Help scientists who are being attacked by Climate of Doubters

Last night, PBS Frontline premiered their expose of climate science denial’s key players titled Climate of Doubt. The show highlighted S. Fred Singer, Patrick Michaels, Christopher Monckton, Chris Horner, Myron Ebell, and James Taylor, among several others. The episode also featured right-wing denier organization such as Heartland Institute, American Tradition Institute, Competitive Enterprise Institute and others, who routinely attack climate science and its researchers. Climate of Doubt shows us how a handful of ideologues have hijacked Congress so that the most important issue facing humanity today is not even mentioned at any of the three presidential debates.

So what can you do to help our researchers who are being harassed by these Climate of Doubtmongers? A great way to do so is to support the Climate Science Legal Defense Fund (CSLDF). CSLDF was founded to protect the scientific endeavor by offering legal education resources to climate scientists as well as a “war chest” for scientists who are faced with expensive legal battles. The fossil fuel-funded ideologues have an almost unlimited amount of financial resources so CSLDF can use all the help it can get from concerned citizens and foundations.

To date, CSLDF has offered two legal webinars and a third is scheduled for November 13. At this year’s American Geophysical Union (AGU) 2012 Fall Meeting, CSLDF is offering several legal workshops, a trade show booth, and a discussion room with an attorney for scientists who wish to speak privately.

Imagine you are a climate scientist away on a conference sitting in your hotel room and you receive an email from your university alerting you that a right-wing organization is using Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) to request thousands of your email messages. You are aware that group is on a fishing expedition hoping to publicize an email message out of context to embarrass you or other colleagues. What do you do if you are concerned that your university’s legal advice goes against your wishes? Whom do you call?

Now imagine you can call a CSLDF manager and he tells you that there are resources available. He then connects you with other scientists who have faced the same situation while also connecting you with lawyers from PEER and lawyers from one of the nation’s most respected law firms with offices around the country who are willing to help you pro bono.

You do not have to imagine this scenario. This actually happened. It is comforting to have CSLDF as an ace up the sleeve for our nation’s climate experts. CSLDF needs your support to continue developing these resources. Donations are tax-deductible.