A climate change skeptic sent me news of the release of “stolen” email from climate scientists. The article he sent was gleeful about the emails disclosure and the resultant “gotcha” which the article’s author claimed debunked the theory that humans are heating up the planet.
I replied that I was familiar with what happens when someone gets a hold of personal email and selectively publishes portions of them to misrepresent the true nature of the communications. I turned over more than a thousand of my emails to the School District’s attorneys this Summer and they have subsequently been circulated by my critics to discredit my friends and allies. Whatever the emails demonstrate they in no way bolster the argument that the Red Plan was wise, honest, legal or prudent.
I’m a strong believer in putting all the cards out on the table for every one to see even those that don’t favor my point of view. To that end I find this short commentary on the meaning of the stolen scientific emails and what to make of them helpful. (To be clear about my opinion – I have little doubt that the green house effect is happening or that human activity is speeding it up. Neither do I doubt that this effect could have calamitous effects in the long run that far exceed the short term economic losses we would experience by trying to slow down the warming now. BTW – I don’t mind if Floridians tax themselves to shore up their beaches with sand between hurricanes while the Greenland ice cap melts just so long as I don’t have pay for it through federal taxes.)
Regarding the outrage of the global warming denialists about the suggestion of evidence tampering by the climate scientists its worth remembering that when the Bush Administration attempted (and really did) hide data that corroborated human induced climate change the global warming “religionists” raised hell too.
In the case of the Red Plan lawsuit which led to the disclosure of my emails only one side has all the Red Plan data. As long as that side keeps the data all to itself I will remain a skeptic regarding the hype that Red Plan proponents offer about the wonderful future the Red Plan will bring to Duluth’s public schools.
