

Climate results turn sceptic: 'let the evidence change our minds' - dools
http://www.smh.com.au/environment/climate-change/climate-results-turn-sceptic-let-the-evidence-change-our-minds-20120730-23769.html

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brc
I'm not going to comment on the contents of the story as it's really just a
formal announcement of long-leaked information, but the descripion of Muller
as some type of 'climate sceptic' is a PR stunt. He has always been a firm
believer in the catastrophic human caused global warming movement.

Some quotes going back over time:

"It is ironic if some people treat me as a traitor, since I was never a
skeptic — only a scientific skeptic. Some people called me a skeptic because
in my best-seller ‘Physics for Future Presidents’ I had drawn attention to the
numerous scientific errors in the movie ‘An Inconvenient Truth.’ But I never
felt that pointing out mistakes qualified me to be called a climate skeptic.”
- Richard Muller in an email to Huffington Post, 2011

“If Al Gore reaches more people and convinces the world that global warming is
real, even if he does it through exaggeration and distortion – which he does,
but he’s very effective at it – then let him fly any plane he wants.” –
Richard Muller, 2008

“There is a consensus that global warming is real. …it’s going to get much,
much worse.” – Richard Muller, 2008

“Let me be clear. My own reading of the literature and study of paleoclimate
suggests strongly that carbon dioxide from burning of fossil fuels will prove
to be the greatest pollutant of human history. It is likely to have severe and
detrimental effects on global climate.” – Richard Muller, 2003

It would seem that Dr Muller is more intent on creating a headline and
grabbing publicity than contributing to the body of knowledge. This would be
great PR for a startup, but I find it a questionable tactic in this field.

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scarmig
Muller is absolutely enraging in that respect. Nothing he does scientifically
is really that controversial, but he's really, really big on making a media
splash.

For climate change, his modus seems to be make contrarian sounding statements,
criticize the mainstream scientific opinion, do some studies, echo the
scientific consensus, and then claim that the scientific consensus was right
but only right because of his results.

It has been amusing to see the Koch's get played by a media huckster, though.

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Tichy
So they really believed they wouldn't find anything? And even though they are
backed by the fossile fuel industry, they were able to announce their
findings? I am waiting for some greater story to unfold...

