Luckily for the rational world, Richard Courtney (pdf) excoriated Hansen for the letter and for Hansen’s continued crusade to end freedom as we know it. Courtney’s summary of Hansen’s conclusion may go down in annuls of the AGW debate as a masterpiece:
That “conclusion” may be correct if it were based on evidence and reasoned argument, but - as explained above - it is not. This “conclusion” follows from a presentation of misrepresentations, falsehoods, suppositions, and scaremongering assertions. It is not a “conclusion” but is a construct of fabrication.
Meanwhile, Politico reports on growing skepticism among scientists. I don’t think many minds are changing within the scientific community. Rather, the confirmed cooling trend (going on a decade) combined with the [failure of every one of the left’s AGW](Armed with statistics from the Goddard Institute for Space Studies and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Climate Data Center, D’Aleo reported in the 2009 Old Farmer’s Almanac that the U.S. annual mean temperature has fluctuated for decades and has only risen 0.21 degrees since 1930 — which he says is caused by fluctuating solar activity levels and ocean temperatures, not carbon emissions. ) models has emboldened skeptical scientists to speak up. (Especially since Hansen’s lies are becoming more easily detected and destroyed.) They’ll still lose their jobs, but now they could find new ones.
Of course, the fanatics of the cause still cling to their diminishing hopes that atmospheric temperatures will skyrocket 250 degrees in the next 72 hours.
Update: Ed Morrissey has a fascinating number:
Over 31,000 scientists have now signed onto the Global Warming Petition Project, demanding more skepticism and a return to scientific inquiry into climate change rather than political propaganda. They face an uphill battle in convincing the beneficiaries of research dollars from Washington to risk their funding by acting like scientists.
Thirty-one thousand scientists. I suppose Gore would say they’re none of them serious. And this:
The global-warming movement exists to provide cover for statists who demand central control over energy production. That’s an inconvenient truth that has begun to emerge as global temperatures fail to meet expectations of increase.
Touche.
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