Back in 2012, a scientist who was skeptical of human-caused global warming named Richard Mueller conducted an independent investigation of the temperature record to determine whether or not the claims of recent warming were reliable. He gathered a group of scientists, got some funding (including some from the Kochs) and went to work examining historical temperatures as part of the Berkeley Earth Surface Temperature (BEST) project.
So what were the findings? Mueller and company determined the record is accurate—that the warming trend is real and not unduly influenced by urban heat islands or any of the adjustments made by scientists through the years. Mueller, to his credit, accepted the results and adjusted his outlook accordingly, holding that warming is real and caused by man.
Why does this matter? Because recently the Global Warming Policy Foundation announced that it would be launching an independent investigation of the temperature record to determine whether or not the claims of recent warming are reliable. GWPF poses five questions that its climate 'experts' hope to answer.
But the answers to these five questions can be found in a recent Carbon Brief interview with Dr. Mueller, which makes sense seeing how Mueller did exactly what GWPF is now doing three years ago. The best of this BEST story is when Mueller describes what the temperature trend looks like without any adjustments. According to the deniers, we would expect the trend to be flat or to show cooling, because they accuse scientists of fudging the record to increase the warming trend. But according to BEST: "When we turn off all adjustments, we find a slightly GREATER global warming than without!" Meaning the adjustments, rather than inflating temperature records as those at GWPF suggest, actually have a cooling effect!
So why is GWPF repeating the effort of BEST scientists? Considering how GWPF is just as much a political campaign group as it is an educational charity, the answer is that they're out to do what deniers have done from the start: manufacture controversy to inject doubt into the public.
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