Though the
"Climategate" scandal has
quieted down stateside, it seems to have made its mark on the British public, with a
new BBC poll
showing a 9 percent uptick in climate change skepticism between
November and February.
The British press recently uncovered errors of the UN climate panel, fueling skepticism further. Discussion in the U.S., however, remains
relatively confined to camps of environmentalists and
right-wing skeptics. Here’s a taste of the fallout on both sides of
the pond:
- In Britain, Implicated Scientist Contemplated Suicide Daniel Cressey
at Nature relays the trials of Phil Jones, the East Anglia scientist
whose hacked emails prompted "Climategate" and who has become a
punching bag for the British public: "'I did think about it, yes. About
suicide,’ he says. ‘I thought about it several times, but I think I’ve
got past that stage now.’ Jones also told the paper he is now on beta
blockers and taking sleeping pills in the aftermath of the email theft.
He continues to receive death threats."
- Cover-Up Will Only Spur More Skepticism, warns a Guardian editorial: "It is bad
science and bad politics to counter skepticism with righteous
indignation. In the long run, public confidence will be inspired more
by frankness about what science cannot explain.
- Climate Advocates Will Lose Support Unless They Explain Themselves, Kevin Drum
cautions at Mother Jones: “The CRU emails mostly seemed overblown to
me, and taken by themselves they'd probably have blown over pretty
quickly. But start adding all this other stuff—even if none of it
really affects the core claims of climate change—and the public is
going to tune out even more than it already has unless the climate
community either provides some explanations post haste or else makes
credible commitments to clean up its act in the very near future."
- Don’t Stop at Emails—Follow the Money! urges Pajamas Media CEO Roger Simon.
In an attempt to get in on the climate change exposé game, Pajamas is
asking readers for help investigating the financial trail of this
“giant metastasizing scam”: “There are plenty of high rent dots to be
connected here with much pertinent information to be revealed and names
to be named. I am writing this post to solicit your help. Just as the
blogosphere was so instrumental in dissecting the science, it can also
help track the money.”
