Silke Beck on The Honest Broker, auf Deutsche
June 6th, 2008Posted by: Roger Pielke, Jr.
If you read German, then you might be interested in this review (PDF) of The Honest Broker by Silke Beck, of the UFZ Helmholz Research Center in Leipzig, appearing in the May, 2008 issue of Theorie und Praxis. She concludes:
Um das Kind nicht mit dem Bade auszuschütten, das Buch stellt sicherlich einen wichtigen Input in die Diskussion um Politikberatung dar und bietet einen übersichtlichen und gut strukturierten Leitfaden für Wissenschaftler, um sich im unübersichtlichen Terrain der Politik zu orientieren. Es demonstriert nachdrücklich, dass die bis dato noch dominante Idee des “Schwimmens ohne nass zu werden” illusorisch ist und weist gleichzeitig überzeugende Alternativen aus. Zu wünschen wäre, dass das Werk von Pielke als ein Beitrag dazu wahrgenommen würde, diese Diskussion auch
in der Praxis zu eröffnen, das lineare Modell zu hinterfragen, und dadurch dem ehrenhaften Vermittler mehr Gehör zu verschaffen.
Or in English, go ahead and buy the book, es ist sehr gut! 
June 9th, 2008 at 4:03 am
Hi Prof Pielke Jr,
Having read the fine book review, while the reading of the book needs regrettably to wait, it seems that a very principle question is still not addressed, namely what is CLIMATE?
Recalling your paper: Roger A. Pielke Jr, 2005, “Misdefining ‘‘climate change’’: consequences for science and action”; in: Environmental Science & Policy , No 8. p.548–561., it is highly to acknowledge that you belong to the very few scientists who stressed the extreme narrowness of the UNFCCC on ‘climate change’.
Nevertheless, what sense does it makes to consider ‘climate change’, or ‘climate system’ as long as CLIMATE is not defined. Your paper has been discussed on: http://www.whatisclimate.com/e510-roger-pielke-jr-misdefining-climate-change.html . To illustrate the situation, a recent paper by S. Fred Singer et al.: „Nature, Not Human Activity, Rules the Climate” (FN) that implies that nature rules the climate may serve as an example. Such an assert explains little if anything. In so far it seems much more reasonable to put the emphasis on the core issue: Not nature rules climate, but water rules the nature on this earth, respectively climate is ruled by the oceans. This matter is currently discussed on: http://www.oceanclimate.de/ .
All success for your book
With best regards
bern
(FN): Singer, S. Fred (ed); (2008), „Nature, Not Human Activity, Rules the Climate“; © 2008, Science and Environmental Policy Project / S. Fred Singer; Published by THE HEARTLAND INSTITUTE, http://www.sepp.org/publications/NIPCC_final.pdf .