Bishop Hill The idea of Oxburgh
May 19, 2010 Climate: Oxburgh One of the most troubling aspects of the scientific inquiry into the Climatic Research Unit was the appointment of Lord Oxburgh as chairman. Oxburgh's many links to the renewables industry and to green campaigning organisations (disclosed or otherwise) are now common knowledge among followers of the climate debate.
How Oxburgh came to be chairman of the panel is an interesting question that has been bothering me since his appointment was announced. It was clear from newspaper reports that Oxburgh recognised that he had a conflict of interest, but he was apparently prevailed upon to take up the position regardless. As Ben Webster reported at the time, there was no doubt in Oxburgh's mind that his independence would be questioned.
Lord Oxburgh says he told the university, when it approached him, that people might question his independence.
“I said undoubtedly people will point at this and their answer was, after they consulted, that I was the best person to do it.”
Having been looking into this question for a few weeks, I am now able to reveal who it was that suggested Oxburgh as panel chairman. The answer comes in the response to an FoI request I made to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills. It reveals that Oxburgh's name was put forward by John Beddington, the government's chief scientist.
The appointment process and selection conducted by UEA was informed by advice from the Royal Society, to ensure appropriate rigour, expertise and objectivity. As part of proper practice, in putting together a high quality panel the UEA leadership also took soundings on potential members, including candidates for the role of chair, from senior figures in the scientific community.
As the Government's Chief Scientific Adviser, Professor Beddington was one of those consulted. Professor Beddington offered two names of possible candidates to lead the Review, one of which was Lord Oxburgh.
I note in passing that Oxburgh and Beddington used to be colleagues at Imperial College, London, although I don't think this this signifies anything more than some "old school tie" networking. It does all become rather amusing when one considers the other name proposed by Professor Beddington:
He also proposed the inclusion of Prof David Hands [sic], President of the Royal Statistical Society, as someone well qualified to contribute
And where does Professor Hand work? Yup, Imperial.
But this is by the by. Here's something more interesting. It looks as if Professor Beddington may also have been responsible for overcoming Oxburgh's concerns at his conflict of interest - there is at least a hint that this may have been the case later on in the response:
In addition, at UEA's subsequent request, Prof Beddington provided his good offices to encourage these candidates to give positive consideration to an approach by UEA.
(Minor update:12/6/10 to remove a spurious "Sir" from JB. He wasn't knighted at the time.)
Bishop Hill
Steve M has more.
Reader Comments (58)
The warmest April on record according to the NOAA.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703315404575250733414681958.html
Can we believe this?
Martyn
If there were a pub somewhere near both of us, we could get together and I could tell you tales about Nolan Bushnell, The Lion and Compass restaurant, and Ray Kassar.
I hope you traded your back-pack transistor radio in for a iPhone or some such.
My favorite story is the time Bill Clinton came visiting SGI while still president and how we all lined the quarter mile long drive into the campus and waved money at him as he drove out. Al was not with him. Something about "too many eggs in one basket".
Ah, Silly Con Valley, the Land of Dreams, Make Believe, and Incredible Technology.
O'Geary
The warmest April on record according to the NOAA.
Today is May 22 and my heater went on. This has been the coldest spring in California for 40 years, and the first spring in the Sacramento CA area where there has not been ONE DAY yet of 90 degree weather (also a 40 year record). As one wag on the tele put it, this has been the longest March on record.
As previously reported, the SSI or Snow Shoveling Index for the Sierra Foothills is 5 -- which is to say I shoveled my driveway five times this past winter. The normal is one or less.
So to answer you question with a question, "What have they been smoking?"
It seems from a leaked Spanish Government report that Gabriel Calzada was right about the damage that renewables subsidies are doing to the Spanish economy.
I've read the article in a French translation. Is there anyone out there fluent in Spanish who can who can check the original? I can guess what 'una ruina' means.
http://www.skyfall.fr/uploads/economia_verde_ruina.pdf
Don Pablo:
**So to answer you question with a question, "What have they been smoking?"**
Too much CO2 possibly???
Thanks for the suggestion Don P I am afraid I lost my interest in arcade games not long after I had mastered space invaders. Oh yes, not forgetting a short phase of networked sessions of Duke Nukem 3D in the lunch hour about the time of your Silly Valley era but I’ll open a bottle of something later today and drink your half for you.
As for the radio, I have no idea what happened to the beast, it’s probably a collectable now. But I did succumb to a cheap touch screen phone a few months back because to read the characters on the keypad on my previous phone I needed to hold the phone further and further away from my eyes eventually my arms were not long enough, anyway the sound quality is junk I think I would rather have the beast.
Re.: Dreadnought: "I've read the article in a French translation. Is there anyone out there fluent in Spanish who can who can check the original? I can guess what 'una ruina' means."
Try the following:
http://pajamasmedia.com/blog/leaked-spanish-report-obamas-model-green-economy-a-disaster-pjm-exclusive/
Pops
Many thaanks.
The insurance story is more complicated than some of your posters here might imagine, and more driven by cock-up than by conspiracy. There is a three-way tension between management, the underwriters assuming the risk, and the climate "experts" they employ as part of their PR departments. The climate guys are fully paid-up members of the warmist tendency, and in some cases have links to the UEA CRU team, having been hired for their apparent expertise in the area. Management needs a bogeyman to blame for its inability to model and manage the risks assumed by the underwriters with any degree of accuracy. How much easier to say that catastrophic climate change is already happening than to admit that they have no control over the fundamental risks their businesses are running?
By the way, banks get bailouts, not insurers, the exception being AIG which had to be bailed out not because of its regular insurance activities but because it was fooling around in the financial markets.