Climategate: the data guards
I don’t think you can find any better demonstration of the profoundly anti-science mentality of the Climategate “researchers” than the following, which appeared in today’s WSJ:
In 2004, retired businessman Stephen McIntyre asked the National Science Foundation for information on various climate research that it funds. Affirming “the importance of public access to scientific research supported by U.S. federal funds,” the Foundation nonetheless declined, saying “in general, we allow researchers the freedom to convey their scientific results in a manner consistent with their professional judgment.”
Which leaves researchers free to withhold information selectively from critics, as when CRU director Phil Jones told Australian scientist Warwick Hughes in a 2005 email: “Why should I make the data available to you, when your aim is to try and find something wrong with it.”
Why, indeed. Well Dr. Jones, there’s a little something called “science” that dictates that the point of the whole endeavor is to allow—nay, even welcome—that fault-finding process, in order to arrive at something approximating “truth.”
[NOTE: I didn’t know whether to place this post in the category of “science” or “religion.” In the end, I designated it as both—but the “religion” involved is the “science” of AGW itself.]
I am not sure that tag “religion’ is wholly appropriate.
In my understanding, this construction has more to do with hierarchies, job security, cynical opportunism and corporatist spirit than with any metaphysics, idealism or soul-searching impulse, usually linked to religious matters.
It’s more “church” (as organization) than religion.
Or, maybe, “Nomenklatura” is a better choice.
That was the NSF in 2004, and is a signal of how deep and how long the rot has been underway. However, a conservative take on the NSF’s position might be it then had confidence that scientists will be scientists, living always by the scientific method.
That’s the hub of our crisis: the Alinskys use our fundamental decency to worm their ways into authority, then pull the whole thing down. Which is why, sooner rather than later, we must use their methods against them, and them shoot them down like the rabid dogs they are., with all the same indecencies they’ve visited upon us.
Tatyana, I’d have to disagree. I’d define a religion as possessing the following qualities;
1. The collective pursuit of something that is considered to be of extreme metaphysical importance, including a punishment for those who refuse to believe in it.
2. The faithful following of a set doctrine or ideology, especially if such faith does not involve critical thought.
3. The demonization of the religion’s traditional enemies (“Satan,” “Big Oil” or “Sarah Palin”) and the deification of the religion’s leaders or founders (“Jesus,” “the green movement” or “Al Gore”). Such opponents are beyond sympathy and such leaders are beyond reproach.
Not that I’m bashing religion in general, but “religious fervor” more often seems to take the form of violence or stupidity rather than rational thought, whether such religious adherents are radicals, reactionaries, Republicans, Democrats, Christians or atheists. What people should do is think and make rational decisions based on evidence rather than ideology. Climate change theorists have constructed a bizarre mythology including angels (scientists), demons (“skeptics”), a God (“the Environment”), a Devil (“Big Oil”) and a Holy Church (“the Green Movement”). They even have an Apocalypse; a time when the faithful shall be rewarded and the guilty shall be punished. It’s a religion, like any other, except like all militant religions this particular one’s adherents refuse to allow infidels to live in opposition to the True Way.
– G
Okay, here’s an irony for all of you. East Anglia was the hotbed of Puritanism back in the day (16th-18th C), the group which believed that individual acts had strong influence on the surrounding society. Their standards were little stricter than anyone else’s – the difference was enforcement through social, and sometimes governmental pressure. (The reputation for emphasis on sexual sin is undeserved – they thought many things just as important – it’s just that we put an emphasis on sex.)
It would seem that their descendants have kept the attitude, but changed faiths.
At least with Puritanism, you could move if you didn’t like it.
consistent with their professional judgment
Ah. The problem snaps into focus.
I’ve not seen anyone take the editors of the journals to task, as they should be. Science comes in for particular opprobrium, as journalists look to it for a source (practicing scientists – at least chemists – don’t hold it in such high regard). How could an editor possibly allow an investigator to publish his conclusions without providing the results (i.e., data) that support them?
