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The CIA Is Shuttering a Secretive Climate Research Program

posted by martyb on Monday May 25 2015, @01:57PM   Printer-friendly
from the changed-research-climate-changes-climate-research dept.

AnonTechie writes:

Scientists used the Medea program to study how global warming could worsen conflict. Now that project has come to an end.

Some national security experts were surprised to learn that an important component of that effort has been ended. A CIA spokesperson confirmed to Climate Desk that the agency is shuttering its main climate research program. Under the program, known as Medea, the CIA had allowed civilian scientists to access classified data—such as ocean temperature and tidal readings gathered by Navy submarines and topography data collected by spy satellites—in an effort to glean insights about how global warming could create security threats around the world.In theory, the program benefited both sides: Scientists could study environmental data that was much higher-resolution than they would normally have access to, and the CIA received research insights about climate-related threats.

http://www.motherjones.com/environment/2015/05/cia-closing-its-main-climate-research-program

[Medea: Measurements of Earth Data for Environmental Analysis. - Ed]

 
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  • (Score: 2) by M. Baranczak on Monday May 25 2015, @05:21PM

    by M. Baranczak (1673) on Monday May 25 2015, @05:21PM (#187656)

    Barrasso said last year that he believes that "the climate is constantly changing" and that "the role human activity plays is not known."

    Let's assume that's true. Why would it be a reason to shut down the program? The CIA was looking at the potential results of climate change, not the causes. It's not like they're gonna start waterboarding Exxon executives and sending secret arms shipments to Greenpeace.

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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday May 25 2015, @06:35PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Monday May 25 2015, @06:35PM (#187685)

    Maybe Barrasso is afraid that the CIA will confirm Naomi Klein's conclusions [wikipedia.org] about the possible practical solutions ...
    "capitalism OR survival" sounds like a concept many influential people would rather not have other people (the 99%) contemplate.

    I wonder if the CIA used the German Bundeswehr's own study about the effects of climate change on global political instability.