GLOBAL WARMING SCANDAL

Global Warming Scandal Makes Scientific Progress More Difficult, Experts Say

 

The trustworthiness of the scientific community's global warming data pool is being called into question as the scandal over doctored data continues to unfold.

The latest revelation came on Sunday with the publication of a report by The Sunday Times of London that scientists at the University of East Anglia’s Climate Research Unit in the United Kingdom confessed to throwing out most of the raw temperature data on which the theory of global warming is founded.

The loss of the data prevents other scientists from checking it to determine whether, in fact, there has been a long-term rise in global temperatures during the past century and a half.

"They are making scientific progress more difficult now," says Willie Soon, a physicist, astronomer and climate researcher at the solar and stellar physics division of the Harvard University-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics. "This is a shameful, dark day for science," he said in an interview with FoxNews.com.

Soon also suggested that there has been systemic suppression of dissenting opinion among scientists in the climate change community, ranging from social snubs to e-mail stalking and even threats of harm.

Many in the environmental policy community are outraged about the disclosure that the data has been lost. "The scientific process has become so appallingly corrupted," James M. Taylor, senior fellow in environment policy at The Heartland Institute, told FoxNews.com.

Heartland is a libertarian think tank in Chicago that recently produced a conference featuring scientists and policymakers, like Jose Maria Aznar, the former prime minister of Spain, and Vaclev Klaus, the president of the Czech Republic, who dispute the theory of global warming.

The report in the Times quoted Roger Pielke, a professor of environmental studies at the University of Colorado, who requested the original records from CRU.

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"The CRU is basically saying, ‘Trust us.' So much for settling questions and resolving debates with science," Pielke told the Times. He did not return repeated phone calls seeking additional comment. The university’s publicist also was unable to answer additional questions about the story.

"This closed-door conspiracy is harming everyone," says Soon. "I thought I had seen it all. Now I have."

A back story is also starting to emerge, depicting a rough world of suppression of dissenting opinion. Soon, who has been involved in climate change research for 15 years and has published in the field, said there was a general consensus that global warming was possible in the late 1990s. But at the time, the research community wanted to look back not just 150 years but 1,000 years, to see what the long-term trends had been.

Soon says some scientists became staunch advocates for their position that global warming was occurring, and that they dug in and started refusing to publish papers with contradictory viewpoints.

"I read a paper on increasing heat in the ocean and asked the scientist in France for the backup data," Soon says. "She told me she did not distribute data to people who didn't agree with her conclusions."

Soon says he has been victimized by other "ugly" personal attacks from leading scientists in the global warming world when he has simply raised questions, as any scientific colleague would, about the veracity of the data.

"Seeing all of this controversy in the news is no different than dealing with them in person," he said. "There's a lot of personal ugliness."

Taylor, who is also outspoken in his questioning of climate change theory, says he too has encountered ugliness from global warming enthusiasts, including "e-mail stalking" and "people making thinly veiled threats to physically harm me and my family." He said his opponents at public forums have refused to shake his hand or even acknowledge his presence.

Much scientific research corroborates what the CRU has been reporting, despite the missing data. "It's true that GISS (NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies) and NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) ground-based temperature reports show temperature increases similar to CRU," Taylor said.

But then the CRU scandal erupted.

Hackers uncovered e-mails between leading global warming advocates, which expressed concerns that the temperature figures from the last decade simply did not demonstrate that global warming was continuing, as theorized.

Now, some critics are questioning even the seemingly reliable data from the U.S. government.

"The GISS and NOAA reports suffer from the same reliability concerns as the CRU ground-based temperature reports," Taylor says. "And, more importantly, are similarly staffed by outspoken global warming activists who are likely engaging in the same data rigging and data hiding as CRU."

But global warming backers aren’t so sure.

"I don’t think this is a big deal," Nick Berning, director of public advocacy and media relations for Friends of the Earth, an environmental group, based in Washington D.C., said. "These are people who want to get their panties in a bunch, so they’ve gotten their panties in a bunch."

THE HIGH SCHOOL KID- THE WORLD STAGE IS TOO HECTIC FOR YOU

Obama's Nice Guy Act Gets Him Nowhere on the World Stage

AP

US President Barack Obama is back in the US after an Asian trip that produced few results.

