In response to TX Governor Rick Perry’s proposition that climate change data has been altered by scientists, NY Times Columnist Thomas Friedman got it right. Friedman was interviewed by Piers Morgan on CNN several days ago, and his response was to point out that the oil and gas industries donate millions of dollars to congressional campaigns, but we question the collective thinking of climate scientists working for grants of $25,000? Scientists could make more money by denying it! Also, Texas happens to be facing numerous wildfires burning at the moment, causing Governor Perry to declare a state of emergency last week. Friedman pointed out that such wildfires are fully in line with the extreme weather/drought/flood predictions of climate scientists.

I hope many people heard his comments and discernment starts to sink in, that the opinion of a politician on climate change is simply not as informed as the thousands of climate scientists around the world, including those who signed onto the last IPCC Report (2007) and the National Academy of Science’s reports. Opinions should be based on facts, not politics. Science can certainly change, but there is a huge foundation of reports and studies validating human–induced climate impacts. To not act on this knowledge is irresponsible and has serious implications for the future.

Watch the CNN clip here: http://piersmorgan.blogs.cnn.com/2011/09/08/thomas-friedman-climate-change-actually-happening-under-rick-perrys-nose-and-hes-denying-it/