From Steve McIntyre’s hometown newspaper:
Academic spats, name-calling, data-massaging and cozy peer review by friends are not exactly rare in the world of science. You’ll find them anywhere that careers, reputations and resources are on the line. The difference is we are not usually asked to wager billions on the findings. Given the stakes, it’s hard not to conclude that climate science is too important to be left to scientists.
This is the concluding paragraph is from the Toronto Globe and Mail.
Here’s the opening and the link to the story:
Steve McIntyre is a mild-mannered Toronto businessman who dabbles in statistics as a hobby. But to some climate scientists, he’s Public Enemy No.1. They mention him often in their e-mails and try to make sure his criticisms of their work aren’t published. “They’re really showing a siege mentality,” he says.
Mr. McIntyre is a bit player in a scandal that has swept the world of climate science like a mighty hurricane. It features leading scientists who, to the conspiratorially minded, seem to be colluding to manipulate data, withhold information, delete records and stifle dissent. “The worst scientific scandal of our generation,” declared one opinion writer in the Telegraph. Not quite. But the so-called “Climategate” affair – thousands of hacked e-mails made public on the eve of the Copenhagen convention – gives a pile of ammunition to those who believe global warming is a giant boondoggle.
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‘”The worst scientific scandal of our generation,” declared one opinion writer in the Telegraph. Not quite.’
What does he mean “Not quite”. Is there a bigger scientific scandal that I don’t know about? Is it some kind of common knowledge thing that I miss the boat on? Anyone?…..
From the BBC’s Newsnight [hardcore current affairs prog] from 2230 GMT BBC2.
“And Science Editor Susan Watts will revisit the Climatic Research Unit stolen e-mails row.
It was announced today that an independent review will investigate claims that the e-mails showed scientists were manipulating climate change data.
Tonight Susan will be revealing new information about what went on inside the prestigious institute.”
http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/newsnight/fromthewebteam/2009/12/thursday_3_december_2009_in_mo.html
It seems that the gates of MSM information are breaking open. This morning, Pascal Guillon of Radio-Canada CBUF-FM in Vancouver did cover the Climategate. He did it in a very journalistic point of view without giving anything to the side of those guys, anything about “out of context” or whatever. He did push a bit on the hacking part but not that much.
For his neutral point of view and of course the fact that he talked about Climategate on national radio, I apologized to have called him a gatekeeper in a previous comment… now if he could do the same with all the other hot topics he would truly gain my total respect.
This one is a hoot. In the Washington Times article about Horner and NASA GISS you get this: “Mark Hess, public affairs director for the Goddard Space Flight Center which runs the GISS laboratory… said he was unfamiliar with the British controversy and couldn’t say whether NASA was susceptible to the same challenges to its data.”
Why do I think he’s full of it when he says he’s unfamiliar with the Hadley situation?
It gets better in that article too: “We’re collecting the information and will respond with all the responsive relevant information to all of his requests,” Mr. Hess said. “It’s just a process you have to go through where you have to collect data that’s responsive.”
Because copying some files to an FTP site is such a chore. It’s much easier to comb through the ‘data’, pick and choose what you want to give out and think is ‘responsive’ to the request, and then release it…
“junkkmale (08:44:41) :
‘Ed Miliband: ‘Climate-change denialists are totally irresponsible and I have learnt in this job that you have to take them on.”
In the red corner Ed Miliband and in the blue corner Richard Lindzen. Place your bets now.
If Steve McIntyre is a “bit player,” then mainstream “journalists” covering this story are the best informed people on the planet.
Worse than clueless…
FAIR COMMENT on THE G&M:
I have to agree with what most of the commentators here have said about the political orientation of the Globe & Mail. I should qualify what I said above concerning what they would have published (or rather not have published) on the subject of AGW up to two weeks ago.
About a month ago they did publish a very abrupt, very acid and to-the-point piece by well known national commentator Rex Murphy responding to a TD-funded study by the David Suzuki Foundation and the Pembina Institute claiming that Canada could meet deep cuts in carbon emmissions quite comfortably except that Western Canada would have to accept reduced economies. In the article, Murphy expressed rather explicitly that the science was not settled and made the connection between Big Banks and Big Green.
Diggin’ a hole, diggin’ a hole.
Diggin’ a hole, diggin’ a hole.
Nice work Steve..as always.
Posted this as on OT elsewhere and the elves removed it..or not. ☺
For the Canadians…you probably saw this…Peter Mansbridge had a feature on this on last night’s CBC news!!
Even though the item did some spinning to gloss climategate over (they highlighted the “hacking crime”) they did do a “not bad” job in the report. Amazing.
Took CBC a mere two weeks for CBC to get hold of this.
