In the heated discussion of climate change, George Deutsch is toast

February 8, 2006

It gives me little pleasure to note that George Deutsch, the 24-year-old political staffer in NASA's public relations office who tried to silence climate expert James Hansen, has resigned.

In a continuation of his reporting on the story, Andrew Revkin of the New York Times notes that Deutsch did not have a degree in journalism from Texas A&M as claimed, but rather left college to work for the Bush organization in 2004.

I feel sorry for Deutsch. Imagine how it must feel to be offered a plum political position while in your early 20s. Had he been around the block a few more times, he would have realized that he was in over his head. He should have listened more and spoken less. He is a victim of politcal cronyism and his own ambition.

I would recommend that he go back to college, take a few science courses, complete his degree, and reflect on what happened to him. He might even realized that a certain political party deceived him, and he fell for it because he was too willing to believe in an ideology rather than to think for himself.

This is no longer a scientific story but a broader political one, so I'll leave further commentary to journalists and bloggers like Chris Mooney, author of The Republican War on Science.

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