The Weather Channel's Heidi Cullen has found herself in a hailstorm [1] of abuse after having had the impertinence to suggest that the science behind climate change is compelling and the deniers are politicizing the issue for their own purposes.

Cullen is a great deal more polite than we have ever been about the flagrant self interest of oil-soaked politicians (Senator James Inhofe [2]), scientists for hire (Pat Michaels [3]) and think tanks that Exxon used to pay (the Competitive Enterprise Institute [4]) to lobby against government regulation. She is also an extremely impressive scientist [5] in her own right.

The viciousness of the attack against her, however, seems to illuminate a cornered-rat reaction among Inhofe, his "pet weasel [6] " Marc Morano and others who are feeling their ill-earned public support on this issue wane away.

So, bravo Heidi, and stand your ground. We can all use a greater helping of the kind of evidence-based reportage that does not come attached to an oil-industry cheque or a matchbook-college meteorology diploma.