"Feds Interview New Witnesses In Polar Bear Probe"

"Federal agents interviewed new witnesses this week in an ongoing investigation of government scientists that's been called 'polar bear-gate,' according to the scientists' lawyer."

"The controversial probe, now entering its third year, is looking into allegations of scientific misconduct related to a 2006 report by wildlife researchers Charles Monnett and Jeffrey Gleason, who described seeing dead polar bears floating in Arctic waters.

The apparently drowned bears raised concerns about the effect of melting ice in the Arctic, and they were mentioned in Al Gore's movie An Inconvenient Truth. Critics say the current probe is a witch hunt being conducted because the dead polar bears became potent symbols of climate change."

Nell Greenfieldboyce reports for NPR April 5, 2012.

SEE ALSO:

"Arctic Science Probe Looking More Like Witch Hunt" (Summit County Citizens Voice)

"Interior Brass Under Investigation for Political Interference with Science" (SEJ WatchDog)

Press Release: "IG Turns To Noaa in Probe of Biologist's 2006 Polar Bear Paper" (PEER)

"GN Polar Bear Survey Highlights Benefits of Non-Invasive Research Methods: NTI" (Nunatqiaq News)

IG Turns To NOAA In Probe of Biologist's 2006 Polar Bear Paper (Greenwire (subscription only))

Source: NPR, 04/06/2012