More on those climate emails
Complete with a new name: Climaquiddick.
To get up to speed if you haven’t been following this story closely, here’s my post on it yesterday. Short version: A large batch of data from one of the world’s leading climate science centers was released on the Internet last week; this includes thousands of emails and other documents that reveal scientists at the center — people who have been intimately involved in the reports of the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change — may have been manipulating their data, and certainly intended to foil Freedom of Information requests and keep contrarian researchers out of peer-review journals if possible.
The focus on the story has turned from the emails the scientists exchanged to the computer code their center was using to produce its data sets, which have been an integral part of the IPCC’s reports. Declan McCullagh at CBS News reports some of the findings so far:
One programmer highlighted the error of relying on computer code that, if it generates an error message, continues as if nothing untoward ever occurred. Another debugged the code by pointing out why the output of a calculation that should always generate a positive number was incorrectly generating a negative one. A third concluded: “I feel for this guy. He’s obviously spent years trying to get data from undocumented and completely messy sources.”
Programmer-written comments inserted into CRU’s Fortran code have drawn fire as well. The file briffa_sep98_d.pro says: “Apply a VERY ARTIFICAL correction for decline!!” and “APPLY ARTIFICIAL CORRECTION.” Another, quantify_tsdcal.pro, says: “Low pass filtering at century and longer time scales never gets rid of the trend – so eventually I start to scale down the 120-yr low pass time series to mimic the effect of removing/adding longer time scales!”
At Pajamas Media, which has been producing some of the most in-depth coverage of this story, Charlie Martin examines the code further and concludes:
[P]ut this in the context of what else we know from the CRU data dump:
1. They didn’t want to release their data or code, and they particularly weren’t interested in releasing any intermediate steps that would help someone else
2. They clearly have some history of massaging the data — hell, practically water-boarding the data — to get it to fit their other results. Results they can no longer even replicate on their own systems.
3. They had successfully managed to restrict peer review to what we might call the “RealClimate clique” — the small group of true believers they knew could be trusted to say the right things.
As a result, it looks like they found themselves trapped. They had the big research organizations, the big grants — and when they found themselves challenged, they discovered they’d built their conclusions on fine beach sand.
But the tide was coming in.
Even if the CRU crew are only guilty of promising more than they could deliver, that’s still a hugely important turn of events in the climate-change debate — and reason enough to put the policy debate on pause while this new information is sorted out.
Finally, on a more humorous note, check out this video created for Minnesotans for Global Warming by the folks at JibJab.com:
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119 comments Add your comment
White People
November 25th, 2009
1:12 pm
Obama’s Approval Slide Finds Whites Down to 39%
Support has declined much more among whites than among nonwhites
PRINCETON, NJ — Since the start of his presidency, U.S. President Barack Obama’s approval rating has declined more among non-Hispanic whites than among nonwhites, and now, fewer than 4 in 10 whites approve of the job Obama is doing as president.
http://www.gallup.com/poll/124484/Obama-Approval-Slide-Finds-Whites-Down-39.aspx
Peter
November 25th, 2009
1:12 pm
Hey David……Please with your silly behavior ! Kyle may have to spank you yet again !
Peter
November 25th, 2009
1:14 pm
Wrong Linda……. Al’s house does have solar panels !
I did read that George’s house is much smaller, and does have what you claim.
David Axelfraud
November 25th, 2009
1:14 pm
Linda, Gore is the biggest of all hypocrites. The guy has 20 SUV’s parked in his driveway. He flies around on a 747 and then tells everyone else how to live.
Bottom line: Liberals = do as I say not as I do.
David Axelfraud
November 25th, 2009
1:15 pm
Peter, oh boy, I’m sure you know all about being spanked.
David Axelfraud
November 25th, 2009
1:15 pm
Peter, Do you like the idea of communism?
Peter
November 25th, 2009
1:17 pm
Funny stuff David……. what was the topic ?
David Axelfraud
November 25th, 2009
1:18 pm
Peter, Do you like the idea of communism? It’s a simple yes or no question.
