Lamar Smith Claims that NOAA Climate Change Data are Science Fiction

Climate Change, Anthropocene, & Associated Issues

Date posted: 01/11/16

Lamar Smith opined on November 26, 2015 in the Washington Times that ... NOAA often fails to consider all available data in its determinations and climate change reports to the public. A recent study by NOAA, published in the journal Science, made adjustments to historical temperature records and NOAA trumpeted the findings as refuting the nearly 20 yr. pause in global warming. The study authors claimed these adjustments were supposedly based on new data and new methodology. But the study failed to include satellite data. Atmospheric satellite data, considered by many to be the most objective, has clearly showed no warming for the past two decades. This fact is well documented, but has been embarrassing for an administration determined to push through costly environmental regulations. Instead, NOAA focused its study on surface temperature monitoring that is often flawed because these sites measure thousands of independent temperature readings and utilize a hodgepodge of different methods that have changed over time. For example, measurements from land-based stations can be skewed because of their location and proximity to surrounding heat-holding asphalt in urban areas. Satellite data, on the other hand, is highly calibrated and provides complete global coverage. For decades, satellites have been used to monitor the earth and collect information. Satellites measure something extremely important, the deep atmosphere. The temperature readings collected by satellites often differ from ground monitoring stations and have consistently shown much smaller rates of warming. Yet NOAA refuses to incorporate satellite data into its monthly projections that are released to the public. Why? NOAA appears to pick and choose only data that confirms their bias. NOAA then disseminates this incomplete data to the media who make up alarming headlines but ignore the uncertainty of the conclusions. Obama is pursuing an extreme political climate change agenda, Smith says.