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...

Fuming behind a bus...

I was stuck on my scooter this morning behind a chuffing great Bendy-bus at a famous crossroads. As it happens, I use this landmark junction every week and, as I know to my cost in various ways – it has just been 'improved' at a cost of five million quid. Hoorah! Said a few, as Bold Mayor Boris reopened Oxford Circus – which the re-designers say is a "triumph of British engineering".

However, as it happened this morning, although my enforced stop behind the bus was a relatively brief episode, it was quite long enough to prompt a modicum of rage. Impatience? Perhaps. Bad weather in the dark depths of winter? No. In fact all of us in the jams, on all sides of the crossroads were being washed with crisp cool light and the sharp shadows that can breath sparks of life into London at this time of year. From were I was stuck though, I didn’t see anyone drawing comfort from that. Anyway, my rage was prompted not by what was happening in the middle of the 'momentously improved' crossroads – which was very little – as there were very few pedestrians. It was my recollection that none of us were as jammed in before the 'improvement' – which halved the road width into and out of the crossroads – from two lanes down to one. So, it's all very well for fans of this sort of 'improvement' to crow about it 'doubling the capacity for pedestrians' but nothing is for nothing. And the bottom line cost for all of us at those crossroads – including the pedestrians breathing in more fumes from static traffic and all who try to cut congestion problems by going by bike – is that the capacity for coping with traffic flow, including all the buses, has been halved. You couldn't chuffing-well make it up!

...They say that every picture tells a story and that the camera never lies. Well as a former pro photographer, I can tell you straight that it depends what you choose to take a picture of – and where you point the camera...

Motorbikes and Scooters offer London Olympics the most plausible hope for efficient transport...

So. BMW have got the gig to provide road transport options for knobs and competitors needing to whizz across London during the 2012 Olympics. But this is seen by some as 'serious disappointment'. Not least of whom are Nissan and the Greenies who are well pissed-off about this – and to some extent for very good reasons in my view.

But of course the initial mainstream media fuss is about BMW cars not their motorbikes, or indeed any other brand of bike or scooter. But I suspect that will change – or one of the abiding memories for many in the summer of 2012, will be the grim business of trying to get there and back across London to where they live or stay.

You see it's all very well for London Mayor Boris & his 'experts' to try and "stamp out car use" and go by shiny new blue trains, but most people ain't going to be anywhere near where the trains trundle to and from – and anyway this will only work as long as we don't get the wrong leaves on the line etc.. What is even more scary though is that the suits in charge of the logistics for the games want "100% of spectators to go by public transport cycle or foot"! This means that every day throughout the 2012 London Olympics, tens of thousands more people than usual will be trying to squeeze into buses and trains that are already full to bursting when most want to travel.

There are of course many ways to move people and stuff around London and out way beyond the East-End where most of the games will be. And, I have used every one – from a bicycle and shank's' pony to the latest thing in bus and rail.

But the most reliable and efficient mode – by about a million times, is going by motorbike or scooter. And this is a major reason why that's what I do more often than not – despite the crap traffic & red lights & bozos meandering into my path 'cos they're on the phone or pissed or just have their head in cloud cuckoo-land.

So my guess is that once London gets rammed with zillions of competitors, spectators and top bananas, a significant number of them are going to go by a PTW of some sort – or wish to F**K they had!

EU Directives on motorcycling and a new UK ad about tax, what ever next? A time to laugh or spit a few rivets...

As you may know, the prospects for people to continue or start riding a bike or scooter in the UK – as a jolly good and green way to tackle such scourges as congestion – have come in for a bit of a battering lately. And if you didn't and/or would like to know more, there is a fulsome feature outlining what is going on in the latest issue of Motorcycle Sport & Leisure magazine. The article looks best in hard copy. But if you're too tight or skint to buy one – you can read a web version here.

Anyway, having had quite a bit to do with trying to encourage a re-think about plans for a new motorbike parking tax in the centre of London and in the midst of a financial crisis, I have met some interesting new sources of support for bikers' concerns.

Not least of these is a bunch of bright eyed girls and boys at an outfit called the Tax Payers Alliance (TPA). And, by the cringe, the TPA have hatched a mischievous plan to release a big screen advert suggesting that a result of us being in the EU is that it costs us many billions of pounds. Now some say this lot are just a bunch of Tory Poodles making mischief, while other say they that they are an independent pack of Rottweilers tearing down the shrouds around chronic waste through barmy tax measures. All I can say is that when I first talked to them about a plan for pay-by-mobile-phone M/C parking charges, across the whole of central London in the City of Westminster, they instantly recognised that it was really nothing more than a new tax scheme – aimed just at congestion busting bikers and scooter riders.

So without further ado I suggest you take a look for yourself and draw your own conclusions. Go here for a computer screen preview. Lastly for now, I will admit that watching the ad prompted a chortle. But that has prompted yet another puzzle for me to ponder. I am turning into one of those Euro sceptisists that a are highly disparaged in many a politically correct circle? And, who knows or cares? Well one thing's for sure as ever, stuff happens as they say.

The sun has got its hat on in London...

The sun has got its hat on again in my beloved London Town. This is a yet another welcome end to a few days of torrential rain and wind – in what I suspect will be an ongoing series of sun & rain episodes that will continue long after I am around to ride through them.

