Charles Koch Doesn't Like "Politicized Science"

Charles Koch in his office at Koch Ind. in Kansas (AP photo)

what eye thynk:  Reading about Charles Koch talking about climate change is as fascinating as it is appalling.  

The Washington Post interviewed Charles Koch on the subject of climate change.  The publication then showed his answers to Professor Michael Mann, Director of Penn State's Earth System Science Center and Professor Andy Pitman, Director of ARC Centre of Excellence for Climate System Science at the University of New South Wales, Australia and asked them to respond.

It is worth reading the whole article,  though this one section made my blood heat up a bit:

Mr. Koch: "Believe me, I spent my whole life studying science and the philosophy of science, and our whole company is committed to science.  We have all sorts of scientific developments.  But I want it to be real science, not politicized science."

Prof. Pittman: "Agreed.  The perception that Climate Science is 'politicised' is unfortunate.  I am not sure why it has become so. The laws of physics do not ask if you are a Republican or a Democrat.  Climate Scientists do not have an eye to how they might vote when re-interpreting how to represent clouds in a climate model.  It may be that some public advocates do, but I would encourage Mr. Koch to read the peer reviewed scientific literature in the journals published by the American Geophysical Union or the American Meteorological Society.  Reading this literature leads to the unambiguous conclusion that we have a clear and present danger associated with climate change and that it would be wise for any company or business to understand those risks and act accordingly."

I believe Prof. Pittman was attempting to be polite, perhaps because he is Australian and not directly exposed to the Koch brothers on a daily basis.  I say this because no one in the climate science community can be completely unaware of the fact that the Kochs are publicly and militantly anti-climate change.

Prof. Mann, however, did not hesitate to call Charles Koch out for his feigned confusion over the current tether between politics and the science of climate change.

Prof. Mann: "I must say that I'm absolutely stunned by Mr. Koch's complaining, without any apparent sense of irony, about the 'politicization' of science.  For it is ideologues like Mr. Koch, who have spent many millions of dollars attacking the scientific community through front groups and hired guns, that have politicized this matter.  The Koch brothers continue to poison our public discourse through their funding of organizations and front groups dedicated to blocking any progress in dealing with this problem.  History will view the most unkindly for that."

Charles Koch smiles out of one side of his mouth saying he can't understand how politics got mixed up with the science of climate change while, out of the other side, he and his brother are pouring millions into the coffers of politicians and front groups to entice them to deny that climate change exists.  Then he wants the world to believe that he regrets how politics have muddied the issue and if only politics were eliminated from the argument, "real science" would garner his full support.  

It is not unrealistic to think that to Mr. Koch "real science" has very little to do with what scientists report; but instead, means everyone bowing to his and his brother's opinion that nothing they do can possibly be held responsible for making the earth a poorer planet.

People who defend the Kochs by citing all the money they give to good causes, are only fooling themselves.  Good deeds don't cancel out bad ones.  Plus one, minus one still equals zero.  The Kochs are playing a dangerous game, passing out their billions as tokens to win the loyalty of anyone who will make them even richer.  

Republicans are being played for fools, and they either don't know it, or are too greedy to care.