Researchers at CRU, one of the world's leading research bodies on natural and human-induced climate change, played a key role in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's (IPCC) Fourth Assessment Report, which is considered to be the most authoritative report of its kind.
E-mails reportedly from the University of East Anglia's Climatic Research Unit (CRU), including personal exchanges, appeared on the internet on Thursday.
A university spokesman confirmed the email system had been hacked and that information was taken and published without permission.
An investigation was underway and the police had been informed, he added.
"We are aware that information from a server used for research information in one area of the university has been made available on public websites," the spokesman stated.
"Because of the volume of this information we cannot currently confirm that all of this material is genuine.
"This information has been obtained and published without our permission and we took immediate action to remove the server in question from operation.
"We are undertaking a thorough internal investigation and we have involved the police in this enquiry."
So the 1079 emails and 72 documents seem indeed evidence of a scandal involving most of the most prominent scientists pushing the man-made warming theory - a scandal that is one of the greatest in modern science. I’ve been adding some of the most astonishing in updates below - emails suggesting conspiracy, collusion in exaggerating warming data, possibly illegal destruction of embarrassing information, organised resistance to disclosure, manipulation of data, private admissions of flaws in their public claims and much more. If it is as it now seems, never again will “peer review” be used to shout down sceptics.
Well, it's really hard to keep proving that the world is getting warmer when everyone else can observe on their own how warm it is anyhow. This is actually one of the coolest years I can recall myself. I know it's more complex than that, but this is really something that'll have to be determined in about 100 years.
I think any warming or cooling trend is part of earth's natural cycle. This is not to say that we don't need to clean up after ourselves and not find renewable resources. I just hate it when people stoop to alarmist tactics and think the government needs to mandate everything.
Fake or real, we as humans should do a better job of not destroying our planet. That being said, I have always thought the majority if not all of this global warming was fake.
If global warming is a conspiracy, what is the object of this conspiracy? Who stands to gain from an acceptance of the belief in global warming?
What is the harm of acting in accordance with a belief that carbon emissions are bad? Does doing so give a country or a group of countries an advantage over others?
I realize that this issue is split along liberal/conservative lines, but I am not sure I understand why. Is it because it would take government initiatives to reduce carbon emissions?
Its funny really, because pro-nuclear power folks are generally on the conservative side and global warming is the best news the nuke power industry has had in years. On the other hand, the same people can believe in the infallibility of science and engineering when it comes to nuclear power but have so little faith in science when it comes to evolution to advocate banning teaching it in schools.
Lmandrake, I totally agree with you. I think that we should clean up our acts. However, we should do it without having to resort to scare tactics. Believe me, there is financial gain no matter the outcome (major companies are currently staking their claims on both sides). I am conservative myself, however, I certainly don't see a reason to keep draining our worlds limited resources OR polluting the planet. Sadly, in a capitalist society, what will actually win is wherever the most money is to be made. With luck, it'll be good for the planet. All that said, I don't see global warming as the reason we should be cleaning things up.
More interesting is what is not contained in the emails. There is no evidence of any worldwide conspiracy, no mention of George Soros nefariously funding climate research, no grand plan to ‘get rid of the MWP’, no admission that global warming is a hoax, no evidence of the falsifying of data, and no ‘marching orders’ from our socialist/communist/vegetarian overlords. The truly paranoid will put this down to the hackers also being in on the plot though.
Instead, there is a peek into how scientists actually interact and the conflicts show that the community is a far cry from the monolith that is sometimes imagined. People working constructively to improve joint publications; scientists who are friendly and agree on many of the big picture issues, disagreeing at times about details and engaging in ‘robust’ discussions; Scientists expressing frustration at the misrepresentation of their work in politicized arenas and complaining when media reports get it wrong; Scientists resenting the time they have to take out of their research to deal with over-hyped nonsense. None of this should be shocking.
Christians warn us about the anti-christ for 2,000 years, and when he shows up, they buy a bible from him.
What about the fact that large areas of polar ice is melting at rapid rates? Cycle or not, it's on an upswing and may cause major problems in areas close to sea level.
There is a consensus on the first in the scientific community, but not the 2nd. It's VERY difficult to conclusively prove the 2nd.
I don't think we need to go crazy worrying about it because my personal opinion is that the human contribution to the problem is under 10% (just my gut feeling), but it would be prudent to try not to allow things to get any worse.
Irregardless of the cause, we have to start dealing with the repercussions. England did just that by installing a massive flood control system for London. Venice is having to do the same. But maybe we need to think about abandoning some areas.
If sea levels are rising and a hurricane has knocked a hotel down 3 times due to storm surge it's stupid to keep rebuilding that hotel.
For instance I think we really need to consider if we SHOULD repopulate the lowest lying areas of New Orleans. Sooner or later it's going to happen again.
Ignoring the problem and hoping it will go away as some would have us do is not much of a solution. We need some rational planning.
Christians warn us about the anti-christ for 2,000 years, and when he shows up, they buy a bible from him.
