You have to laugh at the dueling statements in this circus event, its almost like a fire and brimstone speech from Rep. Edward Markey, who thinks this will be the “End of Climate Change Skepticism” as if he were casting out the devil from his green vision of paradise. Plus, you gotta love how he insults about half of his constituents by calling them “climate science deniers”. How unprofessional and petty. Then again, this is politics, not science.
In the best practice of reprehensible political style that personifies Washington, the announcement comes on the eve of the three day holiday weekend, where it won’t attract much notice in time for rebuttals to be mounted. And of course, none have been scheduled. How convenient.
But here’s the joke on Markey, and it’s hilarious. Compare his fire and brimstone headline with the recent update to the FAQS on Berkeley Earth Surface Temperature BEST website, emphasis mine:
Do Judith Curry and Richard Muller disagree?
Below is a joint statement by Judith Curry and Richard Muller:
In recent days, statements we’ve made to the media and on blogs have been characterized as contradictory. They are not.
We have both said that the global temperature record of the last 13 years shows evidence suggesting that the warming has slowed. Our new analysis of the land-based data neither confirms nor denies this contention. If you look at our new land temperature estimates, you can see a flattening of the rise, or a continuation of the rise, depending on the statistical approach you take.
Continued global warming “skepticism” is a proper and a necessary part of the scientific process. The Wall St. Journal Op-Ed by one of us (Muller) seemed to take the opposite view with its title and subtitle: “The Case Against Global-Warming Skepticism — There were good reasons for doubt, until now.” But those words were not written by Muller. The title and the subtitle of the submitted Op-Ed were “Cooling the Warming Debate – Are you a global warming skeptic? If not, perhaps you should be. Let me explain why.” The title and subtitle were changed by the editors without consulting or seeking permission from the author. Readers are encouraged to ignore the title and read the content of the Op-Ed.
We do not agree with each other on every feature of climate change. We have had vigorous discussions, for example, on the proper way to analyze hurricane records. Such disagreements are an essential part of the scientific process.
Dr. Judith Curry said it “best” on her blog today:
JC comments: The “end of skepticism about climate change” meme seems to have caught on with the warm PR groups. I suspect that pushing this will be as successful as Gore’s 24 hours in terms of changing anyone’s mind.
It will be interesting to see if Richard Muller repeats the following statements on this topic that he has made on the BEST website:
Continued global warming “skepticism” is a proper and a necessary part of the scientific process.
Are you a global warming skeptic? If not, perhaps you should be. Let me explain why.
Berkeley Earth has not addressed issues of the tree ring and proxy data, climate model accuracy, or human attribution.
Dr. Muller will either come off as a skeptic, and agree with what is written on his website above, or he’ll embrace the fire and brimstone of Markey. Either way, he’s in the hotseat. Buy popcorn.
Since it is impossible now for me or most anyone to attend and rebut at this hearing on such short notice, one can only hope that there will be somebody there to ask some tough questions.As I understand the rules of this meeting, public comment questions from the audience can even be asked.
On the plus side, as I said in the headline, this is circus. But more circus minimus than maximus because this is not a sanctioned committee meeting, its a sideshow put on by Waxman and Markey, who aren’t majority members, but minority members. Basically its a PR dog and pony show that has no bearing on a committee decision. Watch how much of the left media will fawn over this and repeat the headline put out by Markey, likely ignoring Muller’s own statements and what’s on his website right now.
And still, he hasn’t published anything and his papers have not passed peer review, but the political apparatchik wants to showcase the incomplete and rushed, non quality controlled, error riddled BEST science as if it were factual enough to kill off “denialism” worldwide. That’s political desperation in my opinion.
Given the PR missteps BEST has made so far, I welcome their participation in this circus.
It will be webcast. Here’s the details:
WHAT: Congressional climate science briefing: “Undeniable Data: The Latest Research on Global Temperature and Climate Science”
WHO: Reps. Ed Markey, Henry Waxman, others
Dr. Richard Muller, Director of the Berkeley Earth Surface Temperature Project
Dr. Ben Santer, research scientist at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
Dr. William Chameides, Dean of Duke University’s Nicholas School of the Environment and ViceChair of the National Academies’ Committee on America’s Climate Choices
WHERE: 1324 Longworth House Office Building, Washington, D.C.
WHEN: Monday, November 14, 2011, 2 PM
More information & live webcast of this briefing >>
Charlie Martin says:
November 13, 2011 at 12:24 pm
Because they’re the editors. That’s why they’re called “editors”: they edit things.
