IPCC Scolded by Actual Scientists

There is nothing wrong with the IPCC that changing everything about it couldn't fix, says an international panel of actual scientists.

UNITED NATIONS — The UN climate panel should only make predictions when it has solid scientific evidence and avoid straying into policy advocacy, a group of national science academies said in a report on Monday.

The UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) was hit with a wave of criticism after acknowledging in January that its 2007 global warming report had exaggerated the pace of Himalayan glaciers melting. It had previously said the report had overstated how much of the Netherlands is below sea level.

Of course that's not the half of it. The wheels have been coming off that bus for the better part of the past year.

The report said the 12-year limit for the chair of the IPCC, currently Rajendra Pachauri of India, was too long and should be shortened. It called for an overhaul of the panel’s management, including the creation of an executive committee that would include people from outside the IPCC.

Regarding the errors that appeared in the IPCC reports, the review group’s report called for stronger enforcement of the panel’s scientific review procedures to minimize future mistakes.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon, however, remains in denial and thinks that R.K. Pachauri & Company are just swell.

Climate Sceptism, or Why I Don't Appreciate Being Lectured by Infants

Judith Curry wants to restore trust in climate science, badly damaged by the Climate-gate leak last November. Climate-gate (or more formally FOIA2009.zip), whether the power barons would admit it or not, left a pall over the Copenhagen Summit and pretty well ensured no binding treaty. Much to the consternation of alarmist die-hards, the post-Copenhagen climate was no more forgiving, with a host of revelations that called into question the trustworthiness of the IPCC, and revealed its disturbing coziness with, and reliance upon, activist groups like WWF and Greenpeace. Judith Curry, however, seems to think that it's just a communications problem, and that if climate scientists would just learn to use new media to better propagandize their claims, then public trust would be restored.

Has Curry been living in an ivory-tower bubble?

Willis Eschenbach certainly thinks so. And he's not mincing words about it.

Because the truth is, climate science is one of the newest sciences. The truth is, we know little about the climate, we’ve only been studying it intensely for a couple decades. The truth is, we can’t project the climate of the next decade, much less that of the next century. The truth is, we have no general theory of climate. The truth is, we don’t know if an average temperature rise of a couple degrees will be a net benefit or a net loss. The truth is, all of us are human, and our knowledge of the climate is in its infancy. And I don’t appreciate being lectured by infants. I don’t appreciate being told that I should be put in the dock in a Nuremberg style trial for disagreeing with infants. You want to restore trust? Come down off your pedestals, forsake your ivory towers, and admit your limitations.

[emphasis mine]

Now before you say "What'choo talkin' 'bout, Willis," do read the whole thing -- a priceless smack down indeed.

PS. Progressives just hate it when you use Alinsky's Rules for Radicals against them.

The Twelve Days of Global Warming

Just in time for CopenChristmas.

Holiday cheers from the guys at Minnesotans for Global Warming.

Global Warming and "The Madness of Crowds" -- A Warning to Investors

Caveat Emptor on Green Funds, Eco Derivatives, Civic-Virtue Hedge Funds, and the like, cautions Avner Mandelman for Globe Investor.

This, in effect, is what's happening now: global warming has become a near-religious test of civic virtue, just as being invested in Internet stocks became a test of investment savvy in 2000. Which is why many investors dazedly held on to Nortel all the way down to zero, even after its accounting issues had been revealed. And now, even though you can't trust the climate change data, the Copenhagen conference still goes on and promoters including Al Gore are out begging the public to give the scientists the benefit of the doubt. This is the same Mr. Gore who is profiting from tax credit-based environmental investments.

Indulgences carbon credits, anyone?

Read the Rest.

Rex Murphy on Climategate

Brilliant. Simply brilliant.



Well done, Mr. Murphy. And thank-you.

A nice Christmas card for the medieval-warming-period (MWP) denier Michael Mann, don't you think?

"Cringing Over Climategate"

Shikha Dalmia, in Forbes, writes:

"Science and scientific process must inform and guide decisions of my administration on a wide range of issues, including … mitigation of climate change," President Barack Obama declared in a not-so-subtle dig at his predecessor soon after assuming office. "The public must be able to trust the science and scientific process. Public officials should not suppress or alter scientific technological findings."

Last week's Climategate scandal is putting Obama's promise to the test. If he wants to pass, there are two things he should do, pronto: (1) Start singing hosannas to whoever broke the scandal instead of acting like nothing has happened; and (2) Ask eco-warriors at the Copenhagen Climate Change Summit next week to declare an immediate cease-fire in their war against global warming pending a complete review of the science.

Amen.

Read the rest.

You Say Climategate, I Say Climaquiddick, Let's Call the Whole Thing Off

"Hide the Decline" indeed.

As climategate/climaquiddick heats up; and as Mann-made global warming is put under a microscope for the first time; and as the University of East Anglia launches a "review" of the "tree ring circus" at the Hadley Climate Research Unit; and as the golden calf of "peer review" is shown to be a false god; and as Hadley CRU director Phil Jones steps aside; and as Penn State announces its intention to "investigate" the work of climate guru Michael "hockey stick graph" Mann; and as we learn that many of the algorithms (Al Gore rhythms) of the climate models in the HARRY_READ_ME.txt files just don't compute; and as Australia's Labour-sponsored carbon trading bill goes down in flames when the Liberal party revolts; and as certain organs of the main stream media try their level best to ignore the whole story; and as a binding deal at the upcoming Hopenchangen conference looks unlikely at best ...

Lord Christopher Monckton puts it all neatly together in this Science and Public Policy Institute report. Download it in pdf format here, then share it.



If you're curious about Lord Christopher Monckton's views on climate change, watch the following clips of Lord Monckton on the Michael Coren show (weeknights at 6:00 pm on CTS). This show was taped shortly before the 61 megabyte bombshell hit -- in the form of hacked [leaked?] files from the mainframe at Hadley CRU, University of East Anglia (i.e., ground zero of the IPCC reports).

"Bedwetters and Broomsticks" Enjoy.

Part 1



Part 2



Part 3



Part 4



Part 5