The world is observing something unprecedented. Within a few short months the international scientific consensus has unraveled! It began with hacked e-mails being leaked over the internet which became known as “climategate.”
Science daily reported…
“Public concern about global warming has dropped sharply since the fall of 2008, according to the results of a national survey released January 27 by researchers at Yale and George Mason universities…Only 50 percent of Americans now say they are “somewhat” or “very worried” about global warming, a 13-point decrease.”
The University where “climategate” began and provided damaging evidence that the hacked documents revealed. They were found to have breached the terms of the freedom of information act.
The BBC reported…
“In a statement, Deputy Information Commissioner Graham Smith said it was an offence under section 77 of the Freedom of Information act “to prevent intentionally the disclosure of requested information”. He said the requests were made by a climate change sceptic in the 2007-2008 period and as the case was more than six months old “the opportunity to consider a prosecution was long gone” under existing legislation.”
The article admitted which is new territory within itself, that the University of East Anglia had damaged public interest by withholding information. What’s even more interesting, the mainstream media which advocated global warming has been publishing more skeptical articles, for example in Science Daily…
“Glaciologists at the Laboratory for Space Studies in Geophysics and Oceanography (LEGOS — CNRS/CNES/IRD/Université Toulouse 3) and their US and Canadian colleagues (1) have shown that previous studies have largely overestimated mass loss from Alaskan glaciers over the past 40 years. Recent data from the SPOT 5 and ASTER satellites have enabled researchers to extensively map mass loss in these glaciers, which contributed 0.12 mm/year to sea-level rise between 1962 and 2006, rather than 0.17 mm/year as previously estimated.”
And one of the most critical pieces that questions what scientists really know was previously unheard of a few months ago…
“The notion that scientists understand how changes in Earth’s orbit affect climate well enough for estimating long-term natural climate trends that underlie any anthropogenic climate change is challenged by findings just published.”
More unraveling includes the Himalayan glaciers where the IPCC claimed the glaciers would disappear by 2035. It took two months after the chairman was informed to correct it. The chairman alluded to his busy schedule for his slowness. This is not all, in another story…
“IPCC experts calculated that 55 percent of the Netherlands was below sea level by adding the area below sea level — 26 percent — to the area threatened by river flooding — 29 percent — Vallaart said…Correcting the error had been “on the agenda several times” but had never actually happened, Vallaart said.“
Was the IPCC too busy to correct this problem too? Not even a well known science journal believes that! In fact, they have a their own take on it which called for integrity in science!
Another error in IPCC studies claims that global warming could cut rain fed north African crop production by up to 50% by 2020. A remarkable change in such a short period of time. But Professor Chris Field, says there is no evidence to support such a claim and he is right.
What is all this telling us about global warming and practicing science? How reliable is the scientific consensus? Who polices them? There is a wider disconnect between big science and the public at large. Also, more papers challenging man-made global warming are being published and the consensus itself is being looked at much closer than ever before. What we are observing is so unprecedented and so refreshing!
