During the past week there has been a great deal of news, especially out of conservative blogs and media, about scientists at the Climate Research Unit who may have cooked the books regarding data on global warming.
According to US News:
Preliminary analysis of the contents of thousands of E-mails and documents taken from the computer archives of the Climate Research Unit at England’s University of East Anglia—possibly by a hacker, possibly by a whistleblower—indicate a number of the world’s most important scientists engaged in research designed to prove that global warming really does exist may have been cooking the books.
As columnist Michael Barone wrote in Sunday’s Washington Examiner, “The CRU has been a major source of data on global temperatures, relied on by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. But the e-mails suggest that CRU scientists have been suppressing and misstating data and working to prevent the publication of conflicting views in peer-reviewed science periodicals.”
If true, the cooking of the temperature data to provide support for the idea that man-made global warming is occurring is a scandal of most serious proportions. It should force policymakers to reconsider the role science plays in the formulation of policy if its conclusions can be manipulated the way those concerning climate change now appear to have been.
Well, maybe yes, maybe no. Assuming that the books were cooked, does that mean we turn our backs on cleaning up the air we breathe and the water we drink and wash with? Do we continue to squander our natural resources because some science jerks didn’t dot all the i’s and cross all the t’s? Cities around the world are cloaked in a haze of pollution. Our athletes had to get off the plane in Beijing wearing serious masks to block out pollution. I had a friend who almost died while visiting the pyramids in Egypt. The reason, air pollution and smog. He is asthmatic.
I hope all the doom and gloom was somewhat overblown. It didn’t paint a pretty picture for the future. We cannot continue to dump pollutants in our water supply and our air without serious consequences. Millions of gasoline engines dump carbon bi-products into the air daily. Again, common sense. Forest must be replanted, streams protected from chemicals. Mining must not ravage the earth. Unfortunately, man cannot come to these conclusions on his own. Just look around. He has done a lousy job so far.
Sometimes the only way to get people to act is to put the fear of God, or Global Warming, in them. I remember Earth Day, the original one, and it didn’t paint a pretty picture either. I’m glad we took action back then, or we’d all be wearing masks today. The environment is changing whether by man or nature, but using our finite resources efficiently is always a good option. Moving to another planet seems to be out of our reach at the moment. Many jobs will be created in the search for more efficient ways of doing things just as the space program did in the 60’s, and the spinoffs will be many and welcomed.
Nobody has turned their back on trying to find innovative ways to conserve energy and keep the planet clean. All it means is that Gore and his party may not be able to use this as a “crisis” and an excuse to tax, tax, tax and spend, spend, spend. Sorry Al.
Other than getting people to act immediately, there is no advantage to exaggerating something like global warming. If they just wanted an excuse to raise taxes, surely they could use something more traditionally accepted….like war, for instance.
Touche, Miss Pinko, but you have to admit this will make climate change legislation harder to enact. If members of Congress are willing to dig in their heals because of “death panels,” you know that this new conspiracy theory will embolden the nay sayers to say nay with boldness and impunity. Perhaps Congress should skip cap and trade and instead enact Comprehensive Immigration Reform, for which no science background is required; only common sense and economics 101, a course we have all been forced to take in the past year if not before.
Good idea, LBH! Immigration reform is long overdue, as we know.
I am fully confident that CIR would have an immediate positive impact on our national economy and on the standard of living for working class Americans. I am not as confident about cap and trade legislation, although I do fall within the broad consensus of Republicans and Democrats who agree that climate change is a serious threat that we must at least slow down if not reverse.
I think I am going to agree with SA. Better to get our attention before we have to walk around in gas masks.
I get irritated when common sense things get politicized. As for Al Gore, I don’t think he is the bad boy here. He isn’t running for office and refuses. I don’t blame him. Who is going to do these things? I would rather hear from Al Gore than a lot of people. What has he said about cooking the books?
I am not sure what is to be gained from cooking the books. And just because the books were cooked, doesn’t mean there isn’t a real danger, either man made or natural.
Slow, I am going to have to disagree with you about urgency. The 70’s was full of innovation about renewable energies and using bio for fuel. There was industry funding and govt funding to advance these ideas and to make them more user friendly. Reagan planned on doing away with govt spending on green ideas.
My husband was working for a solar energy complex in the mid west at the time and said he was probably voting himself out of a job by voting for Reagan. He was right. The funding was pulled soon after he took office. (He couldn’t stand Carter)
My point is, unless you have tax breaks for private innovators and govt. support, very little happens. All these things that are now the rage with politicians (remember Jackson Miller’s wind farm video he pushed?) were around 30 years ago but somehow lost their way.
If we continue to delay the gas masks might become a reality.
Funniest post of the year.
@Last Best Hope
There is no question that allowing the poorest, least educated masses of Middle America into our nation to swell the welfare rolls and take advantage of every entitlement will absolutely have an impact on our economy! Won’t argue that point! I love the way you folks talk about science and man-made global warming in the same sentence. That’s good stuff! Those two concepts have little to do with each other. The best, most accurate info on man-caused global warming is coming from the weekly world news’ “bat-boy”.
I agree with Slow, nobody has turned their back on trying to find innovative ways to conserve energy and keep the planet clean. What they have turned their back on is this administrations bizarre idea (cap and trade) that making energy costs skyrocket (Obama’s own words) in the worst economic recession since the great depression would some how save our planet and create millions of jobs.
By the way, our very own Gerry Connolly voted for cap and trade… bye bye Gerry, hope you had fun playing the part of Congressman… better stick to hobby of dinner theatre, your probably better at that.
