NASA Scientist James Hansen Places Foot in Mouth on Global Warming

[waxzy]

NASA Scientist James Hansen Places Foot in Mouth on Global Warming?
AC, aug 3 2007

Dr. James Hansen, head of the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Sciences (GISS), has criticized the Bush administration in the past for alleged censorship of the scientific community. With the recent discover in the US temperature averages prepared by GISS, Dr. Hansen made the corrections and hastily posted an email to several journalists.

Steve McIntyre, an independent statistician that is known for questioning the accuracy of the temperature record and statistical method used with the data. Because of his concern Mr.McIntyre is labeled a global warming skeptic. The discovery of the error was made by McIntyre and following an email from McIntyre to GISS corrected. After discovering Dr. Hansen's email days later, McIntyre posted this in the Watt's Up With This blog.

The title and first paragraph of Dr. Hansen's email is as follows:

A Light On Upstairs?

Sorry to send another e-mail so soon. No need to read further unless you are interested in temperature changes to a tenth of a degree over the U.S. and a thousandth of a degree over the world.

And the concluding paragraphs:

Somehow the flaw in 2001-2007 U.S. data was advertised on the internet and for two days I have been besieged by rants that I have wronged the President, that I must "step down", or that I must "vanish". Hmm, I am not very good at magic tricks.

My apologies if the quick response that I sent to Andy Revkin and several other journalists, including the suggestion that it was a tempest inside somebody's teapot dome, and that perhaps a light was not on upstairs, was immoderate. It was not ad hominem, though.

Jim

In the norcal blog, McIntyre posted a lengthy response. One paragraph of that response was particularly interesting:

I haven't seen the original letter and don't know who the comment was about. However, it certainly sounds like an ad hominem remark and one that is highly inappropriate for a federal civil servant. I have a number of comments about other aspects of the letter.

While the scientific community ponders the significance of 0.1 to 0.15 degrees C in the US historical temperature averages in the grand scheme of anthropogenic global warming. I wonder if the mainstream media and Dr. Hansen are pondering the wisdom of review of press release prior to dissemination?

Follow the exciting action at What's Up With This. For more on the story see Numbers Wrong.