The American Chemical Society used to (and probably still does – I no longer review) ask reviewers explicitly to address in their review whether the results adequately supported the conclusions. For these CRU papers, how could they? There were no results adduced.
To be clear, plots derived from the results are not themselves the results. Physics, chemistry and biology journals do not generally require deposition of raw data as supplementary material because other researchers can perfectly well attempt to reproduce the raw data from the description of the experiments.
But in climastrology, that’s not true. Others cannot generate the same raw data, and therefore those data should have been deposited. No data – no publication. Looks like some editors need to be fired.
Algore’s poetry (no, really):
One thin September soon
A floating continent disappears
In midnight sun
Vapors rise as
Fever settles on an acid sea
Neptune’s bones dissolve
Snow glides from the mountain
Ice fathers floods for a season
A hard rain comes quickly
Then dirt is parched
Kindling is placed in the forest
For the lightning’s celebration
Unknown creatures
Take their leave, unmourned
Horsemen ready their stirrups
Passion seeks heroes and friends
The bell of the city
On the hill is rung
The shepherd cries
The hour of choosing has arrived
Here are your tools
You are the tool, Al. You are. I’d like to ring your bell.
Giles: I still think that this view needs more categorization, i.e. separation between religion (idealistic belief in supernatural) and church (for-profit organization exploiting that belief).
As much as I agree with you on structure/goals/hierarchy, this whole activity, for me, has characteristics of the latter.
A week ago I sat through 4 hour seminar given by NY AIA chapter (American Institute of Architects) re: new and upcoming in January city Energy Code. Our beloved Mayor has vowed to
bring the city to its kneesmake NY a city with Zero Emissions by 2030 – and this very elaborately constructed Code aims to do just that. There was none talking along “supernatural” lines, a very scarce mention of raw data or scientists or Algore or controversy. Tome for propaganda is over – now their real agenda is on the surface: they want the piece of the pie. They just want to create yet another vast governmental and consulting-for-code-compliance network, in addition to licensing and filing at DOB, to collect fees and handouts from “compliant” manufacturers.Totally cynical, for-profit, materialistic nomenklatura.
I share your disdain for religion in any form; but I think the time for religious fervor/angels/mythology, i.e. propaganda machine, has passed – Climategate or not. Unfortunately, it is now time for legal consequences – time for practical implementation. Time for Church.
On a second thought:
tag religion points more to ideology while the current state of affairs went way beyond that.
Gray @ 3:22: Perhaps Algirl would like to be the new green Poet Laureate of the world 🙂
OB,
You said “I’ve not seen anyone take the editors of the journals to task, as they should be.”
Agreed and furthermore, I don’t really see anyone being taken to task, except symbolically.
Instead I see the UN and the climatistas doubling down, hoping to brazen it out. This morning, a front page headline in our sad local rag stated that the last decade has been the warmest on record. Uh, right. The other day 56 newspapers printed the same editorial supporting the ‘science’ behind AGW. The heads of the UN, government agencies and various stake-holders (i.e. The Goron) Senator Boxer thinks that the real crime here is the hacking of the e-mails and data. The EPA declares carbon dioxide a hazard to life.
Orwell would be speechless.
Hopefully, enough people who vote become sufficiently fed up in 2010 and 2012 and we get some adults back in office. Though I’m not holding my breath, it’s the only real way to correct this.
I can’t help it. Please indulge me–I gotta “fisk” Algore’s poem. I’m sure it has already been done, but I can’t help it (fisking in parentheses)
One thin September soon
(doesn’t ‘thin’ imply cold, as in “thin cold air” with “thick” being associated with hot and sultry? Idiot.)
A floating continent disappears
(continent don’t really ‘float’)
In midnight sun
(The only continent “In Midnight Sun” is Antarctica, but “midnight sun” usually refers to the North Pole.)
Vapors rise as
Fever settles on an acid sea
(does anyone associate “settling” with fevers?)
