Kevin Mooney, senior investigative researcher for Restoration News Media, said May 4 that “genuine science thrives on debate and falsification, not enforced consensus” during an appearance on the Steve Gruber Show.
Mooney discussed proposed revisions to the Federal Judicial Center’s Reference Manual on Scientific Evidence and said the changes could affect how courts evaluate scientific evidence in climate-related litigation, according to an article on Restoration News.
“Activist-funded litigation increasingly bypasses legislatures and uses junk science to achieve regulatory outcomes that elected officials could never pass," Mooney said in the article. "If courts adopt the manual’s new language, judges could more easily admit speculative climate models as settled science, sidelining dissenting experts who demand reproducible evidence that follows the scientific method. Genuine science thrives on debate and falsification, not enforced consensus."
Mooney raised concerns about how climate-related lawsuits rely on expert testimony, scientific models, and claims about consensus. His analyses come as courts continue to evaluate climate litigation involving energy companies.
The Daubert standard, established by the Supreme Court in 1993, requires federal judges to act as gatekeepers when evaluating expert testimony. The standard considers factors such as testability, peer review, and error rates when determining whether expert evidence is admissible, according to the National Institute of Justice.
Mooney specializes in energy policy, environmental regulation, and activist influence at Restoration News Media. He is also the author of a book about climate debates and appears in media interviews discussing legal and scientific issues tied to energy policy, according to Restoration News.
