Australian Meteorology Bureau Corrects Record On Former Research Head William Kininmonth's Actual Climate Change Experience
WHEN it comes to climate change science, as with most things in life, it pays to listen to actual experts with a solid background in their field.
On Monday the Wall Street Journal and, later, The Australian newspaper, ran an editorial from a group of climate science contrarians which claimed global warming had stopped and that CO2 was food for plants, rather than a potential pollutant.
In a scathing response in the WSJ, also published by The Australian, 38 genuine climate change scientists, explained the original WSJ 16 were "the climate-science equivalent of dentists practising cardiology."
"While accomplished," the response explained, "most of its authors have no expertise in climate science. The few who have are known to hold extreme views that are out of step with nearly every other climate expert."
The group also debunked the misleading notion that global warming had stopped. "Climate experts know that the long-term warming trend has not abated in the past decade,'' the group wrote. "In fact, it was the warmest decade on record. Observations show unequivocally that our planet is getting hotter."
Several journalists and bloggers, including Media Matters, have also investigated the expertise of the signatories to the original op-ed, which included members of free market think-tanks, climate science denial organisations and even a former researcher for Exxon.
One of the WSJ 16 in question, did appear on paper though to have some solid experience on his CV. William Kininmonth, a long-time sceptic of human caused climate change, was described in the WSJ editorial as the "former head of climate research at the Australian Bureau of Meteorology".
Read more: Australian Meteorology Bureau Corrects Record On Former Research Head William Kininmonth's Actual Climate Change Experience
TAGS: australian bureau of meteorology, christopher monckton, desmogblog, galileo movement, national climate centre, richard lindzen, the australian, wall street journal, William Kininmonth, WSJ
