Questions for Dr Richard A Muller

In publishing his animation of 1800-2009 surface temperatures, and the associated data and graphs, Muller has inadvertently demonstrated that the blade of the MBH98 Hockey Stick is real and, in point of fact, the situation is worse than previosuly thought… Don’t beleive me? Well, take a look at this:

BEST data overlayed on MBH98 Hockey Stick

What he has failed to do, however, is admit that he either misunderstood or misrepresented the famous “hide the decline” Climategate email. In my email correspondence with his daughter, Elizabeth, she has informed me that Muller has a book coming out in 2012, entitled Energy for Future Presidents, which will be interesting to compare with David MacKay’s Sustainable Energy: without the hot air. Furthermore, she refers to an interview soon to appear in Nature Climate Change in which he will be quoted as saying: “I have not done a scientific study but my own impression – based on reading the literature – is that some of the warming we have seen is caused by humans. To my mind, you can’t rule out half of the warming being caused by humans, but I think to conclude that most of it is – as the IPCC says – could be an overestimate. This is my personal impression; the other members of the team might feel differently.”

One option would be to conclude that Muller thinks he can second-guess climate science and/or scientists. However, when you dig a bit further, you realise that Muller has long been on the slippery slope towards conceding that climate change is real and that we are causing it. However, whatever Muller’s credentials as a genuine sceptic may or may not be, now is not a good time for second-guessing anybody, or for debating the finer points of scientific method. All Kevin Trenberth and many others are trying to do (in saying that sceptics need to prove AGW is not real) is invoke the “precautionary principle” and to advocate pollution prevention rather than “end-of-pipe” control measures – in other words – treat the cause not the symptoms.

Oh but, yet again, I am getting ahead of myself, because many people say we have not yet knocked-down pillars 2, 3, and 4 of denial (to the satisfaction of those afflicted by it). However, to be sure, we have knocked them down; we are now just wasting precious time waiting for someone like Muller to admit it. However, for the record, although necessary for photosynthesis (etc), CO2 becomes a pollutant once you pump it into the atmosphere faster than it can be assimilated. Given that most fossil fuel is (or was) at least 330 million years old – and we are burning 3 million years worth per year – we are currently releasing it into the atmosphere 1000 times faster than it can be re-processed. By definition, this is unsustainable but, much more importantly, it is absolute foolishness to think we can carry on doing it without their being any negative consequences. On the contrary, we have known for over 100 years what the consequences would be…

So, come on, Dr Muller, do us all a favour and admit that your latest data proves that the MBH98 Hockey Stick was not a fraud. In fact, if anything, your data proves (yet again) that things are going pear-shaped faster than previously thought.

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