Climategate Deja vu

For those following the climate change 'debate', you could be forgiven for feeling a sense of deja vu today. Reminiscent of the 2009 'climategate' scandal, 5000 + emails and documents from the University of East Anglia have been leaked just weeks out from the UN climate negotiations in Durban. It is not believed to be a seperate incident, rather just a series of emails left over from the original hacking in 2009.

In a statement from the University of East Anglia it noted that all of the “new” emails date back to the original 2009 hacking incident:

“…these emails have the appearance of having been held back after the theft of data and emails in 2009 to be released at a time designed to cause maximum disruption to the imminent international climate talks.”
This appears to be a carefully-timed attempt to reignite controversy over the science behind climate change when that science has been vindicated by three separate independent inquiries and number of studies – including, most recently, the Berkeley Earth Surface Temperature group.”

Climate skeptics will be sure to cherry pick statements from these emails and take them out of context as a means to try and discredit the science, even though since the 2009 scandal three official inquiries in the UK and two in the US could not find fault with the science. It seems some people just love a good conspiracy theory over good old fashioned evidence based science.

I am sure there will be more to come on this story.

Update: Phil Jones at UEA has responded by providing the context for the cherry-picked phrases taken from the hacked emails. His response may be found here.

Blogging for conservation

Welcome to Blogging For Conservation

Hi & Welcome,

Blogging for conservation is a new blog, established with the aim to inform and create awarness for conservation issues both locally and across the globe. I believe knowledge is power, and the more we are informed, the more we can achieve. It is with that thought of mind that I have created this blog.

Being a passionate advocate for our environment and the pressures they face, I constantly hear phrases like 'I had no idea that was happening' or 'why don't people know about this?'. The fact that you are reading this blog tells me you are like minded and may have come across responses like these yourself. Therefore, Blogging for conservation is about sharing knowledge and new ideas in order to spark debate and thought on current environmental issues. It is my hope that this blog will not be a one way communication device by myself, but that this site will become a platform for many to share ideas, news and information.

Blogging for conservation is also on twitter and facebook so feel free to join the conversations at these platforms also. Over the coming weeks you will come to find regular news to discuss. A discussion board will also be added within the next few weeks.

So, a little about myself. My name is Luke,  currently completing my final year of an Environmental Science degree majoring in Fisheries Biology. Whilst I have a passion for all environmental issues, I have a particular intrest in those facing our oceans and the creatures within them.

Anyhow enough out of me for now. register with the site, like us on facebook, follow us on twitter and join in on the conversation.

Regards,

Luke
Blogging for conservation