Heh... Dr. Theon? -- Dr. Hansen's supervisor at NASA.
From Watts Up With That:
James Hansen�s Former NASA Supervisor Declares Himself a Skeptic - Says Hansen �Embarrassed NASA�, �Was Never Muzzled�, & Models �Useless�The full text of the letter is at the site. Classic. Wonderful. I just wish Theon had stepped up before Hansen hooked up with Gore to start this whole boondoggle. Although, from a Schadenfreude aspect -- it will be a lot of fun to see people backpedaling...
This is something I thought I�d never see. This press release today is from the Senate EPW blog of Jame Inhofe. The scientist making the claims in the headline, Dr. John S. Theon, formerly of the Institute for Global Environmental Strategies, Arlington, Virginia, has a paper here in the AMS BAMS that you may also find interesting. Other papers are available here in Google Scholar. He also worked on the report of the Space Shuttle Challenger accident report and according to that document was a significant contributor to weather forecasting improvements:For those just joining the climate discussion, Dr. James Hansen is the chief climate scientist at NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS) and is the man who originally raised the alarm on global warming in 1988 in an appearance before congress. He is also the keeper of the most often cited climate data.The Space Shuttle Weather Forecasting Advisory Panel, chaired by Dr. John Theon, was established by NASA Headquarters to review existing weather support capabilities and plans and to recommend a course of action to the NSTS Program. Included on the panel were representatives from NASA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the Air Force, and the National Center for Atmospheric Research.
Why would anyone backpedal? This is a guy who headed up the NASA division that produced all of the data used to support the idea that human activities are dangerously over-contributing to climate change. Now, he says, "I totally abdicated my professional responsibilities for the past couple of decades and let scientific conclusions that I totally disagree with be published under my supervision and with my approval."
It would be good to know to which energy company he is now beholden, don't you think? Either he's been an idiot for the past 20 years or he's a liar, now. Don't get your hopes up.