'Climategate' was 'a game-changer' in science reporting, say climatologists

Guardian ^ | July 4th 2010 | Fred Pearce

[Cardhu]

Science has been changed forever by the so-called "climategate" saga, leading researchers have said ahead of publication of an inquiry into the affair – and mostly it has been changed for the better.

This Wednesday sees the publication of the Muir Russell report into the conduct of scientists from the University of East Anglia's Climatic Research Unit (CRU), whose emails caused a furore in November after they were hacked into and published online.

Critics say the emails reveal evasion of freedom of information law, secret deals done during the writing of reports for the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), a cover-up of uncertainties in key research findings and the misuse of scientific peer review to silence critics.

But whatever Sir Muir Russell, the chairman of the Judicial Appointments Board for Scotland, concludes on these charges, senior climate scientists say their world has been dramatically changed by the affair.

"The release of the emails was a turning point, a game-changer," said Mike Hulme, professor of climate change at the University of East Anglia. "The community has been brought up short by the row over their science. Already there is a new tone. Researchers are more upfront, open and explicit about their uncertainties, for instance."

And there will be other changes, said Hulme. The emails made him reflect how "astonishing" it was that it had been left to individual researchers to police access to the archive of global temperature data collected over the past 160 years. "The primary data should have been properly curated as an archive open to all." He believes that will now happen.

[Cardhu]

After the hacked emails scandal scientists became 'more upfront, open and explicit about their uncertainties'

[Gay State Conservative]

If The Guardian says it’s a change for the better you *know* that it’s just the opposite.

[Gaffer]

This is a wholesale whitewash of a criminal debacle. Basically, all liars of the Global Warming Genus are getting free passes. East Anglia, Penn State, the NASA weasels involve ALL got slaps on the wrists when they should have been put up before firing squads.

[sionnsar]

and mostly it has been changed for the better.

Yes it has. We now know a "scientist" is no more honest or trustworthy than a congressman. Used-car salesman are two steps higher than both on the trustworthiness chart.

[OldDeckHand]

'After the hacked emails scandal scientists became 'more upfront, open and explicit about their uncertainties' "

I don't believe that for a New York second. Plus, even if I did, why isn't it being reported in any of the traditional media outlets?

If you polled Americans, I bet less than 10% (perhaps well less) would know what "Climategate" is. If Matt Lauer, Diane Sawyer or Kate Couric don't talk about something, it never happened. That is the power of the mainstream media.

[AlexW]

“If The Guardian says it’s a change for the better you *know* that it’s just the opposite.”

I refer to the Guardian as the New York Slimes of London.
Good only for fish wrap and bird cage liner.

[Cardhu]

Did you read the full article?

[Cyclone59]

What a truely pathetic world and time that we live in - “game changer” means telling the truth. I will develop an ethics lesson using “climategate” for my business management classes.

[Marty62]

Hummmmmmmmmmmmm. I find this article interesting.
We all no about the Journolist, and then GE-NBC ran a GW/CC segment praising kids that were indo ctrinated by sex poodles little movie fraud.
Now This. Apparently, the Worms crawled into a hole after their tail got cut off, must be healed (or they believe it is),hoping everyone forgets what frauds they are.

[Gay State Conservative]

Did you read the full article?

Don't need to."Guardian" + "it's good" = it's bad.It's that simple.

When The Guardian starts reporting facts instead of Maoist propaganda I might start reading past the first line of their stories.But not before.

[Happy Rain]

The dissemination of those hacked emails was the equivalent of discovering Piltdown Man was a contrived ape/man hoax.

It will take a long time before science in general overcomes the terrible damage to it's credibility inflicted by the actions of ALgore’s false prophets.

Thankfully,the extreme humiliation of being an exposed crazed sex poodle has taken the ersatz climatologist liar out of the halls of science and thus perhaps expediting the rehabilitation of the discipline.

[JPG]

Meanwhile, the snippy Sex Poodle sees his ‘carbon credit’ fortune slowly evaporating. Al, get out of my vegetable garden...Bad Dog!!!

[centurion316]

These “scientists” are the high priests of this pagan earth worship cult. They have been exposed for what they are. They are awash in money lavished on them by socialist governments bent on manipulating the earth worship dogma to justify more government control over the people of the world. They and the popular science press should never be trusted again.

[Gay State Conservative]

I refer to the Guardian as the New York Slimes of London.

I think of it more as The Daily Worker of London.

[ChocChipCookie]

Yep, this is just a matter of taking one step back in the battle in order to regroup and charge on.

[downtownconservative]

The level of complicity in this whole thing is the real problem. Every time you peel back a bit of the onion, you get more of the same equivocation and pretense.

These "inside" climate specialists have sucked in so many co-conspirators, including the press and liberal politicians, that bringing their leftist charade into the wide open is still incomplete.

The battle is ongoing and the winning side is still TBD!

[Roccus]

But greater openness and engagement with their critics will not ensure that climate scientists have an easier time in future, warns Hulme. Back in the lab, a new generation of more sophisticated computer models is failing to reduce the uncertainties in predicting future climate, he says – rather, the reverse. "This is not what the public and politicians expect, so handling and explaining this will be difficult." Ya think?

[paltz]

The only behavior it will change is that these scientists will be more careful about how they collude with one another.

[palmer]

And there will be other changes, said Hulme. The emails made him reflect how "astonishing" it was that it had been left to individual researchers to police access to the archive of global temperature data collected over the past 160 years. "The primary data should have been properly curated as an archive open to all." He believes that will now happen

Hulme is an alarmist in this up to his eyeballs. His spin is merely an attempt to control the debate. "Astonishing" he says? BS.

[Gaffer]

In spite of all this feigned self-inspection and professed integrity with these Climate Gaters, we need to develop a unified derisive term for them that links up their deceit with ALGORE’s recent SEXPOODLE escapade. At EVERY instance when dealing with Gaters we should throw it back at them and laugh. The hard part is picking what this should be. Maybe “Crazed Global Warming Poodles” or something like that.