The recent screed by James P. Lenfestey
The truth: Still there, still inconvenient was a classic example of how global-warming alarmists spin a story via selective filtering of facts and ad hominem attacks on so-called "deniers."
Lenfestey repeats the usual call for an end to debate over the entire question of global warming, citing the "scientific consensus." He seizes on one quote from the report of a British panel investigating the practices of English climate scientists: "The rigor and honesty of the scientists is not in doubt." He fails to mention numerous less-supportive findings, such as "there was unhelpfulness in responding to requests and evidence that e-mails might have been deleted in order to make them unavailable should a subsequent request be made for them. University senior management should have accepted more responsibility for implementing the required processes for [Freedom of Information Act] ... compliance."
The review panel was not "independent," as claimed. Muir Russell, its chair, is a former vice chancellor at the University of Glasgow. This should be a red flag; professional groups generally have a poor record of self-policing the behavior of their members. One of the panel's four members, Prof. Geoffrey Boulton, was for 18 years on the faculty of East Anglia's School of Environmental Sciences, which included the Climatic Research Unit (CRU) -- the source of the controversial "Climategate" e-mails. In December 2009, Boulton signed a petition that declared that the global climate records scientists at East Anglia "adhere to the highest levels of professional integrity." So much for any claims that the panel was open-minded and objective.