Remember Edward Wegman, the George Mason University statistician whose climate denial was repeatedly cited by Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli? The one who was under investigation on charges of plagiarism & inaccuracy?
According to a poll conducted by Public Policy Polling and released this week by the NRDC Action Fund, voters across the country by a wide margin are more likely to vote for someone who supports clean energy legislation -- Virginians are no exception.
Climate science is a major front in the Republican war on science. In fact, rejection of climate science is a policy requirement to be a Republican running for elected office. Ronald Brownstein nicely summarizes the zealotry of Republicans in climate change denial in the National Journal.
Indeed, it is difficult to identify another major political party in any democracy as thoroughly dismissive of climate science as is the GOP here.
Virginia provides a perfect example for how extreme Republicans have become in their war on climate science. Last Monday, Virginia Attorney General Cuccinelli announced that he was continuing his witch hunt against climate scientist Michael Mann. A funny thing happened a few days later. George Mason University finally admitted publicly that a misconduct investigation was underway on Edward Wegman whose 2006 report to Congress is the basis for Cuccinelli's harassment of Michael Mann.
Virginia Attorney General Kenneth Cuccinelli has decided to continue to waste taxpayer money and embarrass the state with his witch hunt of climate scientist Michael Mann. Cuccinelli's attempts to harass Mann reveal the depths to which Republicans are willing to sink as full-fledged climate zombies in the service of fossil energy companies.
There are several reasons you should pay attention to the actions of Cuccinelli. First, he is attempting to intimidate a scientist that was formerly employed by a state university, leveling accusations of fraud, and demanding access to personal correspondence as part of a discovery process. Second, Cuccinelli has gained national prominence for his actions, endorsing candidates, and providing a blueprint for attacking federal regulations. Third, Virginia has become ground zero for Tea Party Republicanism.
VA AG Ken Cuccinelli has re-filed a subpoena alleging fraud and demanding documents from University of Virginia regarding Michael Mann's research prior to his leaving in 2005, the most notable of which is the so-called "hockey stick" work, showing the sudden increase in temperatures in the industrial era. Cuccinelli's previous subpoena, dealing with that research, was quashed because VA had no jurisdiction over federal grants. The new subpoena deals with Mann's only state grant, which had nothing to do with the hockey stick concept. However, Cuccinelli is clearly trying to get at Mann (and other climatologists) any way he can, and demands, as he did in his quashed subpoena, 10 years of emails between Mann and various other scientists. His criteria for what constitutes fraud are bizarre.
This week's coal ash community profile was written by Gabriel DeRita, a Sierra Club Communications Apprentice. Also, follow today's EPA coal ash public hearing in Chicago via our @SierraClubLive and @SierraClubIL Twitter accounts.
The area around Surry County, Virginia, is already home to some sinister projects, including several major coal ash disposal sites and Michael Vick's infamous dog fighting operation. One of the disposal sites is the local golf course, the Battlefield Golf Club. The green is sculpted with 1.5 million tons of coal fly-ash.
Now a major Virginia power provider, the Old Dominion Electric Cooperative (ODEC), wants to site a 1500 mega watt coal plant, accompanied by several hundred acres of ash disposal sites, along the Blackwater River in Surry.
This project, if completed, will be the largest coal-fired power plant in Virginia. Its coal ash will be stored in several landfill areas around the plant. If the power plant itself falls through, ODEC representatives have indicated an option of developing the site as an exclusive coal ash landfill.
This is the first in what will be a continuing series by the NRDC Action Fund on the environmental stances of candidates in key races around the country. Today, we examine Virginia’s 5th Congressional district, a district - stretching south from Charlottesville to the North Carolina border. Currently, the 5th CD is represented in the U.S. House of Representatives by Tom Perriello (D).