Scientist Suspended For Possibly Lying About Polar Bears Drowning

Katie Pavlich | July 29, 2011 1:24 PM

Once again, I would like to point out, the scientific name of a polar bear is Ursus maritimus.

Ursus: Bear

Maritimus: Water

Translation: Water Bear

The idea that scientists have been selling the "polar bears are drowning! we must save them through government regulation and taxpayer money!" argument for years is just embarrassing. Did we really buy the argument that the Urusus maritimus, water bear, was drowning? Why weren't photos released of "dead polar bears floating" in the Arctic?

A leading climate scientist whose report in 2006 of drowning polar bears in Arctic waters galvanized the global warming movement -- and were highlighted in Al Gore's Oscar-winning climate-change documentary -- has been suspended, possibly over the accuracy of his observations.

Charles Monnett -- who manages as much as $50 million worth of climate research on Arctic wildlife and ecology -- was told on July 18 that he was being put on leave pending an investigation into "integrity issues," according to a letter posted online by the advocacy group Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER), which is questioning Monnett's suspension.

In the peer-reviewed article, the researchers said they were reporting, to the best of their knowledge, the first observations of polar bears floating dead offshore and presumed drowned while apparently swimming long distances in open water -- suggesting "that drowning-related deaths of polar bears may increase in the future if the observed trend of regression of pack ice and/or longer open water periods continues."

The article and presentations drew national attention and helped make the polar bear something of a poster child for the global warming movement. Al Gore's mention of the polar bear in his documentary on climate change, "An Inconvenient Truth," came up during investigators' questioning of Gleason in January.

In May 2008, the U.S. classified the polar bear as a threatened species, the first with its survival at risk due to global warming.