In preparing for a presentation on the climate change debate, I found the Wikipedia discussion of the Climate Research Unit email hacking incident to be as good of an objective discussion as any I have found on the Internet. One of the key issues is to keep in mind that the data from the CRU is only small part of a very large amount of data and there are hundreds of scientists that have reached conclusions on the cause of climate change.
Quoted in the Wikipedia Article, Alan Leshner of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and executive publisher of the journal Science stated, "AAAS takes issues of scientific integrity very seriously. It is fair and appropriate to pursue answers to any allegations of impropriety. It’s important to remember, though, that the reality of climate change is based on a century of robust and well-validated science."
In addition to the AAAS, the National Academies of Science in the United States, the Royal Society in Great Britain, and the national academies of science in almost all developed and developing countries have reached the same conclusions on climate change and its causes.
I recommend the Wikipedia reading over the many stories and opinions expressed in various news sources and certainly from politicians. An editorial in The Wall Street Journal asserts this incident shows the decline of science itself. A preposterous conclusion.
I also recommend reading the reports of the National Academy of Science, the AAAS, and the Royal Society. Let's hope science takes precedence over the politics and hyperbole about this incident and climate change science in general. The attacks on our distinguished scientific institutions and the scientific community is extremely troubling.
