Update (Steve): I’ve read the Wegman Report and it’s obviously very gratifying. I won’t be able to provide a review for about a week as we’ve got a family reunion this week-end with two of my sisters and their families arriving from Colorado and B.C. , plus I’ve got to do some preparation for next […]
Update (Steve): I’ve read the Wegman Report and it’s obviously very gratifying. I won’t be able to provide a review for about a week as we’ve got a family reunion this week-end with two of my sisters and their families arriving from Colorado and B.C. , plus I’ve got to do some preparation for next […]
John A: In today’s Wall Street Journal comes a mention of a report by three independent statisticians on the Hockey Stick It is routine these days to read in newspapers or hear — almost anywhere the subject of climate change comes up — that the 1990s were the "warmest decade in a millennium" and that […]
Yes, Minister was a wonderfully funny British comedy of a generation ago, (some info here and here or google yes minister humphrey) which featured Sir Humphrey Appleby as a senior civil servant (deputy minister) "managing" the Minister, his nominal boss, but who was always outwitted by Sir Humphrey. Each episode would start off with the […]
Here’s the appearance schedule. There are 10 presentations. Hughes and Mann each get a separate speaking slot while Ross and I are combined into one. It’s a pretty blue-chip set of speakers. We get the last speaking spot on Thursday at the end of a long day, just before cocktails. Hughes and Mann get to […]
The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) has presumably been criticized in the past for the composition of panels (from the evidence of the mere existence of the 1997 law on committee balance and composition). This law and resulting policies provide for a comment period on proposed committees. Ross and I have exercised our rights under […]
The National Research Council of the National Academies has empanelled a blue-chip committee to study "Surface Temperature Reconstructions for the Past 1,000-2,000 Years". The chairman will be Gerald North. The request came from the House Science Committee – I presume that they are trying to assert possession over this piece of turf. 8-10 speakers are […]
As I was writing up my note on Ammann at AGU, I re-read Mann’s reply to Barton, which mentions "ammann" no fewer than 11 times, usually as an "independent" scientist confirming his results. I’ve collected the mentions here, which make for some merry reading. Then I’ll discuss exactly how "independent" Caspar Michael Ammann (should we […]
One more bit of review before we get to Ammann’s answer. As an excuse for not answering the request of the House Energy and Commerce Committee about the R2 statistic, Mann told them that his "colleagues and [himself] did not rely on this statistic" in the following terms: The Committee inquires about the calculation of […]
We get considerable criticism from paleoclimate scientists that complying with requests for data and methods sufficient to permit replication is much too onerous and distracts them from "real work". However, the problem is not our request, but that any request should be necessary in the first place. In my opinion, a replication package should have […]
Climate Audit 
WSJ: House Energy report on the "mutual admiration society"
John A: In today’s Wall Street Journal comes a mention of a report by three independent statisticians on the Hockey Stick It is routine these days to read in newspapers or hear — almost anywhere the subject of climate change comes up — that the 1990s were the "warmest decade in a millennium" and that […]