ClimateGate Ignites Global Warming Firestorm

On November 19, a computer hacker penetrated the internal e-mail system at the University of East Anglia Climatic Research Unit and began posting 13 years worth of internal correspondence and documents online, in an effort to show that a small group of climate scientists has been deliberately suppressing important data and trying to block publication of papers that called their work into question. The resulting political firestorm is now being referred to as ClimateGate.

Most scientists agree that this controversy does not endanger the well-established theory that global warming is real and is already under way. But for those who deny global warming altogether this event has given them more fuel for their fire.

Here’s what primary British climate denier, Lord Christopher Monckton says in a summary of a new booklet he’s already written. And here is a reasoned response to those accusations from leading climate scientist Dr. Judith Curry, the Chair of the School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences at Georgia Tech.

As the Copenhagen Climate Conference opens tomorrow, it’s a good time to look at the information or misinformation that is flowing fast and furious across the online world and coloring the overall discussion of climate change.

NBCLA 4 interview with Dr. Stephen Schneider, a Stanford University climate scientist and author of Science as a Contact Sport. Dr. Schneider received the 2007 collective Nobel Peace Prize. Here he talks about the politics of climate change and the important role dissenters have played in advancing science for hundreds of years. He also distinguishes between climate skeptics — who have legitimate scientific questions — and deniers — who ignore a vast amount of evidence to push an agenda.

The Wallstreet Journal editorial page has taken the e-mails at face value and elevated this illegal hack attack to the level of an international scandal. Unfortunately, WSJ’s Kelsie Hubbard gets it wrong, including the name of the university that was hacked. It’s East Anglia not East Anglican. Dan Henniger says, “I think their stature and credibility has fallen and the rest of the scientific community has to realize what’s going on.”

Here is a CNN report that provides some background on the e-mail hack attack that send hundreds of private e-mails into the public domain and put new heat on scientists, who are now accused of faking climate data to make global warming seem worse than it is.

Here is a searchable database with all the hacked e-mails. Look for yourself and be sure to comment below on what you find.