Drowning Polar Bear Scientist Under Investigation for Scientific Misconduct
July 28, 2011
One of the so-called scientists whose work added fuel to the global warming hysteria is now under investigation for scientific misconduct. Charles Monnett works for the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement (BOEMRE) and co-authored a paper on drowning polar bears in 2004. The work was featured in Al Gore’s propaganda film “An Inconvenient Truth.”
news.yahoo.com
Documents provided by Ruch’s group indicate questioning by investigators has centered on observations that Monnett and fellow researcher Jeffrey Gleason made in 2004, while conducting an aerial survey of bowhead whales, of four dead polar bears floating in the water after a storm. They detailed their observations in an article published two years later in the journal Polar Biology; presentations also were given at scientific gatherings.
In the peer-reviewed article, the researchers said they were reporting, to the best of their knowledge, the first observations of polar bears floating dead offshore and presumed drowned while apparently swimming long distances in open water. Polar bears are considered strong swimmers, they wrote, but long-distance swims may exact a greater metabolic toll than standing or walking on ice in better weather.
They said their observations suggested the bears drowned in rough seas and high winds and “suggest that drowning-related deaths of polar bears may increase in the future if the observed trend of regression of pack ice and/or longer open water periods continues.”
The article and presentations drew national attention and helped make the polar bear something of a poster child for the global warming movement. Al Gore’s mention of the polar bear in his documentary on climate change, “An Inconvenient Truth,” came up during investigators’ questioning of Gleason in January.
In May 2008, the U.S. classified the polar bear as a threatened species, the first with its survival at risk due to global warming. …
In addition to writing articles cited by global warming propagandists, Monnett’s duties include overseeing about $50 million in federal funds. He and Gleason deny being global warming advocates and say they can’t help it if others spin their work.
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