Posted by samstaley on Reason

Environmental educator Jane Shaw has an interesting article on the professional harrassment academics receive when they voice skepticism about the science behind climate chnage. Tenured professors who are skeptical have been ordered by university presidents to avoid publicly expressing their views.

Even peer reviewed journals have given greater voice to the critics of the skeptics’ research while preventing the authors from directly responding to the critcisms. One of the passages that caught my eye was the criticism MIT’s Richard Lindzen when he began to question the models used to predict climate change. Lindzen says that the science establishment gives priority to computer modeling of presumed climate forces and then tweaks the models, trying to make them conform to actual observations. Hand-in-hand with that tweaking is an effort to find and “correct” flaws in the empirical observations to make them conform to the simulations. Although science rightly seeks to make corrections, these are almost always in a single direction - toward conformity. That is outright data corruption.

Compounding this tendency is government funding, which furthers bureaucratic and political goals. Professional societies make lobbying their chief activity. The American Meteorological Society is represented by a former staffer for Al Gore. John Holdren, the new science advisor to the president, is a professor in Harvard’s government department, not a scientific department; his major job was with the Woods Hole Research Center, an environmental advocacy group that is often (and perhaps deliberately) confused with a scientific research center, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. He’s not a climate scientist.

The problems with these models and the “science” behind them are not unique to climate change models. Virtually all empirical modeling suffers from these kinds of biases. When was the last time an economic development impact study concluded that a convention center or sports stadium should not be built with public money? I can’t think of a case.

That’s because these models focus on only on benefits. In fact, they are inherently unable to weight benefits and costs in a meaningful way. The models themselves can’t distinguish between who provides the money, assuming that public and private sector spending is virtually identical in its economic impact. In short, to adequately interpret these models, you can’t just look at the outcomes. You have to examine the inputs and assumptions that drive their methodology. You have to get inside the black box. Unfortunately, few lay people have the training or interest to do that. Read this comments and others here.

CNS News

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) had to cancel an appearance Monday at a global warming rally in Washington, D.C., that was hit by a snowstorm because her flight was delayed, her office told CNSNews.com. Brianna Cayo-Cotter, the spokesman for the Energy Action Coalition that held the rally, told a group of reporters that she had been in contact with Pelosi and that her flight had been delayed because of inclement weather.

A blizzard Sunday night and early Monday morning blanketed the nation’s capital with snow, causing events to be cancelled and delayed across the city. House Select Energy Independence and Global Warming Chairman Edward Markey (D-Mass.), who was scheduled to speak at the global warming event, also canceled his appearance because of the inclement weather, a spokesman from his committee’s office told CNSNews.com on Monday.

Speaker Pelosi’s office confirmed to CNSNews.com that her flight had been delayed, but they could not say where the flight was coming from or whether she was flying commercial or charter. According to a press notification released by the Speaker’s office on Friday, both lawmakers were scheduled to appear on the West Lawn of the U.S. Capitol at 11:30AM Monday. “In her remarks, the Speaker was to discuss the progress made and the next steps to green the House of Representatives through the Green the Capitol initiative,” said the press release.

But at 9.35am on Monday the House Radio TV/Gallery e-mailed reporters noting that, “The Speaker will NOT be participating in the 2009 Power Shift Conference Rally this morning at 11:30am on the West Front.” It is unclear if the event is still going on,” said the release.”

The event did occur, however, and despite the lawmakers’ absence, about 500 protesters braved temperatures in the mid-20s and congregated on the Capitol lawn. The rally was part of the Energy Action Coalition’s Power Shift 2009 Conference, which occurred in Washington, D.C., over the weekend.

On its website, under a section entitled “What We’re For,” the Energy Action Coalition says: “The partners of Energy Action and the youth who are building this movement have been at the forefront of the movement for bold, just and comprehensive action to stop global warming and create a just and sustainable energy future.” The site also includes a “Youth Climate Pledge” that says in part: “The climate crisis is the most urgent issue facing humanity today. Failure to fully and immediately confront it will condemn my generation to a transformed planet.”

See more here. This is the latest in a long series of cold and snow events during global warming protest events. See the 17 most recent ones here.

See Neil Cavuto have fun with Greenpeace representative here.

John Batchelor Show

‘Carbon based fuels have been one of the greatest liberators of life mankind in the history of our planet’. ‘Life used to be nasty brutish and short before carbon based energy’

Marc Morano was interviewed on ABC Radio’s nationwide John Batchelor’s Show on Sunday March 1, 2009. Morano works for the U.S. Senate Environment and Public Works Committee (Minority)

Morano Interview on man-made climate fears and James Hansen’s claims begins at 10:40 at podcast.

Morano strips bare NASA warming scientist James Hansen’s utter silliness and completely unfounded claims of coal being “factories of death’ and “death trains.” (Note: See: ‘Get the net?’ NASA’s James Hansen exhibiting ‘megalomania’ - ‘scientific authoritarianism’ - ‘off the deep end’ - ‘lost his mind’ – Round up – February 17, 2009 - & See: Hansen is leading the largest global warming protest in DC during a huge winter snow storm. See also this Examiner post.

Morano instead calls Hansen’s claims “frightening.” and counters they are “factories of life” they are “trains of life.” “They are bringing carbon based fuel which has been one of the greatest liberators of life mankind in the history of our planet.”

Morano added: “Life used to be nasty brutish and short before carbon based energy delivered mankind into lower infant mortality, longer life expectancy, modern dentistry, running water, electricity. for anyone to look at that [like Hansen does} it is bizarro world, [Hansen’s] got it completely opposite.”

Morano also updates the latest scientific developments on warming and specifically Greenland, Arctic, Antarctica and details the continued outpouring of international scientists dissenting from man-made climate fears.

Podcast available here - begins at 10:40.