dr. Michael Mann addresses an audience at a fund raiser on behalf of the Climate Science Legal Defense Fund (CSLDF) in 2014.</font></td></tr></tbody></table><h2 style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 0.5rem; padding: 0px; font-weight: 400; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; line-height: 1.4;"><span style="box-sizing: inherit; line-height: inherit; font-weight: 700;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Enter the Climate Science Legal Defense Fund</font></span></h2><p style="margin: 0px 0px 1rem; box-sizing: inherit; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.6; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">This latest release of climate scientists’ emails, combined with the actions of the Trump Administration to sideline climate scientists and prevent them from doing their important work, underscores the urgent need for legal protection so that climate scientists may continue their critical research in the face of threats like this. The nonprofit <u style="box-sizing: inherit;"><a href="http://csldf.org/" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; outline: none; box-sizing: inherit; background-color: transparent; line-height: inherit; cursor: pointer;">Climate Science Legal Defense Fund (CSLDF)</a></u> was created seven years ago to help climate scientists fight back against politically-motivated and industry-funded harassment, and has been heavily involved in the Arizona open records case. CSLDF provides support and resources to the scientific community by offering free legal aid to scientists who are harassed, threatened or attacked for doing their jobs; educating researchers about their legal rights and responsibilities; sharing strategies and information about cases with attorneys; and publicizing attacks on science.</font></p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 1rem; box-sizing: inherit; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.6; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">I'm proud to say that I'm a founding board member of the charity, which has helped over one hundred and fifty researchers since 2011. This past year, we've advised and defended scientists on issues ranging from defamation to death threats, and produced a number of educational resources to <u style="box-sizing: inherit;"><a href="https://www.csldf.org/resources/for-scientists/" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; outline: none; box-sizing: inherit; background-color: transparent; line-height: inherit; cursor: pointer;">help researchers understand their legal rights</a></u>. Check out our website at <u style="box-sizing: inherit;"><a href="http://csldf.org/" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; outline: none; box-sizing: inherit; background-color: transparent; line-height: inherit; cursor: pointer;">csldf.org</a></u><u style="box-sizing: inherit;"><a href="http://csldf.org/" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; outline: none; box-sizing: inherit; background-color: transparent; line-height: inherit; cursor: pointer;">,</a></u> and please consider <u style="box-sizing: inherit;"><a href="http://csldf.org/donate/" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; outline: none; box-sizing: inherit; background-color: transparent; line-height: inherit; cursor: pointer;">making a tax-deductible donation</a></u> to this worthy cause. An anonymous donor is currently matching all gifts to CSLDF up to a total of $20,000, so when you make a gift between now and the end of the year, your gift will be doubled.</font></p><h2 style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 0.5rem; padding: 0px; font-weight: 400; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; line-height: 1.4;"><span style="box-sizing: inherit; line-height: inherit; font-weight: 700;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">CSLDF at the AGU Meeting in Washington D.C., December 10 – 14</font></span></h2><p style="margin: 0px 0px 1rem; box-sizing: inherit; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.6; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">CSLDF will have a significant presence at the <a href="https://fallmeeting.agu.org/2018/" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; outline: none; box-sizing: inherit; background-color: transparent; line-height: inherit; cursor: pointer;">AGU Fall Meeting</a> in D.C., including a booth in the Exhibit Hall (Booth 1047) where scientists can pick up copies of CSLDF's educational materials and sign-up for updates on its work.</font></p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 1rem; box-sizing: inherit; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.6; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">CSLDF will also offer free and confidential one-on-one consultations with attorneys for any scientist attending the conference. To schedule a consultation, please e-mail <u style="box-sizing: inherit;"><a href="mailto:lawyer@csldf.org" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; outline: none; box-sizing: inherit; background-color: transparent; line-height: inherit; cursor: pointer;">lawyer@csldf.org.</a></u> Consultations will be held December 10-13 from 8:00 a.m-3:30 p.m. in the Marriott Marquis: Anacostia Room.</font></p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 1rem; box-sizing: inherit; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.6; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">In addition, the organization will host two sessions on legal issues pertaining to scientists: </font></p><ul style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1rem 1.25rem; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.6; list-style-position: outside;"><li style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">How to Get Involved in the Rulemaking Process on Tuesday, December 11, from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. </font></li><li style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Science in Court: Becoming an Expert Witness and Climate Litigation on Thursday, December 13, from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. </font></li></ul><p style="margin: 0px 0px 1rem; box-sizing: inherit; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.6; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Both sessions will be held in Room 208A/B at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center. More information about these sessions is available <u style="box-sizing: inherit;"><a href="https://www.csldf.org/events/" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; outline: none; box-sizing: inherit; background-color: transparent; line-height: inherit; cursor: pointer;">online here</a></u>.