Climate science contrarian installed in upper-level NOAA position

Enlarge / David Legates speaks at a Heartland Institute event. (credit: Scott K. Johnson)

The US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration recently hired a new person in an upper-level deputy assistant secretary position. Normally, this would not be too surprising or newsworthy, but this is an exception. Joining NOAA as the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Environmental Observation and Prediction" is University of Delaware Professor David Legates-a well-known contrarian who rejects the science of human-caused climate change.

The position apparently reports to acting head of NOAA Neil Jacobs, although the circumstances of the hire are unknown. Ars asked NOAA about the duties of this position, but the agency has not responded. Jacobs was entangled in the fallout from President Trump's inaccurate tweets about Hurricane Dorian that culminated in a forecast map doctored with a black marker. A pair of investigations found that Jacobs capitulated to directives from the office of Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross and the White House, releasing an unsigned NOAA statement that sought to rescue the president's inaccurate statements by mildly admonishing the forecasters who corrected him.

The Washington Post reported that Legates' department at the University of Delaware informed students in an email that he would not be teaching in the fall semester while noting, David hopes to be back at UD in the spring."

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