Because that’s exactly why Muller himself said he did what he did in releasing the pre-print and at the very same time by o’so severely schooling the WSJ editors, you know, to “help” Climate Science along, Charlie.
Seriously, Charlie, you still have time to catch up. This Climate Science hoax isn’t going to end very soon, even though it should have been over back around 2001. Try it, it even feels better once you start to engage your mind.
Bloody hell – I’m really sick and tired of these Ed Markey/Al Gore et.al. slimy, snake oil salesmen…. They used to be tarred and feathered and run outta town on a rail!
Here in the Great NorthWet (SE of Seattle WA, USA), we are colder and wetter than normal. That is no longer ‘just weather’, as it has been true for the last few years. The north face of Mt. Rainier never melted out to more than 35% exposed rock faces this summer/fall, same for last summer, where in summers for the previous decade, it was closer to 65-70% of the rock faces melted out. None of my neighbors had more than a handful of tomatoes ripened the last 2 years, with late spring frosts and cool summer temps discouraging anything but cold weather crops. Snow is falling down below 3000 feet now and forecast for much of this week. Temps approaching 32F are forecast for sea level this coming week.
Each of the last 3 winters, I have added another half cord of firewood to the winter wood pile and needed it all. I had +5 full cords at the start of this heating season in September and have used 3/4ths of a cord already. Accompanying the increased firewood use for heating, my combined natural gas/electricity usage for heating has increased as well. The energy usage has increased, despite my installation of CFL bulbs for most lighting applications, double wrapping the natural gas water heater with insulation, and no new additions of people or ‘parasitic energy consuming devices’ to the household. I built my house in 2001, with maximum insulation and minimum energy use designed in. Although my house is +2200 sq. ft. (1100 ‘up’, 1100 ‘down’), Pacific Gas and Electric company regularly tells me that I’m using less energy than any of my nearest 100 neighbors with homes of 1350 sq. ft.! So why is my energy consumption slowly increasing year after year? I’m just supplementing the heat from the wood stove more, with local heat from a portable electric ‘space’ heater, and occasional runs of the natural gas furnace when the the wood stove has been ‘out for too long’ or can’t supply sufficient heat to sustain a warm house at ‘below freezing’ temps outside! Why? Because It Is Consistently Colder!
The local climate trend here is to colder temperatures, later springs, cooler summers, and much deeper snow packs in the surrounding mountains. That is undeniable….. It isn’t ‘skepticism’. It’s fact.
Now, I have to go re-stoke the wood stove, as the house temp is dropping below 65F again while the cold wind and cold rain outside slashes the last of the golden and withered leaves from the big leaf maples, willows, cottonwood, and plum trees.
Wishing you warm thoughts, warm hearts,….. and warm toes and noses!
MtK
I don’t get how their entire platform would be “Put an end to Climate Change Skepticism.” Who would be skeptical about the ever-changing climate? This just shows that their platform is 100% ideological, and nothing about science.
I don’t believe the WSJ editors “misinterpreted” Muller’s words, and if they did they should be fired. This is not a small potatoes game, economically or otherwise.
Of course the NYT, Eugene Robinson’s, word on this matter of what BEST really shows is final – just ask his editors – as well as his analysis of the “sceptics'” stunned and ~”incoherent” reactions. But now Muller has to school him, too, no doubt with the same success as before: more gibberish = pick your favorite, er, “perception”. Just like “Climate Science” does “prn”, as needed to further its purely political agenda with all of its wonderous benefits for the CO2 = CAGW controllists and their fellow looters of as many of the world’s people as possible.
The Wall St. Journal Op-Ed by one of us (Muller) seemed to take the opposite view with its title and subtitle: “The Case Against Global-Warming Skepticism — There were good reasons for doubt, until now.” But those words were not written by Muller. The title and the subtitle of the submitted Op-Ed were “Cooling the Warming Debate – Are you a global warming skeptic? If not, perhaps you should be. Let me explain why.” The title and subtitle were changed by the editors without consulting or seeking permission from the author.
In the not so distant past, the WSJ title wouldn’t have been “corrected” by Muller in the manner in which he has.
Perhaps in some small way this is progress for GW skepticism.
Robert Brown says:
November 13, 2011 at 11:29 am
How the hell . . .”
Maybe because it is their newspaper.
————————————-
On topic: Circuses are famous for clowns.
I recall (maybe 3 years ago) that Ed Markey from another of these circus events was quoted as saying some dumb thing about the Arctic. I don’t have that material saved but I remember thinking that he was as full of malarkey as anyone I’ve ever known. The sense of the statement was on a par with the one from the man that thought islands can tip over. Waxman seems equally deficient in knowledge and reasoning.
