M&M and science (Score 2, Insightful)

Global warming believers and deniers alike should welcome the paper from McIntyre and McKitrick, and the argument it has started. This is normal science at work: observation, accretion of data, and the formulation and challenging of theories. Here at Worldwatch Institute we're hoping people will remember that the data "M&M" refer to are but one element of a much larger case, built up over many years, supporting the conclusions that the Earth is warming and that human economic activity (especially burning fossil fuels) has a lot to do with it. Even without the threat of climate change, there are so many other reasons for a rapid conversion away from fossil fuels--local pollution, health effects, impending shortages, security--that it would still make great sense. (Incidentally, the claim that the disputed Mann data were "a pillar of the Kyoto accord" is not true; they were published the year after the Kyoto Protocol was drafted.) A lot more information on these topics is available via our website (www. worldwatch.org); click on Energy.