</font></p><h2 style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 0.5rem; padding: 0px; font-weight: 400; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; line-height: 1.4;"><span style="box-sizing: inherit; line-height: inherit; font-weight: 700;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Links</font></span></h2><p style="margin: 0px 0px 1rem; box-sizing: inherit; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.6; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Dr. Michael Mann’s November 30 on-line release of his emails, along with a more detailed explanation of the legal case, is <a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/2018/11/29/michael-mann-statement-arizona-emails-released-eeli" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; outline: none; box-sizing: inherit; background-color: transparent; line-height: inherit; cursor: pointer;">here</a>.<br style="box-sizing: inherit;" />Desmogblog took a detailed look at David Schnare and E&E Legal in a <a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/2018/11/27/david-schnare-forced-to-disgorge-dark-money-from-fmelc-piggy-bank" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; outline: none; box-sizing: inherit; background-color: transparent; line-height: inherit; cursor: pointer;">November 27 piece.</a><br style="box-sizing: inherit;" />My 2009 blog post, <a href="https://www.wunderground.com/blog/JeffMasters/the-manufactured-doubt-industry-and-the-hacked-email-controversy.html" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; outline: none; box-sizing: inherit; background-color: transparent; line-height: inherit; cursor: pointer;">The Manufactured Doubt industry and the hacked email controversy</a>.<br style="box-sizing: inherit;" />My fellow CSLDF board member, Naomi Oreskes, has co-authored an excellent book on the industry-funded attacks on science, <u style="box-sizing: inherit;"><a href="http://www.merchantsofdoubt.org/" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; outline: none; box-sizing: inherit; background-color: transparent; line-height: inherit; cursor: pointer;">Merchants of Doubt</a></u>, which has also been made into a fascinating documentary (available on Netflix.)</font></p></div><div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"></font></div></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">def fund:</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">The federal government </span><a rel="nofollow" target="blank" href="https://csldf.us4.list-manage.com/track/click?u=635c98e780ac7191328d30eeb&id=a9f4040057&e=15e3916d62" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">has now tried to restrict science 155 times</a><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> — about once every four days — since the 2016 U.S. presidential election, according to the </span><a rel="nofollow" target="blank" href="https://csldf.us4.list-manage.com/track/click?u=635c98e780ac7191328d30eeb&id=348fa59164&e=15e3916d62" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Silencing Science Tracker</a><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> we maintain with the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law. “It’s a pretty constant drumbeat,” </span><a rel="nofollow" target="blank" href="https://csldf.us4.list-manage.com/track/click?u=635c98e780ac7191328d30eeb&id=2b287439b0&e=15e3916d62" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Lauren Kurtz, our executive director, told <em>Earther</em>.</a><br style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" /><br style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" /><a rel="nofollow" target="blank" href="https://csldf.us4.list-manage.com/track/click?u=635c98e780ac7191328d30eeb&id=ea88dfd896&e=15e3916d62" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">More than three-quarters of the Tracker entries involve attempts to silence climate science</a><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><b>, with the highest number of attacks occurring at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)</b>.</span><br style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" /><br style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">One of the most troubling is <a rel="nofollow" target="blank" href="https://csldf.us4.list-manage.com/track/click?u=635c98e780ac7191328d30eeb&id=26bdc458bf&e=15e3916d62">the "science transparency" rule</a> proposed by the EPA, which would prohibit the agency from taking many scientific studies into consideration when making policy decisions. The EPA received nearly half a million comments on this proposal;</span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> among them </span><a rel="nofollow" target="blank" href="https://csldf.us4.list-manage.com/track/click?u=635c98e780ac7191328d30eeb&id=35fee0a879&e=15e3916d62" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">are comments we submitted explaining our opposition</a><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> to the rule.</span><br style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" /><br style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">While climate scientists often face harassment, for women in climate science there is frequently another layer of hostility. Lauren Kurtz recently spoke with </span><em style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">E&E News</em><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> about </span><a rel="nofollow" target="blank" href="https://csldf.us4.list-manage.com/track/click?u=635c98e780ac7191328d30eeb&id=06c0925fdd&e=15e3916d62" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">how women in this field are attacked based on their gender</a><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">.</span></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"></font></div></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">