Here’s a link to one WUWT post from about that time but it doesn’t have the material in it that I remember as elevating these two gentlemen to the top of my (un-named) list along with Gore and Hansen.
http://wattsupwiththat.com/2009/06/23/pushback-on-waxman-markey-now-is-the-time-for-all-good-citizens-to-come-to-the-aid-of-their-country/
Anthony writes:
“Since it is impossible now for me or most anyone to attend and rebut at this hearing on such short notice, one can only hope that there will be somebody there to ask some tough questions.As I understand the rules of this meeting, public comment questions from the audience can even be asked.”
I hope that you are planning to post an essay that is critical of Muller’s handling of your metadata about station siting.
“Mac the Knife says:
November 13, 2011 at 12:52 pm”
Yes, my experience in N.E. Oregon is the same, the Winters are longer and remind me more of the mid to late ’70’s. Even the year round snow is returning to the mountains over the past few years. And I should have already built up enough green credits to rule the world, simply for the sake of efficiency and another weird kind of thing, an inherent sense of responsibility, though obviously not yet perfect like Climate Science’s.
“The Wall St. Journal Op-Ed by one of us (Muller) seemed to take the opposite view with its title and subtitle: “The Case Against Global-Warming Skepticism — There were good reasons for doubt, until now.” But those words were not written by Muller. The title and the subtitle of the submitted Op-Ed were “Cooling the Warming Debate – Are you a global warming skeptic? If not, perhaps you should be. Let me explain why.” The title and subtitle were changed by the editors without consulting or seeking permission from the author.”
If that statement had been made by Richard Muller then I would flat out disbelieve it. RM seems to be able to say one thing to one audience and the opposite to another, in the best traditions of Taqiyya. The statement is reported as made jointly by Judith Curry and RM, which makes a difference – but only if it can be established that JC actually witnessed the claimed original rather than just accepting RM’s word for it.
I have posted the question on JC’s Climate Etc.
Over at Curry’s site, in the comments, several people have brought up the racism canard. Jst do not respond; racism is the last refuge of a political scoundrel.
The same Waxman and Markey malarky. They admitted they never read the carbon tax legislation.
polistra says: November 13, 2011 at 12:39 pm
Wouldn’t bet on any surprises. …If Muller actually surprises Markey, he will be ushered out quickly and his reputation will be trashed. I’m sure Muller knows the rules.
I think there’s a sporting chance Muller doesn’t know the rules, at least not smartly enough by political standards. He’s been an inmate of Ivory Towers for a while, and his recent brush with media showed strain in face and language.
Doug in Seattle says: November 13, 2011 at 12:48 pm
…It might therefore be advisable to submit a question that is not necessarily the one you ask when you get the microphone.
So what are the two questions that will embarrass Muller least and most?
I just posted this on Dr. Curry’s website:
Just read the Congressional Press release:
(Quote) “Congressional Climate Briefing to Push “End of Climate Change Skepticism”
…
The briefing will feature the first appearance on Capitol Hill by Dr. Richard Muller since the release of the Berkeley Earth Surface Temperature project results. Dr. Muller was previously skeptical about many aspects of climate science, but the massive two-year study he led has validated the fact that the world is warming. His work also debunked many talking points repeated by climate science deniers that have been repeated by lawmakers on Capitol Hill.
(EndQuote)
Is that a fair representation of Muller’s position?
If not, will Muller make any attempt to correct it, “for the record”?
What this AGW foolishness needs is a good old fashioned series of tent or now days stadium, revival meeting. They need a Billy Sunday or perhaps a Billy Graham to call the faithful and the doubters together. They need to save the souls, is is that soles, all those sinners and wayward doubters. I know, they can conduct these meetings on twitter. Almost as good? No, to hard to lay on the hands in 160 characters.
Typo:
“It will be webcast. Here’s the details:”
YOur commentators should be aware that it is common practice in the world of Physics to publish papers before they are submitted for peer review. But I find your responses somewhat disingenuous given that in the past so many have been critical of the peer review process itself.
geronimo says: “I’m off to Thailand in a week or two…”
If you happen to be in Bangkok, please note the daytime and night-time temperatures versus smaller cities. I think Bangkok is the perfect example of an urban heat island. Hope the flooding is done by the time you arrive. While there buy a copy of my book “Even Thai Girls Cry”. It will give you something to do on your flight home.