When he entered office, US President Barack Obama promised to inject US foreign policy with a new tone of respect and diplomacy. His recent trip to Asia, however, showed that it's not working. A shift to Bush-style bluntness may be coming.

There were only a few hours left before Air Force One was scheduled to depart for the flight home. US President Barack Obama trip through Asia had already seen him travel 24,000 kilometers, sit through a dozen state banquets, climb the Great Wall of China and shake hands with Korean children. It was high time to take stock of the trip.

Barack Obama looked tired on Thursday, as he stood in the Blue House in Seoul, the official residence of the South Korean president. He also seemed irritable and even slightly forlorn. The CNN cameras had already been set up. But then Obama decided not to play along, and not to answer the question he had already been asked several times on his trip: what did he plan to take home with him? Instead, he simply said "thank you, guys," and disappeared. David Axelrod, senior advisor to the president, fielded the journalists' questions in the hallway of the Blue House instead, telling them that the public's expectations had been "too high."

The mood in Obama's foreign policy team is tense following an extended Asia trip that produced no palpable results. The "first Pacific president," as Obama called himself, came as a friend and returned as a stranger. The Asians smiled but made no concessions.

Lost Some Stature

Upon taking office, Obama said that he wanted to listen to the world, promising respect instead of arrogance. But Obama's currency isn't as strong as he had believed. Everyone wants respect, but hardly anyone is willing to pay for it. Interests, not emotions, dominate the world of realpolitik. The Asia trip revealed the limits of Washington's new foreign policy: Although Obama did not lose face in China and Japan, he did appear to have lost some of his initial stature.

In Tokyo, the new center-left government even pulled out of its participation in a mission which saw the Japanese navy refueling US warships in the Indian Ocean as part of the Afghanistan campaign. In Beijing, Obama failed to achieve any important concessions whatsoever. There will be no binding commitments from China to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. A revaluation of the Chinese currency, which is kept artificially weak, has been postponed. Sanctions against Iran? Not a chance. Nuclear disarmament? Not an issue for the Chinese.

The White House did not even stand up for itself when it came to the question of human rights in China. The president, who had said only a few days earlier that freedom of expression is a universal right, was coerced into attending a joint press conference with Chinese President Hu Jintao, at which questions were forbidden. Former US President George W. Bush had always managed to avoid such press conferences.

Relatively Unsuccessful

A look back in time reveals the differences. When former President Bill Clinton went to China in June 1998, Beijing wanted to impress the Americans. A press conference in the Great Hall of the People, broadcast on television as a 70-minute live discussion, became a sensation the world over. Clinton mentioned the

1989 Tiananmen Square

massacre, when the government used tanks against protestors. But then President Jiang Zemin defended the tough approach taken by the Chinese Communists. At the end of the exchange, the Chinese president praised the debate and said: "I believe this is democracy!"

Obama visited a new China, an economic power that is now making its own demands. America should clean up its government finances, and the weak dollar is unacceptable, the head of the Chinese banking authority said, just as Obama's plane was about to land.

Obama's new foreign policy has also been relatively unsuccessful elsewhere, with even friends like Israel leaving him high and dry. For the government of Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, peace is only conceivable under its terms. Netanyahu has rejected Obama's call for a complete moratorium on the construction of settlements. As a result, Obama has nothing to offer the Palestinians and the Syrians. "We thought we had some leverage," says Martin Indyk, a former ambassador to Israel under the Clinton administration and now an advisor to Obama. "But that proved to be an illusion."

Even the president seems to have lost his faith in a genial foreign policy. The approach that was being used in Afghanistan this spring, with its strong emphasis on civilian reconstruction, is already being changed. "We're searching for an exit strategy," said a staff member with the National Security Council on the sidelines of the Asia trip.

'A Lot Like Jimmy Carter'

An end to diplomacy is also taking shape in Washington's policy toward Tehran. It is now up to Iran, Obama said, to convince the world that its nuclear power is peaceful. While in Asia, Obama mentioned "consequences" unless it followed his advice. This puts the president, in his tenth month in office, where Bush began -- with threats. "Time is running out," Obama said in Korea. It was the same phrase Bush used against former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein, shortly before he sent in the bombers.

