Climategate: Leaked Emails Scandal – what scandal?

On return from bike show at the NEC, which I will talk about in due course, I discover this morning that an inquiry looms for climate change science and there are some, even at The Times who think this will reveal a potentially epic scandal. And the Telegraph opinion says is the 'Worst Scientific Scandal of Our Generation'. This set me pondering a number of things as the rain stopped outside and the sun shone through the window which keeps me remarkably dry when I'm here indoors. Not least of these ponderrings is this. Will this latest episode of brouhaha/potential scandal knock the wheels off the global warmers wagon – or be just another brick in the wall to divide believers and sceptics?...

...Whatever you think about man-made climate change and worldwide plans to cut personal mobility and spend trillions on addressing the global warming 'problem', there is no doubt that we are reaching a critical and potentially dangerous turning point. The point is this. After some resistance an inquiry is now looming to investigate a momentous leak of emails that cast doubt on the motives of climate change scientists. These communications are between key people at the University of East Anglia's UEA Climatic Research Unit CRU – which is at the vanguard of climate change 'science'.  And these folk are the source of claims that world leaders and their publics base many passionately held beliefs on, including the assertion that man-made global warming is real and is set to create insurmountable catastrophe and doom for us all.

And in case you didn't know, this latest development follows a big leak of emails that throws new light on the validity & reliability of 'evidence' from pro global warming scientists. But that has prompted more news carrying worms to crawl out of the woodwork of various skeleton cupboards. It now transpires that a BBC bod with a blog 'decided' not to bother reporting the leak as soon as he knew about this undeniably momentous and newsworthy event. 

So, it is now clearly crucial that we have an inquiry into this 'theft' of private email correspondence between key figures whose 'scientific' research and government advisory work is paid for with public funds. But there is far bigger and potentially more dangerous issue at stake here for us all in our age of mega spun 'news' and politicised science.

The future direction of government thinking about climate change thought the developed world could be changed in the aftermath of this inquiry – or not. And, what happens next may depend on one thing above all. Is it possible or likely that this investigation will o be a truly independent examination that will reveal as much truth as there is to be found between the lines of these communications? The Economist shares my concerns and view that 'political orthodoxy must not silence scientific argument'.

At this point I would love to say that the answer to that question is the same as it is on TV talent shows, namely, you the public decided. But sadly we can't always get what you want you know, but maybe if we try hard some times we just might find that we what get what we need...