Concerning the issue of Man-made Climate Change, which is at the center of the proposed Cap and Trade legislation, there have been significant developments since I wrote Parts 1 & 2.

There is apparently a developing news story about hacked e-mails from University of East Anglia’s Climatic Research Unit (referred to as CRU). Located in Great Britain, CRU is the principal repository of the world’s first comprehensive history of surface temperature. In the early 1980’s the U.S. Department of Energy funded the history, known as the “Jones and Wigley” record (for its authors). It was the primary reference standard for the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climatic Change (IPCC).

The first reliable article I saw concerning this development was in the National Review Online written by Patrick J. Michaels of the Cato Institute, dated September 23, 2009, and titled “The Dog Ate Global Warming.” As reported, it seems, the gloom and doom warming forecasts have disappeared--lost or purged from a discarded computer. The same data, which was duplicated at the University of Colorado, has also been lost and all they have is what they describe as the “value-added” data. You can see where this is headed--the “dog ate my homework” analogy.

Actually, the National Review story pointed out problems with the original data’s accuracy, some of which related to data collection sites that had been in the same location long enough to have cities built up around them and therefore producing inaccurate data (on the warmer side). This was confirmed when independent comparisons were noticed showing different readings.

A few days ago an article by David Stringer of the Associated Press appeared in our own Chattanooga Times Free Press titled “Climate E-Mails Leaked on Internet,” and seemed to confirm that the hacked e-mail story was indeed true. One of the “victims” of the hacked e-mails says he feels “violated” and “appalled” at the “selective use of (his) the e-mails.” I wonder if he also feels he has been found out and that much of the data has actually been altered. For what reason I do not know.

I have written before that I have always been a skeptic of the man-made climate change claims. I take no pleasure in questioning those I consider my colleagues. Could this matter develop into the biggest scientific scandal of all time? Is it intentional? Who is involved? Why? If true, this fraud on the American people is bigger than a million Bernie Madoffs and very dangerous to our security. I cannot help but think about the upcoming meeting in Copenhagen where the U.S. is supposed to be held accountable and made to pay for our alleged misuse of the Earth’s resources.

I am calling for Congressional investigations before we move any further. Hopefully the usual suspects with conflicts of interest will not appear as witnesses.

With the diversion of carbon-phobia, there are environmental concerns that are not being adequately addressed. The direction we should go seems clear to me. I am very anxious to get to the business of describing what proper energy legislation for the United States would look like that would address the environmental issues, energy security, adequate and reliable supply, and costs. That will have to wait until “Cap and Trade--Part 4.”

***********

Tommy Crangle is a candidate for the U.S. Congress in 2010. He is a local small businessman, a licensed Professional Engineer, a former electric utility executive and has been to Iraq 6 times since 2004. In 2004 he was the U.S. Senior Advisor to the Iraq Government for Electricity. As such he was the primary contact with the Iraqi electric utility in developing the strategy for the expenditure of $5.4 Billion toward the rebuilding of the decimated Iraqi power grid.