Breaking News Story: CRU has apparently been hacked – hundreds of files released

Watts Up With That? ^ | 19/11/2009 | Anthony Watts

[jsh3180]

UPDATE: Response from CRU in interview with another website, see end of this post.

The details on this are still sketchy, we’ll probably never know what went on. But it appears that University of East Anglia Climate Research Unit has been hacked and many many files have been released by the hacker or person unknown.

http://www.cru.uea.ac.uk/cru/annrep93/cru.jpg

UPDATED: Original image was for Met Office – corrected This image source: www.cru.uea.ac.uk

I’m currently traveling and writing this from an airport, but here is what I know so far:

An unknown person put postings on some climate skeptic websites that advertised an FTP file on a Russian FTP server, here is the message that was placed on the Air Vent today:

We feel that climate science is, in the current situation, too important to be kept under wraps.

We hereby release a random selection of correspondence, code, and documents

The file was large, about 61 megabytes, containing hundreds of files.

It contained data, code, and emails from Phil Jones at CRU to and from many people.

I’ve seen the file, it appears to be genuine and from CRU. Others who have seen it concur- it appears genuine. There are so many files it appears unlikely that it is a hoax. The effort would be too great.

Here is some of the emails just posted at Climate Audit on this thread:

http://www.climateaudit.org/?p=7801#comments

I’ve redacted email addresses and direct phone numbers for the moment. The emails all have US public universities in the email addresses, making them public/FOIA actionable I believe. From: Phil Jones To: mann@vxxxxx.xxx Subject: Fwd: John L. Daly dead Date: Thu Jan 29 14:17:01 2004

From: Timo H‰meranta To: Subject: John L. Daly dead Date: Thu, 29 Jan 2004 12:04:28 +0200 X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook, Build 10.0.4510 Importance: Normal

Mike, In an odd way this is cheering news ! One other thing about the CC paper – just found another email – is that McKittrick says it is standard practice in Econometrics journals to give all the data and codes !! According to legal advice IPR overrides this.

Cheers Phil

“It is with deep sadness that the Daly Family have to announce the sudden death of John Daly.Condolences may be sent to John’s email account (daly@john-daly.com) “ Reported with great sadness

Timo H‰meranta xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Timo H‰meranta, LL.M. Moderator, Climatesceptics Martinlaaksontie 42 B 9 01620 Vantaa Finland, Member State of the European Union

Moderator: timohame@yxxxxx.xxx Private: timo.hameranta@xxxxx.xx

Home page: [1]personal.inet.fi/koti/hameranta/climate.htm

Moderator of the discussion group “Sceptical Climate Science” [2]groups.yahoo.com/group/climatesceptics

“To dwell only on horror scenarios of the future shows only a lack of imagination”. (Kari Enqvist)

“If the facts change, I’ll change my opinion. What do you do, Sir” (John Maynard Keynes)

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Prof. Phil Jones Climatic Research Unit Telephone +44 (0)xxxxxx School of Environmental Sciences Fax +44 (0) xxxxxx University of East Anglia Norwich Email p.jones@xxx.xx.xx NR4 7TJ UK —————————————————————————-

References

1. http://personal.inet.fi/koti/hameranta/climate.htm 2. http://groups.yahoo.com/group/climatesceptics From: Phil Jones To: ray bradley ,mann@xxxxx.xxx, mhughes@xxxx.xxx Subject: Diagram for WMO Statement Date: Tue, 16 Nov 1999 13:31:15 +0000 Cc: k.briffa@xxx.xx.xx,t.osborn@xxxx.xxx

Dear Ray, Mike and Malcolm, Once Tim’s got a diagram here we’ll send that either later today or first thing tomorrow. I’ve just completed Mike’s Nature trick of adding in the real temps to each series for the last 20 years (ie from 1981 onwards) amd from 1961 for Keith’s to hide the decline. Mike’s series got the annual land and marine values while the other two got April-Sept for NH land N of 20N. The latter two are real for 1999, while the estimate for 1999 for NH combined is +0.44C wrt 61-90. The Global estimate for 1999 with data through Oct is +0.35C cf. 0.57 for 1998. Thanks for the comments, Ray.

