I think it is the money, exactly what Eisenhower warned about a half-century ago. There are indeed trillions of dollars involved, to say nothing of the fame and glory (and frequent trips to exotic islands) that go with being a member of the club. Your own Physics Department (of which you are chairman) would lose millions a year if the global warming bubble burst. When Penn State absolved Mike Mann of wrongdoing, and the University of East Anglia did the same for Phil Jones, they cannot have been unaware of the financial penalty for doing otherwise. As the old saying goes, you don’t have to be a weatherman to know which way the wind is blowing. Since I am no philosopher, I’m not going to explore at just which point enlightened self-interest crosses the line into corruption, but a careful reading of the ClimateGate releases makes it clear that this is not an academic question.
Harold Lewis is Emeritus Professor of Physics, University of California, Santa Barbara, former Chairman; Former member Defense Science Board, chmn of Technology panel; Chairman DSB study on Nuclear Winter; Former member Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards; Former member, President’s Nuclear Safety Oversight Committee; Chairman APS study on Nuclear Reactor SafetyChairman Risk Assessment Review Group; Co-founder and former Chairman of JASON; Former member USAF Scientific Advisory Board; Served in US Navy in WW II; books: Technological Risk (about, surprise, technological risk) and Why Flip a Coin (about decision making)
Disrupting the Borg is expensive and time consuming!
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I think for the top scientists in these departments this is true. The all-important media is on their side so they are compromising good science for fame and promotions. The younger ones may have their doubts but they see that going against the grain will cost them dearly and it’s the rare person that can withstand the onslaught that would come their way. They’ve been programmed to find global warming caused primarily by increased CO2 and by God they’re gonna find it!
Penn State’s exoneration of Mann was amazingly explicit about the money, although it was basically phrased as “people wouldn’t be giving him so much money if he were wrong.” I (and others) immediately thought of Madoff…
I should point out that Hal Lewis died a few weeks ago.
I have had many people ask me incredulously, ‘why would they lie about climate change?’. As soon as I show them the monumental amounts of money and power involved they understand immediately. Follow the money…
I suppose there is a correlation here with bankers. After all who would have thought they would have made such incredibly poor decisions (with other people’s money) even to the point of dishonesty. Then you look at the billions they made out of it and wonder no longer.
It depends on which bank. Rhymes with ‘oldman hacks’. ; )
HaHa!! Fred the Shred did not exactly cover himself in glory either.
PS Have you read that book , Tony?
But was he a Climate Scientist? No? Sorry, invalid opinion.
Ahh… so only those potentially corrupted by the money are allowed to express an opinion about whether they are corrupted by the money.
It’s known as the “new civility” in our politics, or “campaign finance reform,” or a bunch of other monikers.
Dr. Lewis and President Eisenhower were from a different era, when honesty, integrity and a man’s word actually counted for something.
Unlike Obama, who appears incapable of ever telling the truth about anything
Oh, he’s capable: “Under my plan, yuh uh know . . . . uh, thuh capantrade system, electricity prices would necessarily skyrocket.”
“As soon as I show them the monumental amounts of money and power involved they understand immediately. Follow the money…”
I don’t think you can follow the real trail. If you did it would lead here:
Ill Wind’s translation.