BOEM Witch Hunt Against Polar Bear Scientist Charles Monnett Finally Over???

Polar bear (Photo courtesy Fish and Wildlife Service)

by Associated Press, February 19, 2013

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management says it has found no misconduct in research by an Alaska scientist who wrote a 2006 paper on drowned polar bears and was subsequently investigated.

Scientific integrity officer Bradley Blythe says in a memo to BOEM Director Tommy Beaudreau that he considers the review of Charles Monnett closed.

Monnett’s peer-reviewed paper reported four dead polar bears floating in Arctic Ocean waters after a storm.

Monnett and a co-author suggested that polar bear drowning could increase if pack ice continued to diminish. The paper received widespread media coverage as a negative effect of global warming.

Monnett has been represented by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility.

Executive Director Jeff Ruch says the motivation for the investigation was retaliation by a pro-drilling federal agency.

http://www.ktoo.org/2013/02/19/agency-declines-to-continue-research-investigation/