Times Dispatch: Kaine office asks that U.Va. professor not use his state title in his private research
The governor’s office has sent a letter to the University of Virginia requesting that Patrick J. Michaels not use his title of state climatologist when conducting his private consulting business.
The state is concerned that the U.Va. professor’s controversial views on global warming could be mistaken for the state’s views.
Katherine K. Hanley, the secretary of the commonwealth, wrote University of Virginia President John T. Casteen III on Thursday, asking that Michaels “avoid any conflict of interest or appearance thereof by scrupulously avoiding the use of the title of state climatologist in con- nection with any outside activities or private consulting endeavors.”
Michaels, who has been the state climatologist since 1980, has come under fire after news reports last month said a Colorado utility raised at least $150,000 in donations and pledges to help him analyze other scientists’ global-warming research.
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