12 December 2009

AP on Leaked CRU Emails

A team of AP reporters reviews the leaked/stolen CRU emails and come up with a damning indictment of their authors. The AP finds no evidence of fraud or misconduct, and no evidence that the science of climate change is a hoax. But they what they do find is, in their words, "not pretty." Here is an excerpt (emphasis added):

The scientists were keenly aware of how their work would be viewed and used, and, just like politicians, went to great pains to shape their message. Sometimes, they sounded more like schoolyard taunts than scientific tenets.

The scientists were so convinced by their own science and so driven by a cause "that unless you're with them, you're against them," said Mark Frankel, director of scientific freedom, responsibility and law at the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He also reviewed the communications.

It is these efforts to stage manage climate science that I have argued is the most troubling aspect of the emails. These activist scientists stated that they were interested in the truth, but their actions as revealed by the emails showed a greater interest in truthiness in order to shape a public message and defeat their nefarious opponents.