Given the non-professional management of the BEST Project, is the Nov 14 visit to DC a funding trip to extend the BEST project because perhaps the project’s original private sponsors aren’t continuing to fund? Perhaps there are some quality issues that the original sponsors are displeased with?
I would be displeased with BEST Project management if I was an original sponsor.
John
Hugh Pepper says:
November 13, 2011 at 2:21 pm
YOur commentators should be aware that it is common practice in the world of Physics to publish papers before they are submitted for peer review. But I find your responses somewhat disingenuous given that in the past so many have been critical of the peer review process itself>>>
I’ve been watching the AGW debate for years. The constant message from the warmist community has been that any paper NOT peer reviewed has no merit. Given the giant holes that have been appearing in the peer review process, including “pal review” allowing through many deeply and obviously flawed papers, and editors being pressured into resigning for daring to publish proper peer reviewed papers (as was the case with Dr Spencer’s paper which resulted in Wolfgang Wagner’s resignation from Remote Sensing under obvious pressure from Kevin Trenberth), the peer review process has been corrupted and disgustingly so.
If there is anything disingenuous about the debate, it is that the warmist cheer leaders have worked hard to prevent peer reviewed papers that they disagreed with from being published, then used the fact that they didn’t get published to claim they had no merit for lack of being peer reviewed, and then turn around and hold up a non peer reviewed paper in support of their cause. They claim one set of rules for themselves while imposing another set on everyone else.
If their science had merit, they would have no need of such disingenuous tactics.
Will this be a tree ring circus?
Sorry not on the post’s content.
Anyone could you tell me how the “u” of Muller pronounced?
Like Müller in German, or like in “mull”? Thanks.
Businessman and founder of krugmaniswrong.com Jeff Semon (pronounced Simone) is running to unseat Markey here in Massachusetts. Please visit http://www.jeffin2012.com to help support him.
Headlines in newspapers are typically written by the paper, not the author of the article. This has been common for decades and is especially appropriate for pieces pulled off the AP or UPI wire. However, if a submitted Op-Ed had the (suggested) title,
“Cooling the Warming Debate – Are you a global warming skeptic? If not, perhaps you should be. Let me explain why.”
and this was changed to,
“The Case Against Global-Warming Skepticism — There were good reasons for doubt, until now.”
an ethical breach has occurred and they should be called out on it.
I do join those previous commenters who wonder about the accuracy of this claim. Check this out fully. But, if it can be established that the WSJ really did this, they should get a flurry of letters demanding a full apology.
Frankly, this doesn’t sound like something the WSJ would do. If it really did happen, I’d expect terminations to result.
In science, replication of a result requires new data and/or a new method to analyse the data.
BEST uses the same minimum and maximum dataset and the same derivation method of the average global land temperature (Tmin+Tmax/2) as the other two global land average temperature analyses, GISS and HadCRUT.
Therefore BEST isn’t replication of the earlier results.
In scientific terms, its hard to see to see what BEST achieved.
Don Monfort says:
November 13, 2011 at 10:42 am
PS: The Republicans will control both the House and Senate next year so this little stunt is a nit. Oh, and even if Obama get’s lucky, it’s still a nit.
___________________________
Do not bet on it.
During the last lame Duck session they snuck through the much hated “Food Safety Modernization Act”
Henry Waxman, Rosa DeLauro, and Dick Durbin have been pushing for this horrible “Food Safety” bill since at least June of 1999. The new law will soon regulate most farmers out of business and aid the worldwide Land Grab.
REFERENCES:
A Lawyer’s take on the Commerce Clause and Home gardens (2009 bill ): http://www.examiner.com/scotus-in-washington-dc/trojan-horse-law-the-food-safety-modernization-act-of-2009
Daily Kos even hates it! http://www.dailykos.com/story/2009/06/17/743564/-Henry-Waxmans-betrayal-of-our-existence-HR-2749
The World Bank funding land grabbing in South America: http://viacampesina.org/en/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1097:open-letter-to-ifc-pending-approval-of-the-project-calyxagro-proj-ref-29137
African Land Grab – “Acres for a bottle of Scotch”: http://www.zerohedge.com/article/african-land-grab-acres-bottle-scotch
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-08-10/being-like-soros-in-buying-farm-land-lets-investors-reap-16-annual-gains.html
Gee didn’t Kissinger say something about that plan in 1970???? “Control oil and you control nations; control food and you control the people; control money and you control the world.”
And in 1972 Maurice Strong chaired the First Earth Summit that started the whole ball rolling…
I really do not think we are going to see the scammers giving up on such a lovely money maker after they invested decades of time and effort to set up the scam. (CAGW)