</font><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">see wegman mashey:</font></div><div><p style="margin-top: 8px; margin-bottom: 8px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">5/15</font></p><p style="margin-top: 8px; margin-bottom: 8px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span style="line-height: 22.5px;">In the newest variation of legal attacks on climate science, climate science blogger and computer scientist</span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);"><span style="line-height: 22.5px;"> </span><a rel="nofollow" target="blank" href="http://climatesciencedefensefund.us4.list-manage2.com/track/click?u=635c98e780ac7191328d30eeb&id=46d3564f64&e=15e3916d62" style="text-decoration: none; outline: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; line-height: 22.5px; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">John Mashey</a><span style="line-height: 22.5px;"> was recently sued in retaliation for his work to uncover academic misconduct by several researchers who disputed widely-accepted findings on global warming. Two of these researchers, Edward Wegman and Yasmin Said, recently served Mashey with tandem complaints,</span></span><span style="line-height: 22.5px;"> claiming that his work connecting them with </span><a rel="nofollow" target="blank" href="http://climatesciencedefensefund.us4.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=635c98e780ac7191328d30eeb&id=a22438d5a0&e=15e3916d62" id="yui_3_16_0_1_1432485144547_419926" style="text-decoration: none; outline: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; line-height: 22.5px; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;">plagiarism, falsifications, errors, and funding misuse</a><span style="line-height: 22.5px;">constituted “tortious interference with contract” and “conspiracy” — and claiming that because of this, he owed them millions of dollars in damages.</span><br style="line-height: 22.5px;" /><span style="line-height: 22.5px;"> </span><br style="line-height: 22.5px;" /><span style="line-height: 22.5px;">Wegman and Said were among the authors of the 2006 “Wegman Report,” which has since been discredited by </span><a rel="nofollow" target="blank" href="http://climatesciencedefensefund.us4.list-manage2.com/track/click?u=635c98e780ac7191328d30eeb&id=a7309b4664&e=15e3916d62" style="text-decoration: none; outline: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; line-height: 22.5px; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;">Mashey</a><span style="line-height: 22.5px;"> </span><a rel="nofollow" target="blank" href="http://climatesciencedefensefund.us4.list-manage.com/track/click?u=635c98e780ac7191328d30eeb&id=67237d7012&e=15e3916d62" style="text-decoration: none; outline: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; line-height: 22.5px; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;">and</a><span style="line-height: 22.5px;"> </span><a rel="nofollow" target="blank" href="http://climatesciencedefensefund.us4.list-manage.com/track/click?u=635c98e780ac7191328d30eeb&id=f62de7db5e&e=15e3916d62" style="text-decoration: none; outline: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; line-height: 22.5px; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;">many</a><span style="line-height: 22.5px;"> </span><a rel="nofollow" target="blank" href="http://climatesciencedefensefund.us4.list-manage2.com/track/click?u=635c98e780ac7191328d30eeb&id=48c0dd79f4&e=15e3916d62" style="text-decoration: none; outline: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; line-height: 22.5px; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;">others</a><span style="line-height: 22.5px;">, and which was</span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);"><span style="line-height: 22.5px;"> originally commissioned by Rep. Joe Barton (R-TX) as part of </span><a rel="nofollow" target="blank" href="http://climatesciencedefensefund.us4.list-manage.com/track/click?u=635c98e780ac7191328d30eeb&id=b70a161528&e=15e3916d62" style="text-decoration: none; outline: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; line-height: 22.5px; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">a Congressional investigation of climate scientists</a><span style="line-height: 22.5px;">.</span></span><span style="line-height: 22.5px;"> </span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);"><span style="line-height: 22.5px;"> Subsequent work by Wegman and Said, based on the Wegman Report, was later </span><a rel="nofollow" target="blank" href="http://climatesciencedefensefund.us4.list-manage.com/track/click?u=635c98e780ac7191328d30eeb&id=f702215874&e=15e3916d62" style="text-decoration: none; outline: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; line-height: 22.5px; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">retracted for plagiarism</a><span style="line-height: 22.5px;"> and the investigations themselves were criticized as “</span><a rel="nofollow" target="blank" href="http://climatesciencedefensefund.us4.list-manage.com/track/click?u=635c98e780ac7191328d30eeb&id=d0d251565d&e=15e3916d62" style="text-decoration: none; outline: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; line-height: 22.5px; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">political intimidation</a><span style="line-height: 22.5px;">.”</span></span><br style="line-height: 22.5px;" /><span style="line-height: 22.5px;"> </span><br style="line-height: 22.5px;" /><span style="line-height: 22.5px;">In their lawsuits, Wegman and Said claimed that because Mashey had voiced his findings of plagiarism and misconduct regarding the Wegman Report and other work, and</span><span style="line-height: 22.5px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);"> otherwise “injured [their] reputation[s],” they were “forced to resign” from positions as editors of an academic journal, causing them to lose profits “as well as the ability to edit and publish,</span><span style="line-height: 22.5px;"> and the professional prestige and credibility such a position entails.” Wegman and Said</span><span style="line-height: 22.5px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);"> sought an astonishing $2 million in economic and punitive damages from Mashey, plus reimbursement for their legal fees.</span><span style="line-height: 22.5px;"> </span><br style="line-height: 22.5px;" /><span style="line-height: 22.5px;"> </span><br style="line-height: 22.5px;" /><span style="line-height: 22.5px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">The Climate Science Legal Defense Fund has stepped in to pay Mashey’s legal defense costs,</span><span style="line-height: 22.5px;"> which have totaled </span><span style="line-height: 22.5px;">more than $15,000</span><span style="line-height: 22.5px;">. Sadly, legal bills in the tens of thousands of dollars – or more – are not uncommon for those subjected to harassing legal attacks, not to mention the substantial time drains and mental anguish such litigation can cause defendants (especially in cases that drag on for years, as is often the situation). While </span><span style="line-height: 22.5px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">Mashey was lucky in that Wegman and Said ultimately withdrew their complaints,</span><span style="line-height: 22.5px;"> it was still a time-consuming, expensive, and frustrating experience -- and Mashey’s litigation illustrates that the entire climate science community is at risk for becoming collateral damage in the “</span><a rel="nofollow" target="blank" href="http://climatesciencedefensefund.us4.list-manage.com/track/click?u=635c98e780ac7191328d30eeb&id=85c3842934&e=15e3916d62" style="text-decoration: none; outline: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; line-height: 22.5px; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;">street fight</a><span style="line-height: 22.5px;">” on climate science.