Posted on 02/09/2010 10:05:17 AM PST by Ernest_at_the_Beach
A new book recounts how the 'Hockey Stick' model was created and more intriguingly, the political and institutional defence of the indefensible. (At one stage the Hockey Stick's defenders argued that trees on different continents had "teleconnections" with each other - a claim that wouldn't be out of place in a homeopathy brochure.)
Andrew Montford, a science publisher and blogger under the name Bishop Hill, has provided the storytelling to match the detective work and persistence of another blogger, Steve McIntyre, who dismantled the Stick. Andrew talked to us about The Hockey Stick Illusion and some of the key issues it highlights.
You say the IPCC needed the Hockey Stick to be true, and that's why it got such prominence. Was this the best they could do?
If you put any of the other major temperature reconstructions in place of the Hockey Stick I think it's true to say it doesn't look so frightening. They have a Medieval Warm Period that is within a whisker of the temperatures we have now. You can make them look scarier by overlaying the instrumental record over the 20th Century part of the graph - in fact, that's part of the reason why it looks scary. I show this in the book - in Briffa series [see below].
But [these reconstructions] wouldn't convince anybody there's anything going on there at all. So yes, they needed it to convince people; and they promoted it, they had policies to sell. And when it proved to be flawed they had to stand behind it, because otherwise, they'd look stupid.
Now to the story. The preparation of the original Hockey Stick turns out to be a small part of the saga. How the issues McIntyre raised were dealt with by the scientists and the establishment is the main story.
This is an EXCERPT
fyi
“We oppose torture of terrorists. Torture is only to be used for climate change data!”
This week Michael Mann was exonerated by his employer Penn State University, after an internal misconduct investigation. The investigators failed to contact McIntyre, Wegman or any other critics of Mann's work [PDF, 102kb] One of the two investigators admitted he had not read the Climategate emails at all. However, his work has been forwarded to a full investigating committee which will examine whether Mann is "undermining confidence in his findings as a scientist, and given that it may be undermining public trust in science in general and climate science specifically".
LOL!
The Hockey Stick Illusion: Climategate and the Corruption of Science (Independent Minds) (Paperback)
There are three reviews at the moment worth reading....
pinging some of those who posted threads related to the Global Warming Hoax,.....
The Register is widely read in the US by software pros. This will give the story legs in the US, despite the boycott by the US MSM.
http://www.research.psu.edu/orp/Findings_Mann_Inquiry.pdf
And I see this was simply Administrators on the Committee....there is a second committee of Five that are going to examine ....
allegation #4 revolves around the question of accepted faculty conduct surrounding scientific discourse and thus merits a review by a committee of faculty scientists.
I don't see anyone specifically labeled as a Statistical Scientist....
This book should be very useful....course they could ignore it...also!!
I think this guy has a nice target painted on his back...After him would be Hansen at Goddard....
The GW hoax is in big trouble. haha
Penn State better find something rotten in their research department. The stench is only going to become more powerful.....
We have it going on right here in California with Attorney General Jerry Brown playing Games with a State Initiative...not sure of the Facts but they were having a heavy discussion yesterday on KFI's John and Ken Show regarding some things and dirty tricks being played ...by politicians....
Pinging others from California that might be more uptodate on this specific action here in California.
Thanks, yes I saw this! ;-)
Couldn't agree more.
There are literally TRILLIONS in useless taxes, increased energy bills, stalled out REAL energy development (Oil & Gas Exploration, Nuclear, Coal, Oil Shales) that are at stake here.
We are talking GENERATIONS OF ENERGY USE.
AND THEY WANT THEIR HANDS ON ALL OF IT.
Clickable Link to the IPCC Home Page.
**************************************
The IPCC has started work on the preparation of its Fifth Assessment Report (AR5).
We are currently looking for experts who can act as authors:
Thanks Ernest.
Has Al had anything to say recently? He seems to be in hiding, lol.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.