Anyway, I am also delighted by two bits of news from Stephen Fry.  First, he has passed a landmark in the strange man & woman-made world of the world wide web. To be clear, this is landmark is actually only 'in' one of the techno networks to have evolved in the electronic ether. And, this virtual but effective space for chat is just one of the generally positive outcomes from the fine addiction that many humans have to try new ways to communicate and share experiences with each other.

He now has over a million followers on Twitter. Having only joined in with this medium for communication last week I am still very much at novice stage. Nevertheless, I have already found some new common ground between me and one or two of the people I engage with in the real world. Now though, as stephenfry 'follower' number 999,123, I am pleased to have made my own tiny contribution to his achievement –one millionth to be reasonably precise.

The second bit of good news relates to my recent suggestion that trousers are far more important than we may currently think. If you have the inclination and strength of mind to listen to nearly all of Stephen's 3 minute Tweetz Back from the Future you will see and hear what I mean –  albeit in an appropriately virtual kind of way of course. So I hope this all brings a bit of light into the darkness for all who are burdened by ongoing fears and concerns about the weather.

Sadly, I think that this group of particular burden-carriers includes my fellow Groucho Club member Stephen, who is not only far more illustrious than me but he also wrote the club rules. I also imagine that the likelihood of him reading any of this potential source of cheer is rather less than a million to one. But Hey Ho! It is a sunshiny day where I am and I hope it is, or will, be where you are too.

Climate change trousers...

A recent ride in the rain prompted thoughts of trousers and our prime minister's warning that we only have days to 'save the world' from climate change, and then a bit more about trousers...

I have been amazed by news that the classic British short film The Wrong Trousers is now sixteen years old. It is known for many things including the fact that it features a motorcycling inventor named Wallace – and his dog Grommet, who steadfastly rides in the sidecar by his side. This rings a distant bell for me as my first experiences of motorcycling were as a small kid in a big sidecar. It was, to the possible horror of classic bike fans, attached to an otherwise beautiful Ariel Square Four – as in a black version of this one. And, although I can't actually remember this, I never got wet when it rained because the appended 'chair' was one of those fully enclosed jobs that looked like an ovoid shed.

Anyway, as you might know already, the Wrong Trousers is actually not so focused on sidecar thrills and spills as it is on the potential benefits of pioneering new types of trousers – and the importance of choosing the right ones to wear for different situations. However, it has to be said that a leap of faith is required for full enjoyment of this racy classic as you need a capacity to believe in images of challenging events and trousers that seem grippingly real, but are actually made of plasterciene. And, as all informed members of the motorcycling community will know, the type of trousers we choose for riding is important – and can even become a highly contentious issue and subject for heated debate. Fear not though. I am not trying to re-ignite that focus for brouhaha. But I have had second thoughts about the ever expanding range of trousers we have to choose from, for facing various challenges in a constantly changing world.

This all started the other day when I needed to take my youngest daughter to an open day at an Art School she wanted to see. Going by bus, train, tram, bicycle or shanks's pony were all out because the trip would have taken us too many hours to do. And, although I do have access to a rather old car, driving it is bad for my blood pressure and the air in it's wake. So, I do most trips by my trusty Rocket lll or equally reliable Fuoco scooter, and in most of the weathers that keep Britain a green and generally pleasant land. Before taking to the road though, I usually dip into two sources of ideas about what sort of weather to expect. I look at the sky to make my own guess, and read the latest predictions from our state-of-the-art meteorologists – usually at the BBC. The forecast for the next few hours was for light showers as we set off. Guess what happened next?

Yep, you got it in one. It chucked it down. Throughout the trip we were enveloped in a relentless deluge. Ah, but was we bovvered though? Nah. But, this was not because either of us are rufty-tufty biker sorts. As a matter of fact, I am deeply committed to avoiding as much weather-made discomfort as I can. And, I am totally averse to immersing my nether regions in sogginess and the chilling feeling that sets in if rain gets through the final frontier of underpantage. But I also refuse to accept that it is necessary to get our vitals cold and wet, just because it is raining. Hello? We live in the 21st century and the dry bottom line is that effective waterproof and warm clothing is readily available.

Then I remembered that some folk, including our PM, say that we will have much more 'extreme' weather to cope with in the future because we humans are doing things to change the climate. And they say this includes riding motorbikes so we should stop. However, I find these 'problems' and 'solutions' a bit puzzling.

First, we live on a planet with a surface that is constantly changing – with huge plates of land-mass splitting apart and bashing into each other. Nevermind more floods and heatwaves or rising sea levels, this makes new continents and changes the shape of oceans. And, although I may have missed one, I cannot think of a single era of time when the earth's climate has not been in a state of change. Lastly, I struggle to understand how anyone can be sure about the weather or climate in 50 years time – when our experts often fail to accurately predict what will happen in the next few days or even hours.

So, maybe there is a better way to tackle the effects of climate change than stopping riding or paying loads more Green taxes – as our leaders and their 'experts' say we should. IMHO, we motorcyclists and one or two other groups of inspired souls have already found brilliant ways to cope with dramatic changes in climate. We choose the right trousers and carry on...