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Article

18 Dec 2016

Author:
Michael E. Mann, Penn State University, in Washington Post

Commentary: Penn State professor warns of potential for intimidation of climate scientists under Trump administration, which could include ExxonMobil chief executive

"I’m a scientist who has gotten death threats. I fear what may happen under Trump.", 16 Dec 2016

Michael E. Mann is a professor of atmospheric science and director of the Earth System Science Center at Penn State University.

I’ve faced hostile investigations by politicians, demands for me to be fired from my job, threats against my life and even threats against my family. Those threats have diminished in recent years, as man-made climate change has become recognized as the overwhelming scientific consensus and as climate science has received the support of the federal government. But with the coming Trump administration, my colleagues and I are steeling ourselves for a renewed onslaught of intimidation, from inside and outside government... Trump...famously dismissed global warming as a Chinese hoax and “a big scam for a lot of people to make a lot of money.” The strong anti-science bent of his advisers is similarly ominous. Among the members of his Environmental Protection Agency transition team are some of the most notorious climate change deniers...Trump’s proposed interior secretary, Rep. Ryan Zinke... has a dismal record on the environment, voting again and again in favor of the fossil fuel industry. Rex Tillerson, Trump’s choice for secretary of state, represents those interests even more directly as the chief executive of ExxonMobil.