There are many indications that the man in charge at the White House will take a tougher stance in the future. Obama's advisors fear a comparison with former Democratic President Jimmy Carter, even more than with Bush. Prominent Republicans have already tried to liken Obama to the humanitarian from Georgia, who lost in his bid to win a second term, because voters felt that he was too soft. "Carter tried weakness and the world got tougher and tougher because the predators, the aggressors, the anti-Americans, the dictators, when they sense weakness, they all start pushing ahead," Newt Gingrich, the former Republican speaker in the House of Representatives, recently said. And then he added: "This does look a lot like Jimmy Carter."

Spiegel International

FAILURE LEADS TO SUCCESS- TRY IT

Whenever, wherever you see success you’ll almost always not see the failure that accompanied that success. One of the most famous examples of this is Thomas Edison was working on the light bulb, a reporter found out that Edison had created 10,000 different versions and still could not get it to work. The reporter asked Edison, “How can you keep going after failing 10,000 times? Isn’t that a little ridiculous? Why don’t you just give up?” Edison answered, “You don’t understand, I haven’t failed 10,000 times, I’ve simply succeeded in finding 10,000 ways that definitely won’t work.”

We often fear failure because we view it as an expression of our own self worth. We sometimes think it shows that we’re an inadequate person or we’re bound for a life of mediocrity. However, this is simply not true. Failure, if anything, means that we now have an opportunity to learn. We tried and it didn’t work. So we need to find a different way to proceed until we can master the task at hand. Don’t let one failure deter you from trying something else.

Those who understand the learning opportunity presented by failure, like Edison, look forward to failures because of what they can teach you about yourself and your inner resiliency. When a failure occurs, look at it objectively and ask yourself why. Did you not do everything you could have? Can you retry it from a different angle, or with another mindset? Keep working and you will eventually achieve a favorable result. If you stop learning from your experiences, then you truly have failed.

VALUE ADDED TAX: IT IS COMING TO AMERICA, COMPLIMENTS OF THE DEMOCRATS

Pelosi’s “Value-Added” Tax

Harvard Economist Greg Mankiw has some great points on the so-called value-added tax, or VAT, on his blog. Recently, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi raised the specter of implementing a new tax to help boost revenue for Uncle Sam. In terms of taxes, the VAT is about as equitable as they come. It’s a consumption tax similar to the Fair Tax, which was advocated by Mike Huckabee during the 2008 Republican primaries. The problem is, however, that the VAT would not replace our current tax system; instead, it would be an additional layer of taxation. If you want to kill jobs and retard economic growth, add new layers to an already convoluted tax system. Like Mankiw notes, if the VAT were to replace our current tax system–to include the personal income tax, the corporate tax, the payroll tax, and the estate tax–I would be all for it. But it won’t.

Our current progressive tax system, which punishes success and hampers economic growth, is bad policy and our economy is smaller because of it. The VAT on its own is a decent idea which seems to be about as equitable as tax systems come. It emphasizes personal responsibility and choice. When you choose to buy a product or service, you pay a tax. Of course, critics argue that the VAT is a “tax on the poor.” Aw, good ol’ class warfare brought to you by left-wingers and “progressives” everywhere–but would you expect anything else?

Personally, I’ve always liked the Flat Tax idea–10% or 15% across the board–completely equitable. Everyone pays the same percentage regardless of what they make. So, as for the VAT, it makes sense when it stands on its own because it is equitable and is an effective way to generate revenue. However, since the VAT is being envisioned by the Democratic Congress as an additional layer to our current, broken system–it is a bad, bad idea.

SEE WHAT THE FUTURE HAS IN STORE FOR YOU.

Future Technologies

Deep involvement in the launch of 3G has inspired us to create an infrastructure that will allow people and all kinds of objects to communicate a wealth of information. Extended systems will link the home, the office and any number of other locations to bring greater convenience to all aspects of everyday life. For the future, it is our aim to incorporate information gathered by all five senses to achieve an array of services far beyond anything envisaged to date.