Playing the part of someone in congress hasn’t worked out so maybe Gerry, the thespian, will go on to bigger and better roles: http://www.politico.com/click/stories/0910/rep_connollys_drama_bug.html
I wouldn’t rule out Gerry Connally just yet. Look at his district.
Slowpoke, why can’t we discuss science and man made pollution in the same sentence? Am I missing something here?
Not sure how I feel about solutions but I certainly do believe that mankind is harming the environment. What other countries do very much concerns and affects us. Much of Shenandoah Valley is affected by pollution from Canada, for example.
Squandering our resources doesn’t stop at our borders.
I agree Moon, mankind is harming the environment but the issue here is scientist who deliberately distorted data to ‘prove’ their case of man caused global warming. Not only did they cook the books but they deleted email to avoid FOIA requests and all sorts of other shady things including discrediting and mocking fellow scientist who dared to even question their data. Why?
Could it have to do with money? Politics? Just ask Al Gore, in 2000 his net worth was $2 million. Any idea what it is today after years of fear mongering about ‘man caused’ global warming. Maybe double, triple or even quadruple? Way off… he is worth over $100 million today and stands to multiply that many times over thru all of the carbon credit companies he has started if crap and trade gets passed.
Also, if Obama was sooooo concerned about man caused global warming why would he and his wife take separate jumbo jets in a failed attempt to get the Olympics for Chicago? Doesn’t sound very green to me… Back to Al Gore, who by the way takes private jets all over the world and then travels in huge SUV caravans when he gets to where he is going, he uses many more times the energy at home then the average American. Plus he eats meat, the same guy that says meat is one of the biggest causes to global warming won’t even give up meat!
It’s not about man made global warming, it’s about money and politics. Just another ‘crisis’ to push an agenda or make a few hundred million, depending on who you are.
So what if he eats meat? Am I missing something here? I don’t think we really know enough about the book cooking yet. Didn’t that happen in England? Surely it isn’t just about American politics.
Here is the big news flash. Many scientists are big glory hogs. There is huge competition. Universities are absolute dens of back-biting and trying to upstage the other guy. Grant money and research money are the holy grail.
I like Al Gore. Why would you attempt to malign him over climate change? We all agree that man is impacting the earth. If Al Gore can make more $$ being involved with climate change than he can with being president…well…oh wait, that wasn’t an option.
Actually, because some jerks have been accused of book cooking certainly doesn’t mean that there isn’t climate change going on. No one is prophetic. We had better be thinking about it though.
Hello, can you ever just discuss a subject without taking nasty jabs at democrats? You even care what Al Gore eats. No one cares what he eats.
More news flash: The President of the United States, regardless of whom he or she is, will always take jumbo jets. Listen to yourself. You are going to be an old and bitter curmudgeon long before your time. Maybe the Obamas had a schedule conflict. He was going somewhere else afterwards. Who cares. He is Pres. Good enough for me. I wouldn’t want to pay the utility bill for the White House each month either.
Probably cheaper than Al Gore’s bill – which generally runs around $2000/month in his “green” mansion.
I can’t find the White House electric bill but here is a brief on the mansion at the Naval Observatory where the VP lives:
That was from a New York Times article in July 2001.
http://www.nytimes.com/2001/07/17/us/cheney-calls-on-navy-to-pay-rising-bill-to-light-his-home.html
The meat thing Moon is just another example of Al Gore’s do as I say not as I do approach to global warming. You even admit that he is probably the biggest advocate for global warming and the environment, right? Then why wouldn’t someone in such a high position on the subject lead by example?
You still never addressed Obama’s cap and trade idea to make energy costs skyrocket as a way to reduce co2 during a near depression….
I haven’t addressed cap and trade because I don’t have an opinion on it.
I don’t have the scientific background to get deeply into global warming and the environment past the common sense end of it.
I still don’t understand about eating meat. Plenty of people who have concerns about the environment eat meat. Al Gore hasn’t told people not to eat meat that I am aware of.
By the way, it’s snowing in Texas today: http://www.nbcdfw.com/enjoy-this/North-Texas-Wakes-to-Big-Snowflakes-78310222.html
Al Gore has stated several times that ‘meat eaters’ have contributed greatly to increased carbon emissions. He has even said that going vegetarian would help the environment. Yet he doesn’t do it… for years he has been telling people what they can do to help the environment yet doesn’t even follow his own advise. But all of us commoners should be riding our bike to work, not eat meat, recycle, etc….
You don’t have an opinion on cap and trade because you know it’s a turd… For some reason you find it very difficult to say anything negative about Obama or any of his plans or ideas. This idea sucks so you just choose to not have an opinion on it.
Thank you Hello. Who died and appointed you my psychiatrist? I don’t have an opinion on it because I don’t have an opinion on it. There is a great deal I don’t have an opinion on, including some things I put up posts about.
You are right. I don’t go around looking for things I think Obama is doing wrong and I didn’t do it to Bush either. Right now I am in a wait and see mode.
If you read carefully, you would know that I don’t think much of closing Gitmo. However, whether it happens or not isn’t going to alter the fact that the sun rises in the east and sets in the west.
I see no point in going all hysterical over a president. I survived George Bush quite well. And at the end of his term of office, I had a better opinion of him than I did at the beginning. Perfect? NO, far from it but my opinion was better, especially when compared to some of those he surrounded himself with.
So what do you think of cap and trade Moon?
What ever happened to lead by example? Al Gore is a douche, talks a big game but does zilch of what he says we all should do.
I don’t talk about it much Moon but I have worked hard on my companies ‘IT Green Team’ for years now and we have finally gotten our building downtown designated as LEEDS certified. One on the very few buildings, out of all of the ones in DC, that can say that.
So yeah, call me what ever you want but Ill call out these ‘green’ activist that talk a big game yet do nothing themselves.