Here is an example why the blog-o-sphere is so important to the truth

Russ Steele

I have been a follower of Climate Audit and Steve McIntyre’s effort to get at the truth by securing access to the primary source data used in many of the climate change peer reviewed papers for years.  His quest included  the documents supporting the crafting of IPCC reports, including NOAA’s input to the IPCC Climate Assessment Report by Susan Solomon.  He requested Susan’s supporting data under the Freedom of Information Works from NOAA, and was brushed off with a dishonest answer. According the NOAA IG. Susan Solomon, who was the NOAA representative to the IPCC working group, claimed that NOAA lawyers had given her the advice that all data used in constructing the report belonged to the IPCC, not NOAA. The Inspector General found this was not a true statement.  The NOAA lawyer claimed no such decision had been submitted and Solomon could not find any supporting evidence for her claim.

Now NOAA is trying to distort reality with a Press Release, reporting the IG report supported Susan Solomon. But, reading to the report reveals that this NOAA Press Release was a misrepresentation of the truth, in other word a lie. Now we learn the press is promoting the Press Release as the truth. It is not. 

 NOAA’s assertion that Solomon had been “given legal advice that IPCC work done by scientists were records of the IPCC, not NOAA. This was not a finding of the IG report. Solomon claimed that she’d been given such advice, but the NOAA lawyers denied giving it to her, with the IG saying that he was unable to reconcile the divergent claims.

NOAA’s assertion in the press release misrepresents the IG report, a misrepresentation that has been picked up by various news outlets, e.g. CBC.

The details and comments are at Climate Audit. Since the lame steam press is reporting the NOAA Press Release misinformation by not reading the IP Report for the facts,  it is up to the blog-o-sphere set the record straight. Here is my contribution to the truth.