</span><br style="line-height: 22.5px;" /><br style="line-height: 22.5px;" /><span style="line-height: 22.5px;">Unfortunately, legal attacks on the climate science community happen on a </span><a rel="nofollow" target="blank" href="http://climatesciencedefensefund.us4.list-manage.com/track/click?u=635c98e780ac7191328d30eeb&id=9fac17ae5e&e=15e3916d62" style="text-decoration: none; outline: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; line-height: 22.5px; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;">regular</a><span style="line-height: 22.5px;"> </span><a rel="nofollow" target="blank" href="http://climatesciencedefensefund.us4.list-manage2.com/track/click?u=635c98e780ac7191328d30eeb&id=15ab2e92b1&e=15e3916d62" style="text-decoration: none; outline: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; line-height: 22.5px; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;">basis</a><span style="line-height: 22.5px;">. Please help us fundraise so that we can continue to fight back against such attacks. </span><span style="line-height: 22.5px;"><a rel="nofollow" target="blank" href="http://climatesciencedefensefund.us4.list-manage.com/track/click?u=635c98e780ac7191328d30eeb&id=2d27d5786e&e=15e3916d62" style="text-decoration: none; outline: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; background: transparent;">Support of $25, $100, or more</a></span><span style="line-height: 22.5px;"> will go a long way to ensure that those advancing climate science can continue their important work without worrying about legal harassment slowing them down.</span><br style="line-height: 22.5px;" /><span style="line-height: 22.5px;"> </span><br style="line-height: 22.5px;" /><span style="line-height: 22.5px;">For more on John Mashey’s case, please check out his blog post on the experience </span><a rel="nofollow" target="blank" href="http://climatesciencedefensefund.us4.list-manage.com/track/click?u=635c98e780ac7191328d30eeb&id=907fa0b2e0&e=15e3916d62" style="text-decoration: none; outline: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; line-height: 22.5px; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;">here</a><span style="line-height: 22.5px;">, and our blog post </span><a rel="nofollow" target="blank" href="http://climatesciencedefensefund.us4.list-manage.com/track/click?u=635c98e780ac7191328d30eeb&id=fd309e0454&e=15e3916d62" id="yui_3_16_0_1_1432485144547_419946" style="text-decoration: none; outline: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; line-height: 22.5px; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;">here</a><span style="line-height: 22.5px;">.</span></font></p><p style="margin-top: 8px; margin-bottom: 8px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">=</font></p></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">
</font><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">6/16</font></div><div><table align="left" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%" class="yiv6586690548mcnTextContentContainer" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1467297601923_4402" style="-webkit-padding-start: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border-collapse: collapse; word-break: break-word; overflow-x: auto; max-width: 100%; min-width: 100%;"><tbody id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1467297601923_4401" style="-webkit-padding-start: 0px; width: 600px;"><tr id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1467297601923_4400" style="-webkit-padding-start: 0px;"><td valign="top" class="yiv6586690548mcnTextContent" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1467297601923_4399" style="-webkit-padding-start: 0px; border-spacing: 2px; line-height: 22.5px; padding: 0px 18px 9px;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span style="-webkit-padding-start: 0px;"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">This month, an Arizona court ruled that over a decade of two climate scientists’ emails must be turned over to E&E Legal,</span> <span style="-webkit-padding-start: 0px; font-weight: 700;">a </span></span><a rel="nofollow" target="blank" href="http://climatesciencedefensefund.us4.list-manage.com/track/click?u=635c98e780ac7191328d30eeb&id=8dd216d593&e=15e3916d62" style="-webkit-padding-start: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; outline: none; word-wrap: break-word; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;"><span style="-webkit-padding-start: 0px; font-weight: 700;">coal</span></a><span style="-webkit-padding-start: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-padding-start: 0px; font-weight: 700;">-</span></span><a rel="nofollow" target="blank" href="http://climatesciencedefensefund.us4.list-manage.com/track/click?u=635c98e780ac7191328d30eeb&id=4170999805&e=15e3916d62" style="-webkit-padding-start: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; outline: none; word-wrap: break-word; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;"><span style="-webkit-padding-start: 0px; font-weight: 700;">funded</span></a><span style="-webkit-padding-start: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-padding-start: 0px; font-weight: 700;"> group that openly works to discredit climate science</span>. This is an incredibly dangerous court decision that will force climate scientists to work within a fishbowl, </span>where every email exchange can be picked apart by agenda-driven opponents – inhibiting scientific debate, discouraging collaboration, and chilling academic thought.<br style="-webkit-padding-start: 0px;" /><span id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1467297601923_4442" style="-webkit-padding-start: 0px;"> <br style="-webkit-padding-start: 0px;" /><span style="-webkit-padding-start: 0px; font-weight: 700;">E&E Legal wants these outcomes</span> and, in fact, the group openly acknowledges it seeks emails that, in their words, “<a rel="nofollow" target="blank" href="http://climatesciencedefensefund.us4.list-manage.com/track/click?u=635c98e780ac7191328d30eeb&id=3255f14476&e=15e3916d62" style="-webkit-padding-start: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; outline: none; word-wrap: break-word; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">embarrass</a>” climate scientists and their institutions. E&E Legal (previously named the American Tradition Institute) has a long history of attacking scientists by “<a rel="nofollow" target="blank" href="http://climatesciencedefensefund.us4.list-manage.com/track/click?u=635c98e780ac7191328d30eeb&id=d5bfd1ca6b&e=15e3916d62" style="-webkit-padding-start: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; outline: none; word-wrap: break-word; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">filing nuisance suits to disrupt important academic research</a>.” <br style="-webkit-padding-start: 0px;" /> <br style="-webkit-padding-start: 0px;" />The trial court originally ruled <a rel="nofollow" target="blank" href="http://climatesciencedefensefund.us4.