Time magazine does a real service by dissecting “climategate.” Below is just one excerpt, with much more in the article. Reality you won’t hear it from right-wing radio or our denier friends on the right.
Just in time for Copenhagen, giving Al Gore a perfect opportunity to chime in at Huffington Post.
It’s true that the e-mails reveal CRU climate scientists were dismissive of skeptics, often in harsh terms, but that’s not unusual for scientists. Science is a rough arena, as anyone who has ever survived a doctoral examination knows, and scientists aren’t shy about attacking ideas they believe are wrong — especially in private communication. Still, Jones et al. could have been more open and accepting of their critics, and if it turns out that e-mails were deleted in response to the Freedom of Information request for data, heads should roll. (Jones maintains that no e-mails or documents were deleted.)
Ultimately, though, we need to place Climategate/Swifthack in its proper context: amidst a decades-long effort by the fossil-fuel industry and other climate skeptics to undercut global-warming research — often by means that are far more nefarious than anything that appears in the CRU e-mails. George W. Bush’s Administration attempted to censor NASA climatologist James Hansen, while the fossil-fuel industry group the Global Climate Coalition ignored its own scientists as it spread doubt about man-made global warming. That list of wrongdoing goes on. One of the main skeptic groups promoting the e-mail controversy, the Nongovernmental International Panel on Climate Change, was recently revealed to have links to the energy company Exxon-Mobil, which has long funded climate-change deniers. “This is being used to confuse the public,” says blogger James Hoggan, whose new book Climate Cover-Up details Exxon-Mobil’s campaign. “This is not a legitimate scientific issue.”
As many of you know, my sister lost her fabulous husband this past summer, Steve Simon, who was a chief honcho at Exxon-Mobil. I told them both several years ago that I was decidedly in the Al Gore camp, having the privilege to speak with the Vice President in conference calls on more than one occasion, but also a strong believer in global warming. As good a man as Steve was, and there are few better men, we simply had to agree to disagree on this one. With his passing, only my one niece’s husband is now deeply involved with Exxon-Mobil, someone whom I have no contact with, except at special family functions. So I believe my conflict of interest on Exxon-Mobil is over, giving me freedom to point out climate experts taking this company to task when it’s earned.
As the EPA made it official yesterday. Greenhouse gases are dangerous.
The EPA said that the scientific evidence surrounding climate change clearly shows that greenhouse gases “threaten the public health and welfare of the American people” and that the pollutants – mainly carbon dioxide from burning fossil fuels – should be regulated under the Clean Air Act.
“These long-overdue findings cement 2009′s place in history as the year when the United States government began addressing the challenge of greenhouse-gas pollution,” said EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson at news conference. …
As for the fight to solve the climate crisis, since it’s Christmastime, with Hanukkah arriving Friday, I hope you’ll consider giving someone Al Gore’s new book, Our Choice. As a disclaimer, there is currently a BlogAd for Gore’s book on this site. There was, however, absolutely no quid pro quo involved between Gore’s people for the ad and myself for writing this post. I also haven’t read the book, but I have read Mr. Gore’s other books, all of which are fantastic, especially for young people and the best gift you could give this holiday season. Because the climate change challenge will eventually be their charge to keep.
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