Climategate before Copenhagen

By Beth Daley

I haven’t seen many stories on the U.S. wires about what is being dubbed “climategate” – the illegal hacking in of computers at University of East Anglia in England that subsequently led to public dissemination of emails and files from climate researchers there.

Climate change skeptics have seized on the emails as evidence of a conspiracy to promote manmade global warming without sufficient evidence. Scientists involved - and others - say the emails were taken out of context and there is overwhelming evidence man is contributing to climate change.

Still, the controversy reveals the enormous - and often vitriolic - divide between climate change skeptics and some climate scientists. And it began just weeks before 190 nations gather in Copenhagen to try and hammer out a worldwide treaty to lower greenhouse gas emissions.

Several readers wrote to me yesterday asking for more information the scandal and posted below are some links to it over the last ten days or so:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/11/21/AR2009112102186.html

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/nov/20/climate-sceptics-hackers-leaked-emails

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125883405294859215.html

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/nov/29/ipcc-climate-change-leaked-emails

http://dotearth.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/11/30/more-on-the-climate-files-and-climate-trends/