NTT DOCOMO is already making rapid progress in such areas through a wide range of innovative research, building expertise and techniques as we move forward towards exciting new business opportunities.

Innovating dreams

Goal is to create a broad array of exciting new services - services that will bring undreamed-of convenience to people everywhere.

In addition to Audio Barcodes and 3D Display System introduced in this website, cutting-edge technologies beyond the imagination are already under development. These include a system that makes distant objects feel like an extension of the human body for ultra-realistic experiences, and advanced chips that will allow items such as household appliances to communicate. What's more, we are actively realizing 4G technology such as MIMO (Multiple-Input-Multiple-Output) multiplexing technology and a wireless access communications system, as well as contributing to the establishment of specifications for global standardization.

Researchers at NTT DOCOMO have a clear vision of the future. A future that will unite all of the above advances and many more, to create a world where people can communicate at a higher level, regardless of time and space.

Audio Barcode

A barcode that allows data to be carried and transmitted on sound waves in the audible range.

3D Display System

A portable display system that enables 3D images to be seen without glasses.

Toward 4G

Visionary research into the technology that will enable the future: fourth-generation mobile telephone technology.

Super 3G (LTE)

An evolution of 3G systems that will enable high-speed data transmission of up to 300Mbps in downlink.

LIBERAL LIES, GET USED TO IT: obama the lier

IEA WHISTLEBLOWER CLAIMS AGENCY HAS DOWNPLAYED LOOMING OIL SHORTAGE.

According to a senior International Energy Agency official, the energy watchdog agency fears the truth would trigger panic buying

Energy Numbers Whistleblowers have added to outside criticism of the IEA's energy figures for the future IEA

A senior official at the International Energy Agency turned whistleblower just prior to the release of a major IEA report, and claimed that the international organization has downplayed a looming oil shortage to appease the U.S. and prevent panic buying.

The anonymous whistleblower apparently told his story to The Guardian on the eve of the new World Energy Outlook report that went public Tuesday. He alleged that the international watchdog has bowed to U.S. pressure to underplay the decline of existing oil fields and overplay the possibility of tapping new fields.

Outside economists and energy experts have already criticized a figure within the new report that states oil production can grow from 83 million barrels per day to 105 million barrels per day by 2030.

The whistleblower added that the IEA had already dropped its 2030 estimates from 120 million barrels a day to 116 million, and then 105 million. He also said that many IEA members believe maintaining oil supplies at just 90 million or 95 million barrels per day seems impossible.

These claims seem backed by a second IEA source who has already left the watchdog agency, but similarly wished to remain anonymous. He told The Guardian that the IEA had a rule of not angering the U.S., and affirmed that the world has already entered the peak oil zone.

Whatever the case with the actual oil production figures, the IEA report seems sobering enough in its predictions. The IEA predicts that the world needs to invest $26 trillion through 2030 for new energy projects to meet growing demand, and another $10.5 trillion toward mitigating greenhouse gas emissions. To the guys and gals meeting at Copenhagen in December and hoping to tackle the issue of climate change, we say "No pressure."

But seriously, almost everyone not hiding in a cave recognizes that our cars and homes won't run on fossil fuel energy sources forever. That's why we created PopSci's realist roadmap to 2050 for energy. It's also why the U.S. Department of Energy's new mad science lab has begun spraying funding in all directions for breakthrough technologies that could boost energy efficiency and improve renewable sources.

ROLL-UP LAPTOPS

Orkin design and Sony show off roll-up laptop concepts

Laptops keep getting thinner and lighter, but some concept laptops take portable to a new level. Orkin Design's Rolltop consists of an OLED display that can start as a rolled-up mat and deploy as a multi-touch 17-inch laptop. My beastly HP laptop just shed a tear of envy.

The Orkin laptop can also transform into a tablet PC operable with a stylus, or become a standup flat screen display. A power adapter and other features fit with the carrying canister that comes with a convenient holding strap.

Sony has also gotten in on the action with concept laptops, watches and MP3 players that take advantage of flexible OLED technology. All those went on display at CEATEC 2009 in Chiba, Japan.

This should get any ordinary laptop user excited. But people wondering if a lightweight laptop can still pack in computing power might do some research into   beefing up that small PC.