Climategate scandal

[Dimentio]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Climategate

What are your opinions on the Climategate scandal? I haven't really taken time to look into the matter, but I find it quite immoral of scientists to try to shut out criticism of their theses by preventing critics from gaining access to information.

[Invincible Summer]

I just hate how people are using this to make their point that climate change is a huge conspiracy or something. Are they blind? I mean... ice caps are melting and shit

[Zanthorus]

Mostly out of context quotes and scare tactics.

This is a great article on it: http://www.realclimate.org/index.php/archives/2009/11/the-cru-hack

[New Tet]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Climategate

What are your opinions on the Climategate scandal? I haven't really taken time to look into the matter, but I find it quite immoral of scientists to try to shut out criticism of their theses by preventing critics from gaining access to information.

Is it really a scandal or just another fishy propaganda ploy for Fux News and, ultimately the Oil & Coal capitalists against climate change legislation?

[Vanguard1917]

It was an example that it's ideology, and not 'objective fact', which often drives climate research today. However, we should not indulge in conspiracy theories either. Good article: We don't need another conspiracy theory (http://www.spiked-online.com/index.php/site/printable/7748/)

[Chambered Word]

There's a complete explanation for the whole thing on Zanthorus' link.

The "trick to remove the decline" was a perfectly scientific practise, apparently. Although I don't completely understand it. I'd like someone to explain it to me.

[ComradeMan]

I PERSONALLY DONT BELIEVE EVERYTHING THEY TELL US ABOUT CLIMATE CHANGE!!!

I watched an interesting documentary a while ago on climate change in which a team of Danish scholars seemed to prove that climate change was happening but that it was not due to mankind, or at least that mankind was only contributing to an already present problem. The conclusions of the Danish team were perhaps more alarming in that we cannot do anything about it at all.

This is not my field of expertise so I stand to be corrected but these Danes stated that climate change was down to solar activity as our system slowly moves through the galaxy and enters/leaves "giant" galactic energy belts increasing/reducing the level of bombardment of the earth with cosmic rays. They correlated this data with the geologic record and it seemed to match up ominously. The team, Knud Lassen of the Danish Meteorological Institute in Copenhagen and Eigil Friis-Christensen, were not well received within the scientific community and various scientists have argued about their findings ever since. I believe that the current scientific view is a compromise between this theory and the greenhouse gases theory, grudgingly acknowledging that the former may account for around 50% of the effect- the rest being anthropogenic. The data since 1980, however, show a worring trend that cannot be explained by the solar activity theory- some have suggested that perhaps the erruption of Mount St Helens may even figure. I don't know!!! But it's not good whatever it is, especially if you live in Venice!!! :(

I am sceptical because a big "theory" and business has been built around global warming and greenhouse gases. Science is never that ready to accept challenges to new theories in the first place and big business is made in the West by selling products that are "environmentally" friendly, carbon credits and so on whereas others with vested interests such as petroleum producers likewise may wish to play down the data- a bit like the tobacco companies of old.

The problem with the Danish theory is that it may have actually backfired in a sense and led people to believe that it doesn't matter anyway! And of course it does matter! Air pollution is not just about global warming but all kinds of issues such as health and perhaps this mysterious extinction of bees that seems to be happening. Again I am not an expert in this so please point out where I err! :D

I also have a suspicion that events like Hiroshima, Nagasaki, all the nuclear tests in the Pacific and US etc, the Chernobyl incident as well may have had an effect that certain powers-that-be would be loathed to admit- that and all the other stuff they've covered up!!!

In view of this climate of controversy and conspiracy it does not surprise me that the certain quarters may have "sexed" up the figures so to speak in order to lend weight to a particular argument- wrong in itself despite the cause but not without precendent, we all remember WMD's!!!

The problem is, who do we believe now? Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?

[ZeroNowhere]

It is worth noting that we have an Anthropogenic Global Warming thread stickied on this board already, and most of the above post belongs there and not here.

[dongur]

last week,someone released emails and other documents written by phil jones, michael mann and other leading scientists who edit and control the content of the reports of the intergovernmental panel on climate change.