David Axelfraud
November 25th, 2009
1:20 pm
Peter, I think it’s funny that you get your scientific information on the weather from a guy who has never held a position in the scientific community. It’s like going to President Acorn and asking him how to fly a plane.
Jefferson
November 25th, 2009
1:25 pm
Jimmy, I could care 2 flips about Gore and his wealth.
Somewhere there is a balance, but we won’t find it in my lifetime. That too is not the end of the rainbow.
Peter
November 25th, 2009
1:27 pm
David…..what are you talking about ? Please enlighten the viewers !
Linda
November 25th, 2009
1:28 pm
Peter@12:34, Did you know that Suntech Power Holdings has the largest solar panel installation in the US & that it is a Chinese company? Did you know the US company, First Solar, is building the world’s largest solar power plant, in China?
Did you know “green” light bulbs can’t be tossed in the garbage, that they had to be disposed of in hazardous waste facilities & that if you break one you could become ill?
Did you know the batteries for electric cars are filled with the same nasty corrosive carcinogenic ooze that standard car batteries use & that electric cars still have to be charged with electricity which uses coal?
Linda
November 25th, 2009
1:30 pm
Peter@12:39, Have you ever gotten a tan or a sunburn & not known how it happened?
David Axelfraud
November 25th, 2009
1:33 pm
Peter @ 1:27, be specific. I asked you a few questions that you never answered.
One, do you like the idea of communism? It’s a very simple yes or no question.
Peter
November 25th, 2009
1:35 pm
Linda……….Yes……Peter@12:34, Did you know that Suntech Power Holdings has the largest solar panel installation in the US & that it is a Chinese company? Did you know the US company, First Solar, is building the world’s largest solar power plant, in China?
I enjoyed the gains with Canadian Solar this year so far…….another Chinese company that has headquarters in Canada.
So I follow the entire sector.
This is not a correct statement……..”electric cars still have to be charged with electricity which uses coal?”
Linda
November 25th, 2009
1:36 pm
Peter@12:47, I don’t think deforestation is as much of a problem in the US as it is in third world countries. Obama’s climate czar recommended people paint their roofs white? How does yours look? What color is your driveway or parking lot?
Peter
November 25th, 2009
1:37 pm
David, there is nothing about communism that interest me.
David Axelfraud
November 25th, 2009
1:39 pm
Peter, thank you for answering my question. I just needed to know your thoughts on the subject.
Peter
November 25th, 2009
1:40 pm
Linda my driveway is made of concrete……so off white I would say…….
Yes I did read about that…….painting of the roofs white…….great idea, I actually mentioned it about a year ago on the Whooten blog, and now they are saying it….. sound advice keeps buildings cooler, and a great idea in general.
Peter
November 25th, 2009
1:41 pm
David…..there has been so much death do to communism, the thought revolts me.
David Axelfraud
November 25th, 2009
1:45 pm
Peter, yeah true. Anyway, look, I would take climate change a bit more seriously if people like Al Gore were not leading the charge. He’s a politician plain and simple and has made billions off of this stuff. The Farmers Almanac is the only true source of weather predictions and is right year after year after year. No one can say that we will all die from rising sea levels or hurricanes. The Earth has changed on its own for 1000s of years. The problem with Al Gore is that he and his ilk can not agree on what causes it or how to combat it. First it was cars, then it was cow farts and now it’s meat.
Peter
November 25th, 2009
1:55 pm
David you are a funny guy……. I think Al Gore really has gotten to you !
There are others out there I am sure as well…… including everyday citizens, who want the world to be a better place.
I would say take all with a grain of salt….there are always good ideas, and wacky ideas thrown around.
Linda is correct as well talking about the trees……..in the US and the tree farmers in general have been doing a great job of replanting.
I really enjoy living in Sandy Springs, because when I look outside I have huge trees in the yard. Gotta love the old subdivisions !
David Axelfraud
November 25th, 2009
1:58 pm
Peter, well I try. Anyway, Gore is the one who has led the charge. I admire people like Leo Dicaprio and Ed Bagely Jr. who practice what they preach in regards to that lifestyle. I don’t agree with them on a lot of things but I respect that they are not out there ordering people to do this and that. I’m all for recycling and saving on gas consumption. I live in Chicago and take public transportation when I can. I ride my bike in the summer because the rest of the year it’s too cold to do so.
