Science

"Kathryn Sullivan has helped U.S. Navy sailors navigate — literally — through rough seas as an oceanographer in the Navy Reserves. As a NASA astronaut, she’s walked in space, the first American woman to step outside a spacecraft, 140 miles above Earth. These challenges are a world apart from what she’s now confronting in Washington as she leads an agency of federal scientists in the crosshairs of a powerful member of Congress."

"With their work in the crosshairs of a political ideology, climate scientists find themselves under attack via the Internet."

"Scientists keep rallying behind Kathryn Sullivan, the federal official on one side of a two-month standoff with a senior House Republican over a groundbreaking climate change study."

"A contingent of powerful U.S. representatives are pressing the chief executives of six of the country's largest fossil fuel companies, including ExxonMobil, Chevron and Shell, to answer questions about when the companies first understood that burning fossil fuels drives climate change and whether they became active partners in an effort to downplay the harm that could result."

"An undercover sting by Greenpeace has revealed that two prominent climate sceptics were available for hire by the hour to write reports casting doubt on the dangers posed by global warming."

"To be a climate change skeptic in Paris this week means facing heavy odds."

"About 600 scientists and engineers, including former employees of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), have signed on to letters urging the head of that agency, Kathryn Sullivan, to push back against political interference in science."

"Until fairly recently, Jonathan Lundgren enjoyed a stellar career as a government scientist. An entomologist who studies how agrichemicals affect the  ecology of farm fields, he has published nearly 100 articles in peer-reviewed journals ....  But recently, things have changed. His work has 'triggered an official campaign of harassment, hindrance, and retaliation' from his superiors, Lundgren alleged in an official complaint filed with USDA scientific integrity authorities last year."

"A non-profit funded by the Coca-Cola Co. to combat obesity is disbanding following revelations about the beverage maker’s involvement with the group."