Klimaatgekte: Phil Jones komt terug op klimaatsverandering

[Dr. Marc-Alexander Fluks]

REPLY TO: D66 at nic.surfnet.nl

Bron:   Daily Mail
Datum:  14 februari 2010
URL:     
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-1250813/MAIL-ON-SUNDAY-COMMENT-The-professors-amazing-climate-change-retreat.html

[Hoofdcommentaar]


The professor's amazing climate change retreat
----------------------------------------------

Untold billions of pounds have been spent on turning the world
green and also on financing the dubious trade in carbon credits.
Countless gallons of aviation fuel have been consumed carrying
experts, lobbyists and politicians to apocalyptic conferences on
global warming.

Every government on Earth has changed its policy, hundreds of
academic institutions, entire school curricula and the priorities
of broadcasters and newspapers all over the world have been
altered ? all to serve the new doctrine that man is overheating
the planet and must undertake heroic and costly changes to save
the world from drowning as the icecaps melt.

You might have thought that all this was based upon well-founded,
highly competent research and that those involved had good reason
for their blazing, hot-eyed certainty and their fierce intolerance
of dissent.

But, thanks to the row over leaked emails from the Climatic Research
Unit, we now learn that this body?s director, Phil Jones, works in
a disorganised fashion amid chaos and mess.

Interviewed by the highly sympathetic BBC, which still insists on
describing the leaked emails as 'stolen', Professor Jones has
conceded that he 'did not do a thorough job' of keeping track of
his own records. His colleagues recall that his office was 'often
surrounded by jumbled piles of papers?.

Even more strikingly, he also sounds much less ebullient about the
basic theory, admitting that there is little difference between
global warming rates in the Nineties and in two previous periods
since 1860 and accepting that from 1995 to now there has been no
statistically significant warming.

He also leaves open the possibility, long resisted by climate change
activists, that the 'Medieval Warm Period' from 800 to 1300 AD, and
thought by many experts to be warmer than the present period, could
have encompassed the entire globe.

This is an amazing retreat, since if it was both global and warmer,
the green movement's argument that our current position is
'unprecedented' would collapse.

It is quite reasonable to suggest that human activity may have had
some effect on climate. There is no doubt that careless and greedy
exploitation has done much damage to the planet. But in the light of
the 'Climategate' revelations, it is time for governments, academics
and their media cheerleaders to be more modest in their claims and
to treat sceptics with far more courtesy.

The question is not settled.

--------
(c) 2010 Associated Newspapers Ltd

**********
Dit bericht is verzonden via de informele D66 discussielijst (D66 at nic.surfnet.nl).
Aanmelden: stuur een email naar LISTSERV at nic.surfnet.nl met in het tekstveld alleen: SUBSCRIBE D66 uwvoornaam uwachternaam
Afmelden: stuur een email naar LISTSERV at nic.surfnet.nl met in het tekstveld alleen: SIGNOFF D66
Het on-line archief is te vinden op: http://listserv.surfnet.nl/archives/d66.html
**********