CEI’s Chris Horner sends word of this development, via The American Spectator:
Last night the Competitive Enterprise Institute, through its outside counsel Gibson Dunn, filed its brief arguing against NASA’s rather scattershot and contradictory effort to dismiss our lawsuit requesting certain documents under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)(press release available here).
Our suit, CEI vs. NASA (U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia), followed on the heels of ClimateGate, and a December 2009 Notice of Intent to Sue if NASA did not turn over certain records withheld since CEI sought them in August 2007 and January 2008 requests. That Notice was eleven months ago and, despite NASA offering some documents and admitting — temporarily — that certain others relating to the advocacy site used by NASA scientists, RealClimate.org were “agency records”, NASA then ceased its brief steps to comply with the transparency statute FOIA.
Despite NASA stonewalling CEI has already learned, for example, that NASA does not, contrary to widespread media and pressure group claims, have an independent temperature data set. Instead, as NASA told USA Today in an email, despite its serial, breathless press releases trumpeting some new temperature high, it actually is just a modeling office, which also (for unknown reasons, possibly extra attention and importance, or mere advocacy) cobbles together some US data from the National Climatic Data Center (NCDC) with that of the Climatic Research Unit’s temperature history. You may recall how CRU withdrew its claim to a temperature history data set after ClimateGate led to an admission it actually lost its data.
Specifically, CEI’s FOIA suit seeks documents and emails relating to NASA’s temperature record, which NASA was forced to correct in response to criticism from a leading climate watchdog, Steve McIntyre. Those corrections destroyed NASA’s stance that U.S. temperatures have been steadily rising in recent years and returned 1934, not 1998, to being the warmest year on record. NASA refuses to give CEI the computer file they used to make these changes, whose title includes “Steve” and “alternate cleaning.”
CEI also seeks emails from NASA scientists using Real Climate.org on official time using official resources, often to advance what NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies (its climate activist office) has decided is appropriate public advocacy.
In addition to uncovering the “Steve”/”cleaning” file, a few of the more interesting pieces of evidence expounded upon in CEI’s brief include:
Read the rest at The American Spectator
From the press release:
A few compelling questions and pieces of information:
- Why did NASA delete timestamps off the [realclimate.org] website? After CEI filed the FOIA seeking RealClimate emails, administrators at Real Climate deleted all timestamps on all of their postings, making it impossible to show they were made during work hours.
- NASA admits that it discovered 3,500 emails on the computer used by Dr. Gavin Schmidt, a taxpayer-funded NASA researcher who spends working hours running and writing for RealClimate. But NASA refuses to produce the emails.
- Why did NASA delay? NASA did not ask Dr. Schmidt to look for responsive records until 22 months after we sent them the FOIA and threatened to sue. It is highly likely relevant emails were destroyed during this period.
- Furthermore, NASA took more than 900 days to produce documents pursuant to CEI’s two 2007 requests. The agency took more than 700 days to produce records in response to CEI’s 2008 request. NASA does not explain these delays. FOIA requires that an agency produce responsive records within 20 days. Although agencies rarely meet that deadline, even for “complex” FOIA requests, NASA’s average processing time is under 100 days. In 2008, NASA processed complex requests in 82 days, on average. In 2009, it processed such requests in 89 days, on average.
CEI is represented by Andrew S. Tulumello of Gibson Dunn, which is handling the lawsuit pro bono.
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Mike says:
November 4, 2010 at 12:48 pm
“I’ll bet he takes work home. And since RealClimate is a non-partisan site….”
========================================================
Mike, thanks for two things! First, thanks for the chuckle, I needed on today. Secondly, thanks for the re-affirmation that alarmists wouldn’t know reality if it was on the monitor right in front of them.
Thanks again,
James
Interesting CEI is represented by Gibson Dunn. For those who aren’t aware, Gibson is an old, prestigious law firm, with formidable capabilities. It would be great if Gibson is doing this pro bono — if not, it will be a very expensive undertaking.
In any event, having Gibson involved would certainly add some gravitas in the corporate context, and would cause any defendent to take things seriously. I can’t comment on whether NASA/GISS gives a hoot; I get the sense that when you’re playing with someone else’s money (taxpayers’ money, that is), there tends to be a bit less concern.
Thanks for the laugh, I needed that. 🙂
One outrage after another. These alarmists seem to think they can do and control anything they want. Well we have a house of representatives now that might have the fortitude to investigate!
Ammonite says:
November 4, 2010 at 1:16 pm
I’d say essentially impossible if there’s no way to confirm what they’re telling you is the truth.
Here’s a link to CEI’s web page accepting contributions. I’m throwing them a few bucks.
http://cei.org/support-cei
KnR says:
November 4, 2010 at 1:09 pm (Edit)
Intresting times indeed , and removing time stamps , did they really think people were to stupid to work why and to actual keep a copy of these pages before this happend?
Well perhaps , they do seem to capable of amazing levels of arrogance , complete with a total lack of introspective.
I said a couple of years ago someone ought to be archiving realclimate before the more embarassing posts started disappearing. Someone responded that they were already doing it. Might have been Rick Werme?
Things are vastly worse in medicine than in AGW….
http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/print/2010/11/lies-damned-lies-and-medical-science/8269/
It will be very interesting to cross compare the emails with the CRU archive. Might give some idea of the extent to which both are incomplete.
Here it is with timestamp I think:
http://web.archive.org/web/20080104002912/http://www.realclimate.org/
lots more here:
http://web.archive.org/web/*/http://www.realclimate.org
Ammonite said: “Relative warming of … polar over equatorial, … low atmosphere over high atmosphere are all markers of green house gas. ”
Er, say again? The models predict tropical tropospheric warming and it hasn’t happened. What else have you conveniently misstated or ignored?