Actually Margaret Wente wrote a very good extended article on AGW a year or two ago in the Globe and Mail with the headline A Questionable Truth. She interviewed eight leading climate scientists including Roger Pielke Sr. She noted that ” For the record, all these experts are highly critical of An Inconvenient Truth and the scary headlines that regularly sweep the media”. She concluded that ” As for Al Gore, here’s one prediction you can bank on: Even though much of what he says is dubious or just plain wrong, he’s going to win that Oscar anyway.”
On another note, characterizing the Globe and Mail as a left wing newspaper depends on your politics. I consider it right leaning and it has only a couple of left leaning columnists.
In Norwich – home of the UEA – there are 2 newspapers, both produced from the same offices under the “Archant” umbrella. The “Eastern Evening News” is aimed at the city and immediate area, and the “Eastern Daily Press” covering the more rural parts. The EEN has barely mentioned this event, other than to quote from the UEA’s press releases. The EDP on the other hand has published several stories, including one today which was very balanced (so much so that I spoke to the writer concerned by phone, and congratulated him).
The city is traditionally Labour voting, and the county Tory. So, thanks to the city paper, and the hopeless BBC, roughly 200,000 people have been kept in the dark unless they use other forms of media.
I’ve read somewhere months ago that news stories from the bloggist sphere takes about 10 days to filter up to the T.V. news media and about 14 days to hit the front pages of leading news papers. So far I believe after watching Climate Gate unfold they we’re not too far off in their prognosis.
Typo – This is the concluding paragraph is from …
I read on a blog somewhere that, following the ClimateGate revelations, AGW can be summed up as being driven by alchemists who have discovered how to transmute hot air into gold.
One of the best quotes on the subject I’ve seen. 😀
The extent of the PR disaster can be summed up by three little words — “hide the decline.”
While those three words from one email, relating to how to reconcile proxy data with instrument data, may have originally had a narrow focus, they have now expanded to encompass the whole field of study.
For the next several months, analysts and scientists may pore over the trove of information now known as Climategate. They may even find fault with the way in which the science was conducted. But nothing they say will ever come close to summing up the situation as those three little words — “hide the decline.”
And that is the real PR disaster that CRU has to face.
Unfortunately for professional star actors, on occasion a “bit actor” will “steal the show”.
Smokey (09:08:11) : Bob Ward… welcomed the appointment. But he said: …“The big question is whether so-called ’sceptics’ will complain because the investigation will not be headed by include one of their own…
That flashes a rather red light. Meet Bob Ward
It’s ‘so prestigious’ that they have to photograph it from an ant’s perspective.It’s two storeys of computers and very naughty boys!
Gary (10:42:48) :
If Steve McIntyre is a “bit player,” then mainstream “journalists” covering this story are the best informed people on the planet.
Should read “He who’s name we mustn’t mention is a bit player.”
The newspaper is the Globe and Mail, and the author is Margaret Wente. In sum, she was very supportive of McIntyre, and questioned scientific orthodoxy. The newspaper has tried to bury the story, she wrote the first column I have seen in recent days on the topic if CRU and possible misconduct.
From Excite! News the Thursday afternoon:
http://apnews.excite.com/article/20091203/D9CC0CT01.html
America begins to wake up.
Steve McIntyre for President!
Mark (12:40:22) : Steve McIntyre for President!
Not so fast Mark! ☺ First, he has to become Prime Minister here in Canada. ☺
Then we will allow you to have our “Steve treasure” for future considerations and two first-round draft picks. ☺
We are ALL most pleased with Sir Steve.
Best
Clive
I am frankly surprised WUWT would quote Miss Wente’s opinion piece published in The Globe and Mail without offering the following perspective:
1) The Globe only briefly mentionned climategate in its paper edition
2) the week-end climategate broke, the Globe website published at least 6 stories all related directly or indirectly with environment themes, from a former Liberal’s wife, to the Hoggan commissioned poll, to hundred of new species etc… yet never mentionned climategate
3) to this day no details, no contradictory debate has been offered to the readership.
4) Miss Wente reference to the Hockey Stick goes to… Wikipedia whose editor (Connelley) has been implicated in crugate emails.
5) the Globe has attempted to suppress comments as per the email I received and posted here few days ago on another thread.
6) the Globe just reprinted a AP article about the investigation of CRU and still has yet to offer any facts regarding the email and document contents in its science section… yet every details about Tiger Woods underpants were faithfully reported by the same national newspaper.
Miss Wente’s column choice to break this story cannot be innocent from editors who have suppressed the story for so long. Readers beware!
Clive (13:04:05)
“We are ALL most pleased with Sir Steve.”
Or perhaps Lord McIntyre of Glenoe