An endangered species - by Richard... Monday, January 25, 2010

An endangered species - by Richard... Monday, January 25, 2010

A quick catch-up on the fall-out from our stories yesterday about Pachaurilining his pockets.

The Financial Post tells us that "The Sunday Times has discovered that the same bogus claim has been cited in grant applications for TERI," while The Daily Express copies out the story without attribution.

Melanie Phillips, on her Spectator Blog, picks up on the Booker version andAndrew Bolt calls for Pachauri to be investigated.

The Indian news agency DNA gives the issue a fair outing, stating that, "Pachauri cooked up facts to corner grants." Indian TV on Times now also repeats the charge and we're even getting minor US sites reporting the details.

One of the more interesting reports has a warmist in the hot seat. This is Australian scientist, Professor Andy Pitman, who was a lead author on the IPCC's 2001 and 2007 reports. His interrogator is Elenor Hall, and we see this exchange:

ELEANOR HALL: Well, the head of the IPCC Rajendra Pachauri, is now being seen to benefit from that false Himalayan glacier claim with a funding grant to his institute. That just plays right into the argument of the sceptics, doesn't it, that climate scientists are making all of this up in order to get funding for their research?

ANDY PITMAN: I would have to admit that it looks extremely bad. I don't know what the nature of the full proposal was in Pachauri's application. It would certainly be focused on a whole range of areas of climate change and climate science or impacts.

The summary that you refer to would reflect the broad nature of the proposal but probably not the detail but absolutely it looks bad.

This, incidentally, is under the heading: "Climate scientist says sceptics are winning," something which the National Review Online might endorse. Andrew Stuttaford thinks the controversy is only set to deepen, and he is not wrong. In the Indian Business Standard, however, Pachauri complains: "The skeptics want to continue with their lifestyle and ruin the environment. My conscience does not allow it." Interestingly, he says nothing of his own lifestyle.

Even the Sidney Morning Herald is on the case, though, even if you get nothing of the controversy from our own Financial Times. Despite that, American Thinker wonders how much longer Pachauri can survive. And so do we ... now that the WWF seems to think he is a endangered species (see pic).

PACHAURI THREAD

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Just one page - by Richard...

The discredited claim that Himalayan glaciers could disappear by 2035 because of global warming was just "one page in a 938-page report", reports The Times, citing Professor Jean-Pascal van Ypersele, vice-chairman of the Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).

And the other pages ... like this one, this one and the work by Roger Pielke Jr on the African chapter?

PACHAURI THREAD

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Breaking news - by Richard...

Just to confirm that the BBC, with its £700 million news budget, is always on the ball, its comes to us with the very latest in climate change news. Thus are we given the vital piece of information that, "Six school students have been unveiled as climate change 'champions' to raise awareness in Wales over the next year."

Through the good offices of the BBC, Welsh environment minister Jane Davidson tells us the standard of this year's entries was very high, and the winners outstanding. "Young people play a vital role in sharing the climate change message with their friends, relatives and local communities ... They inspire people to do their bit to reduce their carbon footprint and I look forward to working with them over the year ahead," she says. 

How we would manage without our state broadcaster to keep us so well informed, I cannot even begin to imagine.

CLIMATE CHANGE – NEW THREAD

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BOGOF - by Richard...

Not to be outdone, the IPCC has produced a report on Climate Change and Water in its "technical paper" series. And in that one report, not only do we get the multi-purpose "WWF 2005" reference cited, for added value we also get another citation of "Rowell and Moore, 2000".

I think this is what they call in the supermarkets, BOGOF – buy one, get one free. How many "mistakes" is that, Dr Pachauri?

MEANWHILE, the indomitable James Delingpole gives "Amazongate" an outing.

PACHAURI THREAD