OSU stiffs Kulongoski on “state climatologist” title request

A week ago Oregon's governor, Ted Kulongoski, made a reasonable request of Oregon State University: stop calling George Taylor the state climatologist, since no such position exists.

Taylor uses that title because he took over many of the duties the actual state climatologist used to perform before the position was abolished.

That's like saying you're married to a divorced woman because you're living with her and otherwise filling the role of the spouse she used to have. Legally, you're not. In the eyes of the world, you're not.

But OSU won't relinquish the fiction that George Taylor speaks for the state on climatological issues such as global warming, on which he holds some ridiculously unscientific views.

For some reason, OSU is letting Taylor use his unmerited title while planning for an Oregon Climate Center is going on. Maybe there's a bit of bureaucratic blackmail happening here.

If OSU gets funding for the center, its director (who surely wouldn't be Taylor) would likely become the official state climatologist. And the governor would be relieved of an embarrassment.

When I asked the OSU news and communication office to update me on the George Taylor title controversy, I got this reply:

As has been reported, the university and the governor have reached an understanding on the need for a climate change research center at OSU, an integrated proposal that the university has been developing for a year and that would have implications for the Oregon Climate Service, which George Taylor manages. No immediate changes are planned while that proposal is under consideration. The Oregonian story that you reference from Saturday's paper was fairly complete on this matter, and we have nothing further to add at this time.

Well, the Oregonian reported that Taylor's dean, Mark Abbott, intends to let Taylor keep his title until June 30, when his contract as head of the Oregon Climate Service expires.

Sure sounds like OSU is sticking it to the governor. Kulongoski is doing his best to make Oregon a leader in finding creative and economically viable ways to deal with human-caused climate change problems. But he's got Taylor running around spouting his crazy "don't worry about global warming" notions, claiming all the while that he's the state climatologist.

The good news is that this story has gotten so much publicity, George Taylor's credibility is much diminished now.

If you ever are in the audience when he's speaking and you hear him introduced as the "state climatologist," a snicker would be an entirely appropriate response.

Comments

[Anon]

Didn't OSU already get in trouble when some higher up tried to squash the dissenting viewpoint (Forestry Dept on a Grad Student's paper on logging after a forest fire)?

Isn't Kulo doing just that?

Kulo doesn't like a researcher's opinion. Fine, let the Gov appoint a bunch of politicos to some Global Warming Board.

But don't shout down a fool just because he has foolish opinions. Let the foolish opinion live or die in the marketplace of ideas.

[Brian]

Anon, I agree with you. But George Taylor is trying to gain an unfair advantage in that marketplace of ideas by climbing upon a soapbox called "state climatologist" that he isn't entitled to use.

The governor isn't trying to silence Taylor. He isn't trying to squash a dissenting viewpoint about global warming.

What he most reasonably is wanting to do is stop Taylor from claiming that he occupies a position which, in the truth of state statute, doesn't exist.

[Anon]

"The governor isn't trying to silence Taylor. He isn't trying to squash a dissenting viewpoint about global warming."

Really, is that so?

So what you are saying is that the Gov would be saying and doing exactly as he currently is behaving, even if George Taylor had the exact same beliefs as the Gov.?

If Goerge Taylor had views identical to Gov Kulo, then Kulo would be trying to silence him by say "George, I agree 100% with you, but, you know, that State Climatologist title expired last decade, so shut up will ya?" Some how, that is not very credible.

"What he most reasonably is wanting to do is stop Taylor from claiming that he occupies a position which, in the truth of state statute, doesn't exist."

Yeah, right. The Gov ignored him for his first four years, even though the same guy was using the same title.

It is bad enough that the Gov is trying to silence a critic, rather than refute the critic's bad ideas. But it is much worse that this Gov is getting his appologists to use such far fetched reason's to defend such heavy handed tactics against his enemies.

Gov Kulo may have science on his side, but he should not shout down his critics, but rather overcome them with logical arguments. That the Gov is not doing so, speaks to how logical the Govn'ers arguments are. As it also speaks to the Gov's defenders.