NASA Scientist Accused of Using Celeb Status Among Environmental Groups to Enrich Him

By William Lajeunesse
Published June 22, 2011
| FoxNews.com

The NASA scientist who once claimed the Bush administration tried to "silence" his global warming claims is now accused of receiving more than $1.2 million from the very environmental organizations whose agenda he advocated.
In a lawsuit filed Tuesday in Washington, D.C., a group claims NASA is withholding documents that show James Hansen failed to comply with ethics rules and financial disclosures regarding substantial compensation he earned outside his $180,000 taxpayer-paid position as director of the Goddard Institute for Space Studies.
"Hansen's office appears to be somewhat of a rogue operation. It's clearly a taxpayer-funded global warming advocacy organization," said Chris Horner, a co-founder of The American Tradition Institute, which filed the lawsuit. "The real issue here is, has Hansen been asking NASA in writing, in advance, for permission for these outside activities? We have reason to believe that has not been occurring."
The lawsuit claims Hansen privately profited from his public job in violation of federal ethics rules, and NASA allowed him to do it because of his influence in the media and celebrity status among environmental groups, which rewarded him handsomely the last four years.
Gifts, speaking fees, prizes and consulting compensation include:
-- A shared $1 million prize from the Dan David Foundation for his "profound contribution to humanity." Hansen's cut ranged from $333,000 to $500,000, Horner said, adding that the precise amount is not known because Hansen's publicly available financial disclosure form only shows the prize was "an amount in excess of $5,000."

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Jetboogieman said:

This sooooooooo disproves global warming :roll:

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American said:

Less than a minute, it's a record!

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Jetboogieman said:

This sooooooooo disproves global warming :roll:

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j-mac said:

Disproves it as a whole? No....Man's involvement in causing it? Well, serious questions should arise about the so called Science of this religion.

j-mac

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Deuce said:

Do you have serious questions about the skeptics side of things? For example, Lord Monckton has testified before Congress with information that is provably false. He distorts and sometimes outright reverses the claims made in papers he is supposedly citing.

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j-mac said:

So that's the defense? The other side does it too?

j-mac

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Deuce said:

No, I'm just wondering if you apply the same standards to your side of the argument. I've not defended Hansen's actions at all.

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toddwv said:

Ah yes, the American Tradition Institute. Championing the cause of polluters everywhere. I'm willing to bet that they LOVE Koch.

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American said:

Less than a minute, it's a record!

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spud_meister said:

That's what she said.

(sorry)

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j-mac said:

I try to be consistent....Like I said, look at the argument instead of looking for a way to attack and discredit your debate opponent, and you won't have so much problem losing the argument due to fallacy.

j-mac

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