Neptune’s bones dissolve
(from the acid sea settling fever? F’in torturous….)
Snow glides from the mountain
(oh, good, snow gliding on the mountains…. Wait, is this supposed to be bad?)
Ice fathers floods for a season
(nice alliteration, but why is this a bad thing? There’s a little weird pent-up sexual thing here I think.)
A hard rain comes quickly
(thank yew, Mr Dillon….)
Then dirt is parched
(why yes, it’s dirt; it gets parched….)
Kindling is placed in the forest
(Placed? By whom? The ice flood father? Why place it in the forest? Forests are kindling….)
For the lightning’s celebration
(Oh, good! Wait…. Is this supposed to be bad?)
Unknown creatures
(Bigfoot? Aliens? Thylacines? Wait, those are all known…. Hmmmm….)
Take their leave, unmourned
(How can I mourn them if I don’t even know them? Dead!? I didn’t even know they were sick! What the hell kind of euphemism for death is ‘take their leave?’ sounds peaceful….)
Horsemen ready their stirrups
(Oh, good…. Wait, is this an apocalypse reference? Don’t the 4 Stable-boys of the Apocalypse do this?
Passion seeks heroes and friends
(enjoys camping, snuggling and walks on the beach…. You, NS, ND Carbon Neutral)
The bell of the city
On the hill is rung
(Oh, good…. More peaceful imagery maybe it is evening and we can rest from our weary day…. Wait, is this supposed to be bad?)
The shepherd cries
The hour of choosing has arrived
(Why would a shepard cry: “The hour of choosing has arrived!” I don’t think the sheep would understand it, and what do sheep care for an hour, or choosing?)
Here are your tools
(Yes indeed, Al. Yes indeed….)
So we’ve got Neptune, Father Ice, a Shepard and the 4 horsemen of the apocalypse in a peaceful pastoral setting, on a vaporous floating continent of parched dirt in the midnight sun, with a bell rung on the city on the hill (above the pasture, I assume) and unmourned, unknown creatures peacefully taking their leave as kindling is brought to the forests and lighting celebrates in an hour of my choosing.
What’s the problem? Sounds kinda nice, I suppose…. Wait, is this supposed to be bad?
“Dylan”–hooked on phoniks.
Gray: The “hill” may be a reference to Brokeback Mt. what with all the horsemen, stirrups and crying…
The “Ice Father” thing is kinda interesting. I’m thinking Senator Gore Senior wasn’t too warm and huggy with poor Al Jr….
Occam’s Beard —
You say “Physics, chemistry and biology journals do not generally require deposition of raw data as supplementary material because other researchers can perfectly well attempt to reproduce the raw data from the description of the experiments.”
I think this is unacceptable. Even if reproducing the data is possible, it is generally extremely expensive to do so. And as for reproducing the code — why should I have to guess at what algorithms the authors had in mind to “adjust” the data? The only reason NOT to force authors to provide ALL the data, and ALL the code, and ALL the explanations for all the “adjustment” decisions, is because the authors have something to hide.
LTEC, I believe you misunderstood what I wrote (and certainly what I meant, insofar as that may deviate from what I wrote).
I was referring to garden-variety real scientific research, not to climastrology. If I publish that acidifying bleach releases chlorine gas (which it does), you can try it yourself. If I publish that the arcane temperature proxies I’ve collected collectively indicate a warming planet, you need my raw data. Expecting others to go coring trees in Siberia is unreasonable. So we agree. I apologize if my original post were unclear.
Gray, that is a world-class fisking. Applause!
Gray, that is a world-class fisking. Applause!
Thank you. The unknown animals are taking their leave unmourned.
Tree marrow, tree marrow and tree marrow
Creeps in this warming place from farce to arse to the last hockey stick of Recorded temp.
And all our carbon footprints have lighted capitalists the way to cap ‘n’ trade.
Out! Out! Fossil fuels!