Linda
November 25th, 2009
2:04 pm
Steve@12:59, Don’t forget Gore’s private 1977 twin engine Gulfstream g2b2. When he flies it to CA, rather than taking a commercial flight, he uses 55,000 lbs. of CO2 each way, compared to a car which would have used only 1800 lbs.
Oh, & don’t forget his zinc mine.
Peter
November 25th, 2009
2:06 pm
Chicago is a great city wow I love that place……..I did business for quite a few years with a great company up there, and we went to Taste of Chicago, as well as Summer Fest in Milwaukee.
We saw Stevie Ray Vaughn, Squeeze and Fleetwood Mac amongst other bands……what a great day that was !
It was really hot that 4th of July, maybe 101….. Stayed with a buddy at the Presidential towers.
We also went to Kingston Mines……. a very cool club.
Linda
November 25th, 2009
2:09 pm
Peter, My comment @ 1:11 was supposed to say that Gore’s house does NOT have solar energy.
Peter
November 25th, 2009
2:09 pm
Linda …….you are really pulling at straws now with the jet……there are lots of companies that have or rent private jets for business !
David Axelfraud
November 25th, 2009
2:12 pm
Peter, there is nowhere I would rather be than in Chicago from July to September. Amazing weather and lots of energy. I live in the Lake View area near Wrigleyville and it is awesome to walk to Cubs games. I love the Braves but Cubs fans love their team. Taste of Chicago is fun but it gets very crowded and the prices are ridiculous. But still, it’s great.
Peter
November 25th, 2009
2:13 pm
Here you go Linda…and excerpt……
Now 33 solar panels have been installed on the mansion’s roof, and are expected to generate 6,570 kilowatt hours of electricity a year. The Gores have been trying to put them up for nine months, but until April were blocked by local planning laws – dating from 1938 – which forbad them. A new ordinance now allows them so long as they cannot be seen by neighbours. The panels will still only enable them to get a relatively small proportion of their power from the sun – but they are now also installing an Australian-developed geothermal energy system to provide all their heating and hot water from rock 300ft under their home, which both Gores also use for their offices.
http://www.ourplanet.com/imgversn/opupdates/gore_house.html
Linda
November 25th, 2009
2:14 pm
Peter@1:35, Coal is the nation’s major fuel for electric power plants.
Tom
November 25th, 2009
2:16 pm
Global Warming is proof that no science is immune to the infection of politics and the corruption of power…
TGT
November 25th, 2009
2:16 pm
I posted this on Bookman’s blog several weeks ago. For those who missed it:
For sale: Carbon Debits (to offset the offsets)
For all of those who have not bought into the fallacy of AGW (Anthropogenic (man-made) Global Warming) and want to demonstrate your lack of faith in AGW to all those who belong to the Church of AGW (High Priest: Al Gore), which is, according to geologist Ian Plimer, the “New Religion of First World Elites,” consider Carbon Debits.
This is how it works: For those of you who don’t have the time to live a life of excess, send me $5, $10, $1,000–whatever you feel you necessary–and I will labor to live a life of excess, producing as much carbon as possible through traveling, water-skiing, fishing, watching plasma tv’s, etc. to help offset all of the offsets purchased in vain by those deceived by the “Greatest Scam in History” (according to the founder of the Weather Channel). You will get a receipt denoting the purchase of your Carbon Debit with a unique identifying number so that it cannot be duplicated.
To contact me just dial: BR5-49 (ask for “Junior”).
Peter
November 25th, 2009
2:17 pm
Yes Linda we know that coal is a major fuel……….. but it doesn’t have to be, and it is not the only fuel…….solar or wind could charge Electric car batteries.
Linda
November 25th, 2009
2:17 pm
Peter@1:40, Why haven’t you painted your roof white yet? Are you waiting for global warming to really start?
David Axelfraud
November 25th, 2009
2:23 pm
Tom, DAMN STRAIGHT!