I’ve always thought climate science should be subject to proper peer review! … Peer review is not their cronies on (sur)realclimate.con but my peers in a jury!
Ammonite says:
Relative warming of night over day, polar over equatorial, winter over summer
Simple: salt. http://onlinepubs.trb.org/onlinepubs/sr/sr235/017-030.pdf Road salt came into widespread use in the 1950’s. As snow and ice are melted by the application of salt, the local humidity rises. This provides a local buffer against nighttime cooling, provided the wind is fairly calm. Totally useless in Antarctica(so no warming trend there)
Fred says:
November 4, 2010 at 12:16 pm
“Freelancing at Real Climate can be be a hobby for Gavin but it is not what he was hired or paid to do.”
Fred, don’t be so sure that that is not exactly what he was paid to do. Maybe not by the taxpayers, but maybe with the approval and encouragement of certain supervisors. Realclimate was and is a way to get out propaganda in a way that was supposed to preserve the credibility of the institutions, if done properly. If any management condoned it as part of their marketing campaign, I don’t think HE would have to refund his pay.
Chris Horner, CEI and Andrew S. Tulumello of Gibson Dunn (who is doing this pro bono) are major heroes for taking this battle to the Courts. I salute them and await further developments.
From:
http://articles.latimes.com/2010/mar/21/nation/la-na-ticket21-2010mar21
March 21, 2010|By Andrew Malcolm
The Democratic administration of Barack Obama, who denounced his predecessor, George W. Bush, as the most secretive in history, is now denying more Freedom of Information Act requests than the Republican did.
Transparency and openness were so important to the new president that on his first full day in office, he dispatched a much-publicized memo saying: “All agencies should adopt a presumption in favor of disclosure, in order to renew their commitment to the principles embodied in FOIA, and to usher in a new era of open government. The presumption of disclosure should be applied to all decisions involving FOIA.”
Also this:
On March 16 to mark annual Sunshine Week, designed to promote openness in government, Obama applauded himself by issuing a statement:
“As Sunshine Week begins, I want to applaud everyone who has worked to increase transparency in government and recommit my administration to be the most open and transparent ever.”
===========
It appears it was rather cloudy during Sunshine Week.
It also looks like Michael Mann is pushing back in the face of Cuccinelli’s 2nd law suit.
Professional climate change deniers’ crusade continues
02 November 2010 by Michael Mann
http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20827840.100-professional-climate-change-deniers-crusade-continues.html
“Cuccinelli’s actions also underscore the remarkable disconnect between the rhetoric of climate change denialism and reality. While professional climate change deniers continue their crusade against climate science, this year is likely to go down as either the warmest or the second warmest on record.”
Let’s hope the CEI manages to nail Gavin’s feet to the floor. One suspects that he has been a political activist during his working hours (funded by taxpayers). That has to be an indictable offense.
Why else would GISS have deleted all those time stamps?
Tenuc says:
November 4, 2010 at 1:25 pm
“Colonel Sun says:
November 4, 2010 at 12:50 pm
“re: “Why did NASA delete timestamps off the [realclimate.org] website? After CEI filed the FOIA seeking RealClimate emails, administrators at Real Climate deleted all timestamps on all of their postings, making it impossible to show they were made during work hours.”
Presumably the Wayback Machine [and other internet archive sites] made snapshots of the RealClimate web site before the time stamps were deleted…”
Yep, you can run, but you can’t hide!
Realclimate posts with date/time stamp all the way back to 2004…YES!
http://web.archive.org/web/20041212153304/http://www.realclimate.org/ ”
To have deleted the time stamps is far worse than to have left them. As deleting them suggests that the people involved knew that what they were doing, running an advocacy site on NASA [ie., taxpayer] time and money, was wrong and then amateurishly tried to cover their tracks.
The word amateur seems to figure prominently with the CRU/GISS crew.
The golden rule of the internet: if you post anything, assume that there will be a record somewhere and that it will be found and brought to light by someone.
I posted comments about this before the day of climate gate. I knew gavin was on the clock and he was blogging during the day.
The next point is a trap. I also mentioned this trap. it is stupid funny he (gavin) has time to blog and censure posts but has no time to compile responses to FOI requests.
Same with Hansen. He was time to stalk coal mines but can sit in a chair and ask a tech to respond to FOI requests. It is just harrassment!!!
” And since RealClimate is a non-partisan site for communicating science to the public ”
Mike, are you serious? You are an advocate for the advocates.
OT – documentary now on uk channel4 about what the green movement got wrong. Still toes the line that climate change is happening and is massive.
Interesting idea though that it is the work of the greens opposing nuclear power has contributed to more coal being burned.
So if climate change is down to co2 its their fault!
“In the absence of any credible alternative theory to” the fallacy of argumentum ad ignorantiam?
Instead of a civil case it should be a case of treason against its country, as the purpose of this climate change scam it is, as Lord Monckton said, Global Governance, and this means helping a foreign organization (the UN) to achieve its goal of governing upon one’s own homeland, and that can’t be called by any other names but treason.
Schmidt is at the eye of the storm. I bet him and hanson have sore fingers from hitting that delete key
As for real climate, it is so obviously run with the blessing of giss, it is part of the machine.
Personally I think they are toast, which is of course ironic as that’s what they gleefully discuss happening to all of us..
On March 15, May 11, July 15, Aug 28, and Nov 16 2009 NASA launched the Space Shuttle.
On Feb 8, April 5, and May 14, 2010, NASA launched the Space Shuttle.
…But within those 2 years they couldn’t mail some papers.
They’ll launch Discovery tomorrow at 3pm.