Notice that since the MESB was established in 1993, there has been at least one report submitted every year, and usually two or three, until 2003.  After that, nothing.  So what happened in 2003 to shut them down?

From the little that I have read about her, Jennifer Granholm seems to be an intelligent and competent governor.  It would be very likely for her to act in the style of Newt Gingrich.  Surely this story is considerably more complicated than the simple news of her ordering the board's termination.

Chickens are our cousins! So are other sensitive animals! Enough is enough! No more factory farms!

Well, the MESB only worked on problems referred to them--they had no ability to insert themselves into an issue uninvited.

No, I'm afraid this seems more like dumb partisanship -- the rotund "King John" Engler (now head of the National Manufacturers Assn.) formed the board, so after Granholm got in in 2003, she had no use for it.  Engler was truly an execrable Governor and he left the state in a financial shambles, with the appellate courts dominated by his appointees, with a terribly weakened and demoralized environmental agency reduced to begging business for some sort of common sense.

Still, it's possible for even mentally stopped clocks like Engler to get something right once in a while, and I think the MESB was it.

Save the world: Reduce greenhouse gas emissions 5% annually.

So get rid of the hacks, don't kill the board.  All the "pro-science" Governor was ratify the precedent of abolishing science boards that don't produce the desired results -- not a precedent that people who are "pro-science" should want followed.

And, having followed your link, I should make it clear that Gristmill did not criticize the Governor's decision to abolish the MESB, I did (JMG / Gristmill).

Save the world: Reduce greenhouse gas emissions 5% annually.

that last parenthetical was supposed to be a NOT EQUALS sign, but it didn't come through

Save the world: Reduce greenhouse gas emissions 5% annually.

You (bleeped) up.  The OTA and the MESB are not the same thing ... not even close.  You didn't advocate replacing the hacks with good scientists, but you did suggest that our governor was just as bad as Newt for having abolished the thing.

So, sad.

Sorry, EBaerren.  A crucial negative got left behind on the dock in my penultimate sentence.  The intention was: It would be very UNlikely ... , or, It would NOT be very likely ...

Chickens are our cousins! So are other sensitive animals! Enough is enough! No more factory farms!

Your intentions were pretty clear, and the internets can be a forgiving place.