Linda
November 25th, 2009
2:27 pm
Peter@2:09, It’s okay to fly, own & rent planes. It’s hypocritical to preach to us to drive our bicycles to work & for him & his wife to flit around the country on an airplane as large as a 747.
David Axelfraud
November 25th, 2009
2:27 pm
Linda, THAT’S WHAT I’VE BEEN SAYING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Kyle Wingfield
November 25th, 2009
2:32 pm
Ladies and gentlemen, please note this holiday (eve) miracle: Axelfraud and Peter are agreeing with one another!
Something to be thankful for, a day early…
David Axelfraud
November 25th, 2009
2:36 pm
Kyle Wingfield, you don’t have to be a smart a$$ about it.
Kyle Wingfield
November 25th, 2009
2:37 pm
Oh, I’m being all too serious.
The American People
November 25th, 2009
2:46 pm
“Under my plan of a cap-and-trade system, electricity rates would necessarily skyrocket. Coal-powered plants, you know, natural gas, you name it, whatever the plants were, whatever the industry was, they would have to retrofit their operations. That will cost money. They will pass that money on to consumers.” – Barack Obama.
Peter
November 25th, 2009
2:54 pm
We have a light colored roof already………got lucky when we bought the house……..
One of my buddy’s is doing so…… I installed a 500 gallon water tank in the back yard for rain water, and hope to come up with some solar soon.
Linda
November 25th, 2009
2:55 pm
Peter@2:13, I mentioned the electric bills I quoted were from ‘05 & ‘06. The report was released in ‘07, coincidentally when the Gores started their “green” renovations, which have actually INCREASED their electric consumption by 10%.
The Gores purchased a monstrous 100-foot houseboat a few months ago. It uses bio-diesel fuel which is not sold at the marina where it’s housed. He says he’s ordered solar panels from the co. in Nevada (Chinese?) but it’s plugged into the electric socket on the dock. The jet skis on the boat use gas as does all his cars that will use fossil fuels to get to the marina & back.
Peter
November 25th, 2009
2:57 pm
Hey Kyle.thanks for noticing !
Linda….. you are still pulling at straws about the Al Gore jet, but hey you don’t like the guy and that is your prerogative.
Peter
November 25th, 2009
3:01 pm
Linda ….Gore is rich, and he can buy all he wants……..Big deal !
Again you point is what he uses electricity, and is trying to get others to cut their foot print, so he is being hypocritical, gee all you sound is angry at this point.
Where are the cool ideas for the future ?
Linda
November 25th, 2009
3:14 pm
Peter@2:17, Solar, wind & biofuels have already proven to be cost prohibitive, etc. There’s always a problem with solar since the sun SETS & with wind when it doesn’t BLOW. The answer for alternative fuels are natural gas & nuclear power. The BIG problem is that almost ALL our vehicles use oil. We have to have oil to survive (work, etc) until we have an alternative. Why can’t we drill more of our own oil?
Linda
November 25th, 2009
3:18 pm
American@2:46, A statement he made that was honest, a statement that is horrifying, but the bill has already passed the House.
Skip
November 25th, 2009
3:26 pm
I just finished cleaning the leaves from the gutters, tomorrow I’m cutting down the trees.
Peter
November 25th, 2009
3:27 pm
Linda those opinions are yours, and others that can’t see the the future. Yes we need oil, and yes we need alternative fuel.
What do you do with Nuclear waste ?
Many buildings can be retro fitted for solar, but boy the energy companies don’t want to hear that !
The Southern Company is running our lives……. and what they want they get. Just Ask Sonny Purdue, when it comes to water wars.
Linda
November 25th, 2009
3:33 pm
Peter@2:57 & 3:01, If the Cap & Trade Tax bill is passed & what American@2:46 reported that Obama predicted comes true & the United States of America bankrupts, which it will, I will be a lot more than angry & so will you.
Make a list of bad words, write them all down & practice them, because you will be repeating them over & over. In general, conservatives pray & liberals cuss. Conservatives believe God controls the climate & weather but liberals believe politicians can control it.
P.S. Mother Nature doesn’t live in DC.