http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...091600644.html

Climatologist Draws Heat From Critics
On Global Warming, Va. Officials Have Told Appointee That He 'Speaks
for Himself'

By Juliet Eilperin and David A. Fahrenthold
Washington Post Staff Writers
Sunday, September 17, 2006; C07

Patrick J. Michaels, the Virginia state climatologist, has a day job
that makes him a cross between a meteorologist and a librarian. He
gathers weather data and answers weather questions: What caused the
great James River flood of 1771? How windy was it last Tuesday? Where's
the best place to put a vineyard?

Nobody dislikes him because of his day job.

But Michaels, a professor at the University of Virginia, also
moonlights as one of the country's most aggressive and, in some
circles, most reviled skeptics about the scientific consensus on
climate change. It was that role that landed Michaels in the center of
a small controversy in Richmond last month, when the administration of
Gov. Timothy M. Kaine (D) asked him to be clear that he is not speaking
for the state when discussing issues such as global warming.

"He, in fact, speaks for himself," said Kevin Hall, a spokesman for the
governor.

Similar incidents have popped up in other states, a byproduct of the
growth of global warming as a political issue. The formerly obscure
office of the state climatologist -- along with the obscure and
sometimes contrarian people who occupy it -- has risen to new
prominence.

Each state's climatologist office, which is charged with gathering,
analyzing and sharing data about state weather, was established by the
federal government. But in 1973, federal money ran out, and individual
states were charged with funding the offices.

Now, the climatologist is a bureaucrat in some states and a professor
in others. The District doesn't have a climatologist, but Puerto Rico
does; Maryland doesn't have one, though some weather data is gathered
by University of Maryland scientists.

This loose, irregular system has become controversial in several states
recently, as climatologists in Oregon, Wyoming and Pennsylvania have
taken public stances on global warming that differ from those of the
politicians running their states.

In Oregon, for instance, climatologist George H. Taylor has been
criticized by Gov. Ted Kulongoski (D) for his views. Taylor
acknowledges that the Earth is warming but says it is impossible to
calculate how much of that is caused by human activity.

That view is at odds with the consensus among many climate scientists.
But, Taylor said, "consensus in science doesn't really mean much. What
matters is the truth. Often consensus is wrong."

A root of the conflict is that, although state climatologists and
atmospheric scientists study "climate," they can attack the same
problems very differently. State climatologists often are trained to
rely on past weather data -- records that show how much the Earth has
already warmed.

State climatologists' critics in the scientific community study much
broader periods and use computer models to determine how much warmer
the Earth will become if pollution isn't curtailed. The view of critics
often is simple: State climatologists are behind the times.

"What state agencies, politicians and citizens need now is something
different from when that position was created," said Jane Lubchenco, a
marine biologist at Oregon State University who has studied how climate
change affects the ocean. "I know there's a lot of frustration with not
having a state climatologist reflecting the very strong consensus in
the scientific community" about the human impact on global warming, she
said.

But few state climatologists have generated as much frustration among
the scientific establishment as Michaels has in Virginia.

Michaels was appointed to his position by Gov. John N. Dalton (R) in
1980, a year after Michaels received his doctorate from the University
of Wisconsin. And it's hard to find anyone who faults his work in
keeping the state's weather data.

"He's done an outstanding job," said Paul G. Knight, the state
climatologist for Pennsylvania and head of the American Association of
State Climatologists. Knight said that Michaels and his staff have
excelled at gathering data and answering questions. "His office is
really one of the very good offices" in the association, he said.

Michaels has built his career as a fiery and frequently quoted
global-warming doubter. His position is that the climate is becoming
warmer, but it will not turn out to be as hot -- or its consequences as
bad -- as some fear. Michaels has criticized other scientists, as well
as political figures such as former vice president Al Gore (a
"scientist wannabe," Michaels wrote this year), for exaggerating the
risks and results of climate change.

"The preponderance of bad news almost certainly means that something is
missing, both in the process of science itself and in the reporting of
science," Michaels wrote last month in "Is the Sky Really Falling? A
Review of Recent Global Warming Scare Stories," an article for the Cato
Institute, where he is a senior fellow in environmental studies.

That position has earned him wrath from others in the climate-change
debate who say that Michaels -- especially when he is quoted as a state
climatologist -- creates the false impression of another side to a
closed debate.

"He's sort of one of the central figures in what I would call a
disinformation campaign," said Eileen Claussen, president of the Pew
Center on Global Climate Change. She added: "He says it's a little bit,
and it's of no consequence. . . . And it's not a little bit, and it is
of serious consequence."

This summer, news reports revealed that Michaels had asked for money
for his research from coal-burning utilities. Such companies often are
criticized for emitting pollutants that lead to global warming, and
critics have said this fundraising proves that Michaels's views are
calculated to please his financial backers. Michaels said it doesn't
prove anything.

"I was working on climate change long before I worked as a consultant"
to outside groups, he wrote in an e-mail to The Washington Post, "and
my views have been quite consistent over that period."

After the fundraising reports came out, the Kaine administration
investigated how Michaels had come by his title, and officials
determined that he worked for the university, not the governor. So they
sent Michaels a letter asking him to make it clear that he was not
speaking for the state during his "outside activities" or consulting.

The bifurcated nature of Michaels's professional life is made clear in
the text of an e-mail sent out last week to other state climatologists
by Mark Shafer, the director of climate information at the Oklahoma
Climatological Survey. Shafer's e-mail, which was obtained by The Post,
came as state climatologists and their staff debated whether to issue a
"letter of support" for Michaels.

"Regardless of your views on climate change, Pat Michaels is one of
us," Shafer wrote. "He has a 25+ year record of climate services to the
people of Virginia and provides a lot more services that do not get the
press of his research."