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=635c98e780ac7191328d30eeb&id=c90aa49e8d&e=15e3916d62" style="-webkit-padding-start: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; outline: none; word-wrap: break-word; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">in March 2015</a> to protect the scientists’ emails, but <a rel="nofollow" target="blank" href="http://climatesciencedefensefund.us4.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=635c98e780ac7191328d30eeb&id=795d144ef1&e=15e3916d62" style="-webkit-padding-start: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; outline: none; word-wrap: break-word; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">this month’s new decision</a> completely reverses the earlier ruling. <span style="-webkit-padding-start: 0px; font-weight: 700;">Thankfully, this new decision can – and should – be appealed</span>, and we are currently strategizing the best way to do so.
</span></font></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"></font></div><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">ref'd</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">A<span style="line-height: 28px;">rch Coal Inc., the nation’s second biggest coal miner, donated $10,000 to a Washington D.C.-based legal group known for filing lawsuits against climate scientists.</span></font></div><p dir="ltr" style="margin: 0px 0px 18px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 28px; overflow-wrap: break-word; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: 0px 0px; background-repeat: initial;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Arch, which filed for chapter 11 protection in January, made the gift in 2014 to the <a href="http://eelegal.org/" target="blank" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration: none; outline: 0px; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: 0px 0px; background-repeat: initial;">Energy & Environment Legal Institute</a>, a nonprofit formerly known as the American Tradition Institute, according to recently filed bankruptcy court papers. The connection between Arch and E&E Legal was <a href="http://www.prwatch.org/news/2016/02/13049/bankruptcy-documents-indicate-arch-coal-funding-climate-denial-legal-group" target="blank" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration: none; outline: 0px; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: 0px 0px; background-repeat: initial;">reported last month</a> by the watchdog group, the Center for Media and Democracy.</font></p><div class="mceTemp" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: 0px 0px; background-repeat: initial;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><p dir="ltr" style="margin: 0px 0px 18px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 28px; overflow-wrap: break-word; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: 0px 0px; background-repeat: initial;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">But until the recent bankruptcy filing, it wasn’t clear how much Arch had donated to E&E Legal,known for using Freedom of Information Act laws to unearth emails among climate scientists, environmentalists and regulators.</font></p><p dir="ltr" style="margin: 0px 0px 18px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 28px; overflow-wrap: break-word; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: 0px 0px; background-repeat: initial;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">In perhaps its most famous case to date, E&E Legal sued the University of Virginia to access the emails of meteorologist Michael Mann, the author of a famous”hockey stick” study that show<span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: 0px 0px; background-repeat: initial;">ed global temperatures have risen in conjunction with our use of fossil fuels.</span><span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: 0px 0px; background-repeat: initial;"> V</span>irginia’s Supreme Court <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/local/wp/2014/04/17/va-supreme-court-rules-for-u-va-in-global-warming-foia-case/" target="blank" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration: none; outline: 0px; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: 0px 0px; background-repeat: initial;">ultimately sided</a> with the school in 2014.</font></p><p dir="ltr" style="margin: 0px 0px 18px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 28px; overflow-wrap: break-word; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: 0px 0px; background-repeat: initial;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Craig Richardson, E&E Legal’s executive director<span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: 0px 0px; background-repeat: initial;">,</span> said that Arch’s 2014 donation “was for general support” and amounted to less than 4% of that year’s contributions to the nonprofit. Apart from the donation, “we have no relationship with Arch Coal,” he told Bankruptcy Beat.</font></p><p dir="ltr" style="margin: 0px 0px 18px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 28px; overflow-wrap: break-word; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: 0px 0px; background-repeat: initial;"><span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: 0px 0px; background-repeat: initial;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Arch spokeswoman Logan Bonacorsi said the the company has provided “millions of dollars of funding in recent years” to a range of organizations focused on addressing climate concerns by advancing low-carbon coal technologies.</font></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="margin: 0px 0px 18px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 28px; overflow-wrap: break-word; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: 0px 0px; background-repeat: initial;"><span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: 0px 0px; background-repeat: initial;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">“We believe strongly that technology rather than excessive, premature and costly regulation is the solution to achieving a low-carbon future,” Ms. Bonacorsi said.