Cheers Phil

Prof. Phil Jones Climatic Research Unit Telephone +44 (0) xxxxx School of Environmental Sciences Fax +44 (0) xxxx University of East Anglia Norwich Email p.jones@xxxx.xxx NR4 7TJ UK

—————————————————————————- From: Jonathan Overpeck To: “Michael E. Mann” Subject: letter to Senate Date: Tue, 22 Jul 2003 16:49:31 -0700 Cc: Caspar M Ammann , Raymond Bradley , Keith Briffa , Tom Crowley , Malcolm Hughes , Phil Jones , mann@xxxxx.xxx, jto@xxxxx.xx.xxx, omichael@xxxxx.xxx, Tim Osborn , Kevin Trenberth , Tom Wigley

Hi all – I’m not too comfortable with this, and would rather not sign – at least not without some real time to think it through and debate the issue. It is unprecedented and political, and that worries me.

My vote would be that we don’t do this without a careful discussion first.

I think it would be more appropriate for the AGU or some other scientific org to do this - e.g., in reaffirmation of the AGU statement (or whatever it’s called) on global climate change.

Think about the next step – someone sends another letter to the Senators, then we respond, then…

I’m not sure we want to go down this path. It would be much better for the AGU etc to do it.

What are the precedents and outcomes of similar actions? I can imagine a special-interest org or group doing this like all sorts of other political actions, but is it something for scientists to do as individuals?

Just seems strange, and for that reason I’d advise against doing anything with out real thought, and certainly a strong majority of co-authors in support.

Cheers, Peck

Dear fellow Eos co-authors, Given the continued assault on the science of climate change by some on Capitol Hill, Michael and I thought it would be worthwhile to send this letter to various members of the U.S. Senate, accompanied by a copy of our Eos article. Can we ask you to consider signing on with Michael and me (providing your preferred title and affiliation). We would like to get this out ASAP. Thanks in advance, Michael M and Michael O

______________________________________________________________ Professor Michael E. Mann Department of Environmental Sciences, Clark Hall University of Virginia Charlottesville, VA 22903 _______________________________________________________________________ e-mail: mann@xxxxxx.xxx Phone: (434) 924-7770 FAX: (434) xxx-xxxxx http://www.evsc.virginia.edu/faculty/people/mann.shtml

Attachment converted: Macintosh HD:EOS.senate letter-final.doc (WDBN/MSWD) (00055FCF)

–

Jonathan T. Overpeck Director, Institute for the Study of Planet Earth Professor, Department of Geosciences Mail and Fedex Address: Institute for the Study of Planet Earth 715 N. Park Ave. 2nd Floor University of Arizona Tucson, AZ 85721 direct tel: +xxxx fax: +1 520 792-8795 http://www.geo.arizona.edu/Faculty_Pages/Overpeck.J.html http://www.ispe.arizona.edu/ It appears that the proverbial Climate Science Cat is out of the bag.

Developing story – more later

UPDATE1: Steve McIntyre posted this on Climate Audit, I used a screen cap rtaher than direct link becuase CA is overloaded and slow at the moment.

UPDATE2: Response from CRU h/t to WUWT reader “Nev”

http://briefingroom.typepad.com/the_briefing_room/2009/11/hadleycru-says-leaked-data-is-real.html

The director of Britain’s leading Climate Research Unit, Phil Jones, has told Investigate magazine’s TGIF Edition tonight that his organization has been hacked, and the data flying all over the internet appears to be genuine.

In an exclusive interview, Jones told TGIF, “It was a hacker. We were aware of this about three or four days ago that someone had hacked into our system and taken and copied loads of data files and emails.”

“Have you alerted police”

“Not yet. We were not aware of what had been taken.”

Jones says he was first tipped off to the security breach by colleagues at the website RealClimate.

“Real Climate were given information, but took it down off their site and told me they would send it across to me. They didn’t do that. I only found out it had been released five minutes ago.”

TGIF asked Jones about the controversial email discussing “hiding the decline”, and Jones explained what he was trying to say….

[ClayinVA]

It just showed up there, the current spin is that the emails were taken out of context. ho boy, is this going to be fun.

http://politics.slashdot.org/story/09/11/20/1747257/Climatic-Research-Unit-Hacked-Files-Leaked?art_pos=1

[Tenacious 1]

I learned recently that some of the initial hype about the affect of CO2 on the planet was pressed by none other than.....Margaret Thatcher.

