When it comes to Global Warming, there has definitely been some warming underway, but most of it has occurred since someone hacked into the Climate Research Unit in England and found that scientists were in essence, "maniupulating data".
I expect "spin" when watching politics. Every politician knows how to spin their message to voters. I don't expect spin when trying to establish scientific facts. When it comes to Global Warming, either the temperatures are warming or they're not.
When hackers broke in to the CRI computers, they discovered scientists trying delete data that didn't support their Global Warming views. There were many e-mails going back and forth between scientists discussing how they could silence the Global Warming skeptics, hide data, and delete files. It looks like there was a concerted effort to hide the truth so GW skeptics would have no ammunition to fire back.
Copenhagen is the Woodstock of Global Warming. You'd think that with so many people concerned about the fragile state of our environment, they could have coordinated an internet conference call among the participants. But instead, the carbon footprint of delegates attending arriving by plane, private jets and limos is astounding!
In past blogs, I've mentioned scientists, such as Dr. Roy Spencer, former NASA researcher, who does not support the Global Warming theory. There are other skeptics as well, such as meteorologist Anthony Watts, who released a booklet entitled: "Is the U.S. Surface Temperature Record Reliable?"
Mr. Watts assembled a group of 650 volunteers to personally inspect and photograph 860 of the 1,221 climate monitoring stations overseen by the National Weather Service. According to Mr. Watts, they were shocked at what they found. "We found that 89 percent of the stations--nearly 9 of every 10--fail to meet the National Weather Service's own siting requirements that stations must be 30 meteres (about 100 feet) or more away from an artificial heating or radiating/reflecting heat source."
Mr. Watts continues, "We observed that changes in the technology of temperature stations over time also has caused them to report a false warming trend. We found major gaps in the data record that were filled in with data from nearby sites, a practice that propagates and compounds errors. We found that adjustments to the data by both NOAA and another government agency, NASA, cause recent temperatures to look even higher. The conclusion is inescapable: The U.S. temperature record is unreliable."
They say that a picture is worth a thousand words, just go to www.surfacestations.org to see the research and view the pictures for yourself. Bottom line, weather recording equipment shouldn't be located near parking lots or paved streets.
Quite honestly, Mr. Watts and the Surface Stations organization present very compelling evidence of warmer temperatures in the U.S., related to improperly placed equipment.
