December 18, 2006
Lord Monckton stands up for science
Britain's Lord Monckton has sent Senators Snowe and Rockefeller a blistering scolding for their ill-considered letter to Exxon-Mobil which supports the work of some of the climate skeptics:
"Sceptics and those who have the courage to support them are actually helpful in getting the science right. They do not, as you improperly suggest, 'obfuscate' the issue: they assist in clarifying it by challenging weaknesses in the 'consensus' argument and they compel necessary corrections ... "
Lord Monckton's Churchillian reproof continues, "You acknowledge the effectiveness of the climate sceptics. In so doing, you pay a compliment to the courage of those free-thinking scientists who continue to research climate change independently despite the likelihood of refusal of publication in journals that have taken preconceived positions; the hate mail and vilification from ignorant environmentalists; and the threat of loss of tenure in institutions of learning which no longer make any pretence to uphold or cherish academic freedom."
Of Britain's Royal Society, a State-funded scientific body which, like the Senators, has publicly leaned on ExxonMobil, Lord Monckton said, "The Society's long-standing funding by taxpayers does not ensure any greater purity of motive or rigour of thought than industrial funding of scientists who dare to question whether 'climate change' will do any harm."
It is a common failing of those who cannot answer the questions raised by those who question any conventional wisdom to discredit the argument by noting the source,and crediting only that work produced by government or non-profit organizations with whom they agree, isn't it?