East Anglia: some new angles, but no arrests for hacking

Let the finger-pointing continue.

Turns out the hacked emails were taken off the University of East Anglia computers weeks ago. A BBC employee and reporter says he was given the documents last month. He never publicized the fast which may have frustrated the hacker(s) into posting them anonymously.

A leading skeptic of global warming in the U.S. Senate is James Inhofe (R-OK). You might note that Oklahoma has a bit of vested interest in crude oil prices. Now Sen. Inhofe is saying, "I told you so" about the global warming not being real science. And he is sure the data has been fudged for a long time. Furthermore, Sen. Inhofe's requesting all pertinent federal agencies to keep all relevant emails on global warming. If the Republicans regain control of the Senate any time soon, you can expect a full-blown Inhofe-fuelled investigation.

DR. JAMES HANSEN

One of the most prominent American scientists calling for global warming action has long been Dr. James Hansen. His terse comment after the East Anglia affair, global warming is still real. "The evidence for human-made climate change is overwhelming." Of the emails themselves, he said to Newsweek, "They indicate poor judgment in specific cases. First, the data behind any analysis should be made publicly available. Second, rather than trying so hard to prohibit publication of shoddy science, which is impossible, it is better that reviews, such as by IPCC and the National Academy of Sciences, summarize the full range of opinions and explain clearly the basis of the scientific assessment." Read the whole Hansen interview here.

MEDIATION Ever vigilant to the latest undisclosed conspiracy Fox News has this headline, "Media Silent on Global Warming Scandal." I'm at six blogs and counting on many more until the hacker(s) are tried or confess.

In a left-wing Brit rag, a self-proclaimed climate rationalist is ticked off. This writer has already called for the resignation of one of the East Anglia emailers. "Confronted with crisis, most of the environmentalists I know have gone into denial. The emails hacked from the Climatic Research Unit (CRU) at the University of East Anglia, they say, are a storm in a tea cup, no big deal, exaggerated out of all recognition. It is true that climate change deniers have made wild claims which the material can't possibly support (the end of global warming, the death of climate science). But it is also true that the emails are very damaging."

Here's a direct comment on the East Anglia affair from the head of the EPA, according to the Wal Street Journal: "We have 2,500 of the word’s foremost scientists who are in absolute agreement that this [global warming] is a real problem and that we need to do something and we need to do something as soon as possible. What am I going to do, side with the couple of naysayers out there or the 2,500 scientists? I’m sticking with the 2,500 scientists.” [poll id="198"]