I heard references on Facebook (granted it´s not the best of sources), that there was a second Climagate Scandal. Did I miss anything or what?
Contributors and commentators at
WattUpWithThat.Com are picking them apart. Perhaps the funniest posting is
Hockey stick falsification – so easy a caveman kid can do it
The global warming - oops!, nowadays it's "climate change", since the so-called deniers are such loons they don't even believe in climate change, which means no ice ages (/snark) - propagandists are more concerned about perception management, than they are about careful scientific statements, caveats and all. I find their ethics reprehensible - mafia-like, in some instances, minus the physical violence.
If you want to understand tribalistic, ego and career limitations to honest science, I recommend The Trouble with Physics, and Not Even Wrong. Pay careful attention to the discussion of "string theory mafias".
In the case of climate science, there's probably an even more crass partial explanation of these jerks' behavior. One of the emails
Goldman Sachs was looked upon as a potential ally:
We (Mike H) have done a modest amount of work on degree-days for G-S. They now want to extend this. They are involved in dealing in the developing energy futures market.
G-S is the sort of company that we might be looking for a ‘strategic alliance’ with. I suggest the four of us meet with ?? (forgotten his name) for an hour on the afternoon of Friday 12 June (best guess for Phil & Jean – he needs a date from us). Thanks.
Trevor
REDACTED+++++++++
Professor Trevor D. Davies
Climatic Research Unit
University of East Anglia
Norwich NR4 7TJ
United Kingdom
Matt Taibbi went into Goldman Sachs’ financial interest in carbon trading (related to climate catastrophism) in
The Great American Bubble Machine
The new carbon credit market is a virtual repeat of the commodities-market casino that’s been kind to Goldman, except it has one delicious new wrinkle: If the plan goes forward as expected, the rise in prices will be government-mandated. Goldman won’t even have to rig the game. It will be rigged in advance.
Here’s how it works: If the bill passes, there will be limits for coal plants, utilities, natural-gas distributors and numerous other industries on the amount of carbon emissions (a.k.a. greenhouse gases) they can produce per year. If the companies go over their allotment, they will be able to buy “allocations” or credits from other companies that have managed to produce fewer emissions. President Obama conservatively estimates that about $646 billion worth of carbon credits will be auctioned in the first seven years; one of his top economic aides speculates that the real number might be twice or even three times that amount.
For more background, you might also want to read my diary
Ugly Scientific Tribalism of CO2 Global Warming Fetishists, and a Beautiful Film on Climate Realist Svensmark
Another complicating factor, at least in the US, is that the debate is highly influenced by ideology. Annoyingly so, I might add, from both sides, though in this case I find the lefties far more annoying, since they toss around terms like "denier" (which rhymes with holocaust denier) and tend not to retract their fallacious, smear-laden framing, no matter how strongly it's pointed out to them. I haven't read the book, but from descriptions of
The Deniers: The World Renowned Scientists Who Stood Up Against Global Warming Hysteria, Political Persecution, and Fraud**And those who are too fearful to do so, it seems clear enough that the denier smear is so looney as to be contemptible. It's about as contemptible as a recent smear of the Occupy movement encampments as "rape camps" that I read in a right wing, Tea Party Nation email.