Life is but a warming hazard, a poor redneck who buys and wastes his carbon credits at Walmart.
‘Tis a tale told by the Algore.
Full of fraud and worry
Benefitting no one.
Now there’s a Global Warmism poem. That is my very own. Suck it, Al Gore.
Gray, you will appreciate this:
I just returned home after a panel on Greenbuilt, hosted by Metropolis magazine. A perfect illustration to this post – the audience swooned at the mention of Algore’s, the panelists were positively glowing when referring to his (HimSelf! ) speech they were present to hear. The Metropolis’ editor-in-chief shared her admiration:” Al (!) had lost a lot of weight and was looking positively hot! (yakkk…) Somebody opined that Al looks a bit stiff, but I said – oh, no, he’s really loose today!”
The audience clapped, and I had to control myself so as not to say aloud “yep, he was on the loose”…
I just returned home after a panel on Greenbuilt, hosted by Metropolis magazine.
You’ll be interested to know that the 2003 IBC Energy Code adopted in New Mexico in 2006 has inadvertantly banned adobe construction.
I wanted to add on to the adobe house my dad built that I live in, but I don’t have the money to bring it up to the 2003 IBC energy standards to get a building permit. Nobody has the money to refit an adobe to bring it up to the energy standards….
I can pass all the building codes, just not the energy codes, so no permit to build my kid a bedroom. I am very, very pissed off.
The IBC only recognizes the “r-value” of the adobe, and not the “heat-mass” that keeps the house warm at night in the southwest US sun.
To get a permit, the NM construction division wants me to put at least 2in thick “outsulation” all on the outside of the existing house and stucco over it, thus defeating the solar-heated-mass effects and trapping moisture that will eventually destroy the mud-brick walls.
I’m not building an adobe add-on in Belgium! The IBC Energy Code doesn’t make sense for me.
I am very angry. My little son will have to share a bedroom with his sister because of the beaureaucracy and nonsensical “green building” energy codes that outlawed adobe. Adobe!
Tatyana: http://www.crockerltd.net/adobe_ersatzadobe.htm
The energy code judges adobe to have a very low R-value and so requires that the exterior walls be insulated. The code fails to acknowledge that the mass-enhanced R-value (ability to retain heat) is very impressive and argues for an exception to the rule.
My house is entirely ‘earthen’. The Greenest possible with walls that radiate stored solar heat through most of the night. I cannot get a permit to add on because I cannot pass the ‘green’ energy codes for a building made from the local earth!
Now someone tell me “Global Warming” is a crisis….
The raw data and what happened to it is where the rubber meets the road in Climategate.
NOTE: I didn’t know whether to place this post in the category of “science” or “religion.”
I’d say religion, but I’m biased. In any case, it’s basically a matter of faith… 😯
Gray, see what I said above: it’s a gimmick. The greenness” is a pretext to get more of your dollars as a homeowner in new permits, consultants’ fees and barely clothed bribes. Nomenklatura.
On that panel yesterday I’ve learned that our mayor’s initiative that gathered applause in the White House and in environmentalist circles is going to require owners of all the big buildings in NY (over 50,000s.f.) to install new lighting systems throughout (the buildings are commercial rentals; the owner invests – but he doesn’t get the energy savings, his tenants do). He also will be in violation if he didn’t install submetering. And every 10 years the owner has to pay for energy auditing of his property – and correct anything the auditor says he has to.
“This will create 17,800 new jobs in city inspectors and auditors”said the girl from the Mayor’s office.
As I said: nomenklatura.
Gray, see what I said above: it’s a gimmick. The greenness” is a pretext to get more of your dollars as a homeowner in new permits, consultants’ fees and barely clothed bribes.
The problem is I can’t afford it, and build the structure.
However, I live in a rural area; I’m the homeowner-builder; I’ll never sell it and I have a gate.
It’s very Soviet; they are increasing regulation, cost and fees while they are losing the ability to enforce anything so they keep upping the punishment.