Sham Study Tricks Climate Skeptics

Warming blamed on bacteria; pundits trumpeted the news
By Jonas Oransky,  Newser Staff
Posted Nov 12, 2007 7:45 PM CST
Sham Study Tricks Climate Skeptics
Environmental activists abseil down the side of a smokestack after painting "Stop CO2" on the side of the chimney of the coal-fired power plant in Belchatow, Poland, Tuesday, July 3, 2007. The activists, from the Greenpeace group, called on the Polish government to encourage the development of renewable...   (Associated Press)

Turns out undersea bacteria don’t cause global warming after all. But they were on trial for 70 minutes last week after a British prof's email chain linked to a sham study. Climate skeptics and conservatives—Rush Limbaugh included—trumpeted the study until a University of Colorado prof smelled something rotten. “Call me a skeptic skeptic—I smell a hoax,” he posted.

Blogs kicked into reverse when an email update revealed the prank. A Reason magazine blog quickly apologized, and green site DeSmogBlog ran a list of those duped. Who's behind the hoax? A UK writer is claiming responsibility. “What the hoax showed is that there are many people willing to jump on anything that supports their argument, whether it’s true or not," he blogged. (More climate change stories.)

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