[speechlesstx]

This just keeps getting better...

The United Nations' expert panel on climate change based claims about ice disappearing from the world's mountain tops on a student's dissertation and an article in a mountaineering magazine.

The revelation will cause fresh embarrassment for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which had to issue a humiliating apology earlier this month over inaccurate statements about global warming.

The IPCC's remit is to provide an authoritative assessment of scientific evidence on climate change.

In its most recent report, it stated that observed reductions in mountain ice in the Andes, Alps and Africa was being caused by global warming, citing two papers as the source of the information.

However, it can be revealed that one of the sources quoted was a feature article published in a popular magazine for climbers which was based on anecdotal evidence from mountaineers about the changes they were witnessing on the mountainsides around them.

The other was a dissertation written by a geography student, studying for the equivalent of a master's degree, at the University of Berne in Switzerland that quoted interviews with mountain guides in the Alps.

The revelations, uncovered by The Sunday Telegraph, have raised fresh questions about the quality of the information contained in the report, which was published in 2007.

It comes after officials for the panel were forced earlier this month to retract inaccurate claims in the IPCC's report about the melting of Himalayan glaciers.

Sceptics have seized upon the mistakes to cast doubt over the validity of the IPCC and have called for the panel to be disbanded.

This week scientists from around the world leapt to the defence of the IPCC, insisting that despite the errors, which they describe as minor, the majority of the science presented in the IPCC report is sound and its conclusions are unaffected.

But some researchers have expressed exasperation at the IPCC's use of unsubstantiated claims and sources outside of the scientific literature.

Professor Richard Tol, one of the report's authors who is based at the Economic and Social Research Institute in Dublin, Ireland, said: "These are essentially a collection of anecdotes.

"Why did they do this? It is quite astounding. Although there have probably been no policy decisions made on the basis of this, it is illustrative of how sloppy Working Group Two (the panel of experts within the IPCC responsible for drawing up this section of the report) has been.

"There is no way current climbers and mountain guides can give anecdotal evidence back to the 1900s, so what they claim is complete nonsense."

I have to give kudos to the UK's Telegraph for staying on top of the story since Climategate. When will the rest of the media catch on?

[cdad]

This just keeps getting better...



I have to give kudos to the UK's Telegraph for staying on top of the story since Climategate. When will the rest of the media catch on?

You have to understand that one of the worlds leading scientists on climate change comes from around the UK and has a proven track record for his science. This one man has been going against the norm with proven facts and timetables of prediction. Hes about the only one telling the truth. He is the one that related change to sun spot activity and his work has been a shining star against all the " climate changing crap slingers". The earth has always had a natural cycle and so has the sun. Its more about money then anything else and its about time the rest of the world wakes up and sees it for what it is. A ponsey scheme of the highest order. Wait till crap and trade hits us.

[paraclete]

Wait till crap and trade hits us.

We don't won't to wait, "crap and trade" as you put it or "the tax on everything" as our own politicians term it is unhelpful, and unless the allowable emissions are small will have no impact. What is generally recognised here is that even at best these schemes target only 30% of emissions and so will fail to achieve their objective, particularly as the largest emitters are not committed to targeted reductions.

There are good reasons for getting away from the carbon fuel cycle and we should not use climate change as the excuse

[cdad]

We should do it because it's the right thing to do. And technology is catching up faster and faster. Carbon fuels are finite. The best thing to happen would be to release everything that is known and let it run free until an idea can be settled upon and proven. Sure sometimes technology needs a push but in this case it doesn't need to be held back with restrictions either. And adding junk to fuel being used isn't solving anything. Ethynol is a joke to sell more fuel then before.

[tomder55]

It occures to me that Punxsutawney Phil has better success at prediction than the AGW scientists . At least he doesn't make it up .

[smoothy]

If it gets any "warmer" here I'm going to have to buy a snow blower and a snowmobile to get around in Virginia. Due to all the snow we are getting due to all the Global "Warming".

Global tempratures in decline the last Decade does not Equal Warming... thats Cooling.

Nothing is constant... and it never has been. Things get warmer, things get cooler... its called "Cycles".

Grapes once grew in Greenland... Been a VERY long time since that happened, like since the Vikings inhabited the place.


But then... what leftist ever let the facts get in the way of their agenda?

[speechlesstx]

It's getting pretty deep for CRU's Phil Jones, for obstructing FOIA requests and mysterious Chinese weather stations.

And in the alternative energy success story of the week, Minnesota's newly installed wind turbines won't work - it's too cold.