nuclear: the green solution, page-34

Charles and Dave

To further pique your interest in the possible misuse of data to support the global warming argument, this is an extract from one of the articles.

Do a web search and you will turn up quite a bit on it.

It is an interesting read especially since there is quite a bit at stake in the global warming debate and it is a very current debate. We need a reasoned debate, not shock tactics and questionable processing of data to produce a result that the greenpeace and similar groups would like to see.

It could be that they are correct, but the type of tactics they employ sometimes do not seem to be ones that would help their case, except in the short term.

Credibility is a very precious commodity, once destroyed, very hard to salvage.

The issue seems to be still in a state of flux right now... it seems to be an interesting issue to keep abreast of.


Errors and Defects in Mann et. al. (1998) Proxy Data and Temperature History


quote:
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The data set of proxies of past climate used in Mann, Bradley and Hughes (1998, “MBH98” hereafter) for the estimation of temperatures from 1400 to 1980 contains collation errors, unjustifiable truncation or extrapolation of source data, obsolete data, geographical location errors, incorrect calculation of principal components and other quality control defects. We detail these errors and defects. We then apply MBH98 methodology to the construction of a Northern Hemisphere average temperature index for the 1400-1980 period, using corrected and updated source data. The major finding is that the values in the early 15th century exceed any values in the 20th century. The particular “hockey stick” shape derived in the MBH98 proxy construction – a temperature index that decreases slightly between the early 15th century and early 20th century and then increases dramatically up to 1980 -- is primarily an artefact of poor data handling, obsolete data and incorrect calculation of principal components.