Naw....While it's true there are many politically motivated junk-scientists pushing various environmental, economic, and social agenda with pseudo-science in the name of raising more money and awareness for their various causes, I didn't even look for a political slant in this story.
The above example is another comical example of many (in a very similar way to the politically motivated pseudo-science studies) that depicts meaningless scientific studies at their finest. It's all for the sake of spending & raising grant money
(other peoples money)
Ya know..... so they can continue collecting more grant money, keep the paychecks coming, and continue performing more meaningless studies well into the future. Aaaaaah yes... it's a vicious cycle.... LOL