</font></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="margin: 0px 0px 18px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 28px; overflow-wrap: break-word; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: 0px 0px; background-repeat: initial;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">This isn’t the first instance of a bankrupt coal company disclosing payments to a climate change skeptic. In October, <a href="http://blogs.wsj.com/bankruptcy/2015/10/15/alpha-natural-discloses-payments-to-climate-change-skeptic-chris-horner/" target="blank" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration: none; outline: 0px; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: 0px 0px; background-repeat: initial;">The Wall Street Journal reported</a> coal company <a href="http://quotes.wsj.com/ANRZQ" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration: none; outline: 0px; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: 0px 0px; background-repeat: initial;">Alpha Natural Resources</a> paid lawyer Chris Horner $18,600 before it filed for chapter 11 this summer. The payment followed an <a href="https://theintercept.com/2015/08/25/chris-horner-coal/" target="blank" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration: none; outline: 0px; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: 0px 0px; background-repeat: initial;">Intercept article</a> by Lee Fang on how the coal industry was funding think tanks that deny climate change.</font></p><p dir="ltr" style="margin: 0px 0px 18px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 28px; overflow-wrap: break-word; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: 0px 0px; background-repeat: initial;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Mr. Horner, senior legal fellow at E&E Legal and author of books like“<span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: 0px 0px; background-repeat: initial;">Red Hot Lies: How Global Warming Alarmists Use Threats, Fraud and Deception to Keep You Misinformed</span>,” is one of the industry’s most visible defenders, the “longtime go-to guy on global warming extremism,” <a href="http://www.chrishorneronline.com/Page_2.html" target="blank" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration: none; outline: 0px; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: 0px 0px; background-repeat: initial;">according to Rush Limbaugh</a>.</font></p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 18px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 28px; overflow-wrap: break-word; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: 0px 0px; background-repeat: initial;"><span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: 0px 0px; background-repeat: initial;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Reached <span class="aBn" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: 0px 0px; background-repeat: initial;"><span class="aQJ" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: 0px 0px; background-repeat: initial;">Friday</span></span>, Mr. Horner said: “I am unaware of any relationship the company has or doesn’t have with E&E Legal.” When asked whether Arch supported his work, he said: “the records likely show Arch Coal is not a legal client of mine.”</font></span></p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 18px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 28px; overflow-wrap: break-word; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: 0px 0px; background-repeat: initial;"><em style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: 0px 0px; background-repeat: initial;"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Write to Patrick Fitzgerald at <a href="mailto:patrick.fitzgerald@wsj.com" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration: none; outline: 0px; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: 0px 0px; background-repeat: initial;">patrick.fitzgerald@<b style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">wsj.</b>com</a>.</font></em></p><div><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">
</font><div><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; line-height: 22.4px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4"> <b>Climate Science Legal Defense Fund</b> (CSLDF) in a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Not-for-profit" class="mw-redirect" title="Not-for-profit" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">not-for-profit</a> organization established in 2011<sup id="cite_ref-CSLDF_site_1-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Climate_Science_Legal_Defense_Fund#cite_note-CSLDF_site-1" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[1]</a></sup> to provide legal assistance to researchers and institutions engaged in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Climate_science" class="mw-redirect" title="Climate science" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">climate science</a> facing legal challenges from private entities such as <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Think_tanks" class="mw-redirect" title="Think tanks" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">think tanks</a> and legal foundations.<sup id="cite_ref-NYT_2011_article_2-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Climate_Science_Legal_Defense_Fund#cite_note-NYT_2011_article-2" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[2]</a></sup></font></p><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; line-height: 22.4px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">In 2012, CSLDF formally affiliated with <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_Employees_for_Environmental_Responsibility" title="Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility</a>, a nonprofit providing aid and advice to government <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whistleblowers" class="mw-redirect" title="Whistleblowers" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">whistleblowers</a> and scientists working on environmental issues.</font></p><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; line-height: 22.4px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">In addition to providing legal services to climate scientists and researchers threatened with legal action, CSLDF provides litigation support and files <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amicus_brief" class="mw-redirect" title="Amicus brief" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">amicus briefs</a> in related cases.<sup id="cite_ref-3" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Climate_Science_Legal_Defense_Fund#cite_note-3" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[3]</a></sup></font></p><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; line-height: 22.4px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">CSLDF also promotes awareness among scientists of their legal rights and responsibilities and provides information regarding legal actions taken against scientists.