California’s Global Warming Solutions Act, aka AB32, is predicated on the assertion by Governor Schwarzenegger and Mary Nichols, his appointee as Chairman of the California Air Resources Board (CARB)  and others that the “the science of global climate change is unequivocal and there is consensus among credible scientists.”  Evidence of such usually and typically point to the various studies by the United Nations’ International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) group of self-appointed experts. Just over a week ago, however, internal communications from part of the IPCC support network came to light that questions their honesty and integrity, and most certainly raises questions about the very “settled science” that lies (pun intended) at the heart of AB32.

As a quick reminder to those not closely familiar with California’s “landmark” global warming legislation, AB 32 added the following to the Health and Safety Code 38501.

Going back to the early 1980s, with funding from the U.S. Department of Energy, scientists at the United Kingdom’s University of East Anglia established the Climatic Research Unit (CRU) to produce the world’s first comprehensive history of surface temperature. It’s known in the trade as the “Jones and Wigley” record for its authors, Phil Jones and Tom Wigley It has served as the primary reference standard for the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) until 2007. It was this record that prompted the IPCC to claim a “discernible human influence on global climate.”

The Climate Research Unit has now had documents and emails revealed that demonstrates they manipulated data and excluded scientists who opposed their cause. Much of the CRU’s work has been central to the UN IPCC reports. Their seeming only defense to the bawdy history is to accuse those who found and released the information of criminal hacking, or to attempt to trivialize what is serious scientific malfeasance. Michael E. Mann, who directs the Earth System Science Center at Pennsylvania State University, quoted in a Washington Post article, said those folks are “taking these words totally out of context to make something trivial appear nefarious."  Of course, this is the same “Hockey-Stick Michael Mann” who became infamous for statistical malpractice in constructing the now completely discredited “hockey stick” graph of alarming warming.  Charts showing pending Earth temperatures “skyrocketing” like a hockey stick on a graph have been used to stir much emotion in support of massive government regulation.

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This entry was posted on Monday, November 30th, 2009 at 12:00 am and is filed under Blog Posts.