It is true. It was during the 80s and Thatcher was lobbying hard for nuclear power plants for the UK. She was meeting with staunch resistance because of Chernobol in 1986. When in the 70s “scientists” were pushing global cooling, it was recommended that CO2 could be pumped into the atmosphere to warm the planet. When the debate switched to global warming the CO2 thing stuck. Thatcher pushed for what became the IPCC panel and pointed to Nuclear Power as a source of energy that did not emit CO2.

Before you cry BS, go do some research.

[Tenacious 1]

This is a big thread. But in response to #98.....

I, and I suspect many others, have loathed to consider outright conspiracy, especially on such a grand level. I have always suspected that there were many in the know that were absolute opportunists and likely fudged data to fool the rest. But if (and I hope it is) this is true, it suggests the very foundation of Man Made Global Warming is bunk. But what is worse and where the monstrocity of the biggest conspiracy of all time is most flagrant is that, the folks at the top knew early on that their data was BS and they pressed the issue to new heights and levels for 20 years.

[Famishus]

just a bookmark.

[GizmosAndGadgets]

For me as a lay person my skepticism was based on historical accounts that in the past Europe had been colder and Europe had been warmer.

Two of my favorites (from Discovery Channel or similar, no less) are the ice core samples from the Arctic that show plant and flower growth eons ago and the explanation that melting glaciers are responsible for the Great Lakes and the terrain of the Eastern Seaboard. Their own science proves that, not only was the Earth much, much cooler in the past (like, maybe, an "Ice Age" or two...), but that it has also been warm enough to melt all the ice in the Arctic and grow flowers! How in the world they expect us to believe a few degrees of difference here or there is significant in the great scheme of things is an abomination. Blaming in on the exceptionally short period of industrialization is an outrage.

[txroadkill]

WE DIDN'T LISTEN!

[winoneforthegipper]

The archived emails in clickable links!

http://www.anelegantchaos.org/cru/emails.php?page=43&pp=25

[winoneforthegipper]

Ooops here is the correct address, previous one was to a single email string!

http://www.anelegantchaos.org/cru/

[txroadkill]

Genesis 11 teaches us that whenever man becomes arrogant and tries to elevate ourselves above God or tries to deny him as the ultimate creator God will knock us down. This has been coming for a long time, get the popcorn ready, God always puts on a good show.

[Right Winged American]

Another interesting note:

The e-mails are going to be the first to show up, but a large portion appears to be modeling software parametric data.

Now, THAT’s gonna be an interesting set of data to mess with...

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Got a thread started on that :

Copenhagen – how the Danes will salvage a deal ( more on the Global Warming Hoax )

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

OH MAN....you pull those together?

>>>>NICE WORK

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Man that is powerful...needs it’s own thread....may I?

[Cletus.D.Yokel]

Just ask the prophets of Baal!

[TomGuy]

Genesis 11 teaches us that whenever man becomes arrogant and tries to elevate ourselves above God or tries to deny him as the ultimate creator God will knock us down. This has been coming for a long time, get the popcorn ready, God always puts on a good show.

Or those Chiffon margarine commercials [youtube sample] from 3 decades ago: "It's not nice to fool Mother Nature!"

[444Flyer]

Thanks. Looking now.

[BP2]

I love trees.

I love animals.

I love the oceans.

I love nature.

But I f*cking hate Global Warming scammer scumbag LIARS
who are distorting data to keep the money flowing into their fat wallets!

[DariusBane]

That and the flash frozen woolly mammoths, the little ice age, and the very warm Europe reported during the emergence of the modern world. So this globull warming thing is intentional deception and that is what makes me made. I’m forty and I remember in order the following deceptions starting in elementry school:

1. The emerging ice age.
2. The population bomb.
3. Energy crises that said I wouldn’t be driving a petroleum fueled car.
4. Ozone Depletion (what the hell happened to that crises?)
5. Y2K
6. Globull Warming.

That list does not even include the proposition that I was to be raptured and never see high school.

So here we live in the new modern rational age and I can come up with 6 very nasty catastrophic fear mongering certainties that I was taught as a kid and as an adult. Then add the rapture as frosting on the cynical cake. (Im not saying rapture will never happen but come on! I was just a kid!)

[ZGuy]

5 P.M. Friday : I just checked the ABC, MSNBC, CBS, and CNN News sites — none of them have one word on this story. FoxNews has it as their lead.

[FreedomPoster]

>>This is to Climate what Bellesiles fraud in his Arming America was to gun history.

Man, that would be great! That was quite an interesting debacle for the liars of academe.