<sup id="cite_ref-CSLDF_at_AGU_4-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Climate_Science_Legal_Defense_Fund#cite_note-CSLDF_at_AGU-4" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[4]</a></sup> <sup id="cite_ref-AGU_brown_bag_5-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Climate_Science_Legal_Defense_Fund#cite_note-AGU_brown_bag-5" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[5]</a></sup> <sup id="cite_ref-AGU_videos_6-0" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Climate_Science_Legal_Defense_Fund#cite_note-AGU_videos-6" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[6]</a></sup></font></p><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; line-height: 22.4px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">CSLDF claims that many legal actions against climate scientists intend to secure their silence for purely political reasons or to stifle their research. According to CSLDF, litigation has intensified against climate scientists in recent years, and salaries earned by academicians and researchers are often inadequate to pay for litigation defending against "corporate-funded law firms and institutes.”<sup id="cite_ref-NYT_2011_article_2-1" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Climate_Science_Legal_Defense_Fund#cite_note-NYT_2011_article-2" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[2]</a></sup></font></p><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; line-height: 22.4px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">CSLDF is funded entirely through private <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donation" title="Donation" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">donations</a>. As of January 2011, CSLDF has received $25,000 in donations.</font></p><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; line-height: 22.4px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font face="Times New Roman" size="4">One of the organizers of CSLDF is <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scott_Mandia" title="Scott Mandia" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Scott A. Mandia</a>, a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Physical_sciences" class="mw-redirect" title="Physical sciences" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">physical sciences</a> professor at <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suffolk_County_Community_College" title="Suffolk County Community College" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Suffolk County Community College</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-NYT_2011_article_2-2" class="reference" style="line-height: 1; unicode-bidi: isolate; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Climate_Science_Legal_Defense_Fund#cite_note-NYT_2011_article-2" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">[2]</a></sup></font></p><h2 style="font-weight: normal; margin: 1em 0px 0.25em; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-color: rgb(170, 170, 170); font-family: " linux="Linux" libertine="Libertine" georgia="Georgia" times="Times" serif="serif" line-height="line-height" background="background" none="none" rgb="rgb"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span class="mw-headline" id="External_links">External links</span><span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select: none; margin-left: 1em; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1em; display: inline-block; white-space: nowrap; unicode-bidi: isolate;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="margin-right: 0.25em;">[</span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Climate_Science_Legal_Defense_Fund&action=edit§ion=1" title="Edit section: External links" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="margin-left: 0.25em;">]</span></span></font></h2><ul style="margin: 0.3em 0px 0px 1.6em; padding: 0px; list-style-image: url(" data:image="data:image" svg="svg" xml="xml" c="C" fxml="Fxml" version="version" d="D" encoding="encoding" utf-8="UTF-8" f="F" e="E" a="A" csvg="Csvg" http="http" fwww.w3.org="Fwww.w3.org" f2000="F2000" fsvg="Fsvg" width="width" height="height" ccircle="Ccircle" cx="cx" cy="cy" r="r" fill="fill" color="color" rgb="rgb" font-size="font-size" px="px" line-height="line-height" background-color="background-color" xmlns="xmlns" xmlns:data="data"><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a rel="nofollow" class="external free" href="http://climatesciencedefensefund.org/" style="text-decoration: none; padding-right: 13px; word-wrap: break-word; background: linear-gradient(transparent, transparent) right center no-repeat, url(" data:image="data:image" svg="svg" xml="xml" c="C" fxml="Fxml" version="version" d="D" encoding="encoding" utf-8="UTF-8" standalone="standalone" no="no" f="F" e="E" csvg="Csvg" http="http" a="A" fwww.w3.org="Fwww.w3.org" f2000="F2000" fsvg="Fsvg" width="width" height="height" cpath="Cpath" fill="fill" fff="fff" stroke="stroke" m1.5="M1.5" h5.982v10.5h1.5z="h5.982V10.5H1.5z" m5.765="M5.765" h11v5.39l9.427="H11v5.39L9.427" l-1.31-1.31l5.393="l-1.31-1.31L5.393" l-2.69-2.688="l-2.69-2.688" l4.2="L4.2" z="z" m9.995="M9.995" l.022="l.022" l8.2="L8.2" l2.882-2.88-1.85-1.852z="l2.882-2.88-1.85-1.852z" xmlns="xmlns" xmlns:data="data"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman" color="#000000">http://climatesciencedefensefund.org</font></a></li></ul></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"></font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">http://climatesciencedefensefund.org/</font></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">
</font></div><div><h1 style="margin: 25px 0px 0.5em; text-transform: uppercase; word-wrap: break-word; font-weight: normal; line-height: 43.2px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">ATTACKS ON SCIENTISTS</font></h1><p style="margin: 1em 0px 1.5em; word-wrap: break-word; line-height: 25px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The scientific method is designed around the belief that skepticism is good. Results should be subjected to the utmost scrutiny through the peer review process, followed by close examination and replication by others in the scientific community. But sometimes, those whose ideas do not live up to the standards of rigorous science have instead chosen to litigate. Climate scientists in particular have been subjected to legal challenges launched by ideologically motivated groups trying to distract, discredit, and intimidate. Scientists then must legally defend their work, correspondence, and public statements.