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We start What on Earth? Climate Change Conspiracy Theory Week with a very popular one: climate scientists falsify data. Scientists have been portrayed as incompetent idealogues, who use fake science “crap” to help along global warming. Stephen McIntyre of ClimateAudit.org has said shoddy science is at the heart of the matter.
More recently U.S. Presidential candidate Rick Perry has assigned his Climategate misconceptions to the climate science community at large, declaring “a substantial number of scientists (have) manipulated data…” Utah’s House of Representatives has called for an investigation of scientists’ “well organized” effort to “manipulate” global temperature data.
Sticks and stones. Evidence that the science is legit abounds. The “Climategate” scientists have been cleared six times by as many formal, independent investigations. “What on Earth?” once received a comment accusing scientists of artificially playing with sea levels to make the case for climate change. But, as the scientists in question state clearly on their own site:
“measurements are continuously calibrated against …tide gauges…seasonal and other variations… [and] global mean sea level rate. As new data, models and corrections become available, we continuously revise these estimates (about every two months) to improve their quality.”
There is pressure for skeptics to remain skeptics, lest they be thrown under the bus. Just ask Koch brother-funded Richard Muller, who is now labeled as “befuddled“ since his own research convinced him we really are warming our planet. Blogger and climate change denier Anthony Watts had declared “I’m prepared to accept whatever result [Muller and company] produce, even if it proves my premise wrong.,” but now questions the veracity of Muller’s work.
Good for you, Mr. Watt. You see right trough the devious climate scientists’ ploy. They’ve spent decades presenting their research to peer review, gaining an overwhelming consensus, and not responding to unfounded accusations, thinking the world might take this crisis seriously. Sneaky.
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Each day this week, check out our other NEW Climate Change Conspiracy Theory Cartoons here at Science Friday and at Huffington Post.
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