The Trump administration just disbanded a federal advisory committee on climate change

Washington Post ^ | Aug. 20, 2017 | Juliet Eilperin

[Innovative]

The Trump administration has decided to disband the federal advisory panel for the National Climate Assessment, a group aimed at helping policymakers and private-sector officials incorporate the government’s climate analysis into long-term planning.

The charter for the 15-person Advisory Committee for the Sustained National Climate Assessment — which includes academics as well as local officials and corporate representatives — expires Sunday. On Friday, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s acting administrator, Ben Friedman, informed the committee’s chair that the agency would not renew the panel.

[Wuli]

All “science advice” to all sectors of government should always be (a) temporary and meant to be of very limited duration, to (b) achieve an immediate goal of rendering an immediate advice, until (c) then disbanded, and (d) with everyone’s understanding the advice is just advice and not government policy nor a government ruling.

Also, the government officials should ALWAYS get outside second opinions on the advice specific government science panels offer.

Permanent government science bodies tend to (a) ensconce one or more science orthodoxies and (b) stifle and denigrate science research that disagrees with them.

The entire idea of an “official” science position makes the very bad assumption that there is always only one “right” position. But real science requires, demands, that science is not “consensus” and needs the skeptic or it becomes religion, not science.

[gleeaikin]

Now if we could just get the CIA and the military to stop with their similar long range assessments and planning.

[Dogbert41]

I hear the Navy is coming up with a new system of power that's very ecological. After spending tens of billions, their green engineers have come up with this new pioneering development:

[gleeaikin]

True, it is very ecological, but I understand the Navy does have midshipmen train on sailing ships. One develops a much greater respect for the forces of nature by being totally dependent on the behavior of nature and your own understanding of how nature works. My brother helped sail a tall ship from the Caribbean to NY harbor for the Bicentennial celebration. He and a friend also sailed a small craft, I think it was a ketch, from US to Europe the same decade.

[Dogbert41]

I totally respect any seaman that can climb up one of those masts and walk out on the sails.