</font></p><h3 style="margin: 25px 0px 0.5em; text-transform: uppercase; word-wrap: break-word; line-height: 31.2px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ATTACKS ON SCIENTISTS VIA THE FEDERAL FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (</span>FOIA)</font></h3><p style="margin: 1em 0px 1.5em; word-wrap: break-word; line-height: 25px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">One common legal attack on scientists has been via the federal Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) or state equivalents, which promote government transparency by allowing citizens to request copies of administrative records. But FOIA has also become a tool to harass scientists, and FOIA requests for reams of documents, including private emails, have been made regarding scientists employed by the government or public universities, or who otherwise receive public funding. Scientists must then potentially review and produce thousands of documents – sometimes in a matter of days, depending on the applicable FOIA requirements – or mount a legal response explaining why the requests are invalid. Scientists have been subjected to enormous time and financial drains as a result of broad FOIA requests made by partisan groups. Such FOIA requests may claim to unmask bad science (which is why there is a scientific peer review process), but in reality, they instead seek to slow the scientific endeavor and dissuade scientists from publicly communicating their research for fear of being “FOIAed.”</font></p><h3 style="margin: 25px 0px 0.5em; text-transform: uppercase; word-wrap: break-word; font-weight: normal; line-height: 31.2px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">INVASIVE FOIA REQUESTS AND DR. MICHAEL MANN</font></h3><p style="margin: 1em 0px 1.5em; word-wrap: break-word; line-height: 25px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">The most prominent example is Dr. Michael Mann, a climate scientist currently at Pennsylvania State University. In 2011, Dr. Mann received an enormous FOIA request for virtually everything he had written or received during his years of previous employment at the University of Virginia. As explained in more detail here [link to “Dr. Mann Litigation” page], UVA and Dr. Mann engaged in protracted litigation to withhold emails and other documents protected under Virginia’s FOIA exemptions. The Virginia Supreme Court ultimately agreed that Virginia’s FOIA protections included protecting research and academic “free thought and expression.”</font></p><p style="margin: 1em 0px 1.5em; word-wrap: break-word; line-height: 25px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Invasive FOIA requests have also been made on many other publicly funded scientists, from government researchers to public university professors, sometimes leading to similarly extensive litigation.</font></p><h3 style="margin: 25px 0px 0.5em; text-transform: uppercase; word-wrap: break-word; font-weight: normal; line-height: 31.2px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">MORE ATTEMPTS TO DISCREDIT CLIMATE SCIENCE</font></h3><p style="margin: 1em 0px 1.5em; word-wrap: break-word; line-height: 25px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Dr. Mann’s experiences illustrate the extent to which scientists can become embroiled in legal conflicts arising from their research. In addition to his FOIA battles, Dr. Mann was one of many climate scientists whose emails were hacked in 2009 in the so-called “Climategate” incident. Snippets from scientists’ emails were taken out of context to suggest misconduct; multiple review boards ultimately exonerated Dr. Mann and other scientists. However, that did not prevent Ken<b> Cuccinelli</b>, the then-attorney general of Virginia and a vocal critic of established climate science, from using the hacked emails as a springboard to launch a civil investigation into Dr. Mann’s use of taxpayer funds while at UVA. In another lengthy legal battle, UVA argued that the attorney general had no authority for such an investigation, and the Virginia Supreme Court agreed. Dr. Mann and other scientists’ research into historical temperature records also led to a rambling investigation in <b>House of Representatives, led by Tea Partier Rep. Joe Barton (R-TX)</b>, who believes scientific evidence of climate change is “absolute nonsense.” This congressional investigation was criticized by many, including Rep. Henry<b> Waxman </b>(D-CA), who stated that it seemed “a transparent effort to bully and harass climate change experts who have reached conclusions with which [the investigators] disagree.”</font></p><p style="margin: 1em 0px 1.5em; word-wrap: break-word; line-height: 25px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">As part of his attempts to discredit climate science, Rep. Barton also commissioned a congressional report disputing prevailing scientific evidence on climate change. Years later, this report was found to be the product of academic misconduct, including plagiarism and falsification of data – and the report’s authors retaliated by suing Dr. John Mashey, a climate science blogger and computer scientist who had worked to expose the malfeasance. The plaintiffs claimed that because their employer had terminated them upon learning of the academic fraud exposed by Dr. Mashey, he was guilty of “tortious interference” and “conspiracy.” This lawsuit was ultimately dropped in 2015 without explanation, but not before costing thousands of dollars in legal bills (which perhaps was the goal). CSLDF is helping Dr. Mashey pay these legal fees.</font></p><h3 style="margin: 25px 0px 0.5em; text-transform: uppercase; word-wrap: break-word; font-weight: normal; line-height: 31.2px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">PRESS UNDER ATTACK</font></h3><p style="margin: 1em 0px 1.5em; word-wrap: break-word; line-height: 25px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">In addition to legal challenges made directly against researchers, attackers have also sought to censure publication of research they do not support. For example, Science Magazine was threatened with a lawsuit after publishing a study by Dr. Naomi Oreskes in 2004 on the scientific consensus regarding climate change. That lawsuit never materialized, but in 2014, threats of a defamation suit prompted the journal Frontiers in Psychology to retract a peer-reviewed paper analyzing the psychology of those who reject the consensus on climate change. In its retraction, the journal stated that it did not have “any issues with the academic and ethical aspects of the study” but it was retracting the study because “the legal context is insufficiently clear,” and it noted that the study’s authors “stand by their article and regret the limitations on academic freedom which can be caused by legal factors.”</font></p></div><div><font size="4" face="Times New Roman"></font></div></div></div></div>