Monday, April 9, 2012

Global Warming Rides Again

Blogcritics
Have you ever heard of Fakegate? It seems that Dr. Peter Gleick, president of the Pacific Institute, a MacArthur Foundation Fellow, and (now past) chairman of an American Geophysical Union task force on scientific ethics and integrity,(isn't that ironic?) stole the identity of a member of The Heartland Institute's board of directors and then used that identity to steal documents describing Heartland's budget, fundraising plans, and more. When those documents failed to produce what he wanted, Gleick or an ally forged a memo alleging to describe Heartland's "Global Warning Strategy."

On February 14, 2012, Gleick sent the stolen and forged documents to fifteen allies in the environmental movement and the MSM, resulting in a wave of criticism of Heartland's supposed plans to "infiltrate schools" and "undermine" climate science. Gleick confessed to stealing the documents on February 20, 2012, but MSM coverage of the event focused overwhelmingly on the false claims in the fake memo rather than on Gleick's criminal actions.

In 2011 Gleick led a new task force on scientific ethics and integrity for the American Geophysical Union. Then on February 16, 2012, he resigned from the task force citing "personal, private reasons." But his reasons soon became very public. On February 20, 2012, Dr. Gleick admitted to having fraudulently obtained documents of a board meeting of The Heartland Institute under someone else's name for the purpose of making its donors known. Gleick also forged a two-page strategy memo purporting that the Institute was engaged in a variety of efforts to fraudulently undermine the claims of global warming scientists. The Institute did not have to, nor ever did engage, in any such efforts. The truth about the global warming claims was sufficient to undermine them. This analysis, by Heartland President Joseph Bast, refutes claims that appear in Gleick's forged memo.

So the questions are, (1) If AGW is real, as Gleick contends, and if 97-98 percent of scientists worldwide agree with him, as Gleick contends, then why did Gleick resort to identity theft and forgery to try discredit his opposition? and (2) Does Gleick know that his actions speak loudly about his and AGW's credibility?

The Heartland Institute has led the effort to debunk the AGW hoax, sponsoring conferences where scientists and others who presented papers that demonstrated that 0.038 percent of CO2 in the atmosphere had little or no greenhouse effect on the Earth's climate or weather events. Gleick, who believes that anybody who disagrees with his scientific theories is anti-science, says the following are is anti-science:
  • tornado data compiled by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
  • tropical cyclone data compiled by Florida State University Center for Ocean-Atmospheric Prediction Studies
  • soil moisture data compiled by several independent teams of scientists
Gleick says the people who disagree with him are bought off, are part of a "concerted, well-funded, and aggressive anti-science campaign" that is "focused on protecting narrow financial interests."  [emphasis NOT mine]   Gleick attacks people and groups with whom he disagrees on science, including the Republican Party. Whether one is a Republican, a Democrat, or a member/sympathizer of any other political party should be irrelevant regarding scientific inquiry and truth, but prominent global warming alarmists such as Gleick seem obsessed with bringing political party affiliation into the discussion. (Gosh, but that sure does sound familiar.)

Incidentally, Heartland's sixth International Conferences on Climate Change (ICCC) attracted scientists worldwide, who employed science rather than pseudo-science. One participant, former Czech President Vaclav Klaus, an economist by training, said, "I'm convinced that after years of studying the phenomenon, global warming is not the real issue of temperature. That is the issue of a new ideology or a new religion. A religion of climate change or a religion of global warming. This is a religion which tells us that the people are responsible for the current, very small increase in temperatures. And they should be punished."

Here is an article by James Taylor of The Heartland Institute that speaks to AGW alarmists in general, and to Gleick in particular. Gleick's response to Taylor was classic. Instead of discussing the scientific facts that Taylor was addressing in his article disproving Gleick, Gleick just wanted the names of the donors of The Heartland Institute.

On January 13, 2012 The Heartland Institute invited Gleick to debate Taylor at its anniversary benefit dinner in August, 2012. Gleick declined, citing (or hiding behind?) reservations about AGW used as entertainment.

And now all you AGW Kool-Aid drinkers can see just how much credibility one of your foremost champions has.

But that's just my opinion.



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