date: Wed, 14 Jan 2004 10:35:15 -0000 from: "Curran, James" subject: RE: "Bad Scientists" to: 'Mike Hulme' Well, good luck in your discussions ! I think it is important to counter these ill-informed and prejudiced commentators but I agree that it is wearing, time-consuming and distracting. Probably only the high profile and potentially most damaging should be tackled. Maybe DEFRA would consider a bit of additional funding specifically to undertake the task since these activities may gradually undermine their entire approach and strategy? James Professor James Curran Environmental Futures Scottish Environment Protection Agency Corporate Office Erskine Court, Castle Business Park STIRLING FK9 4TR Scotland Tel 01786 457700 Fax 01786 446885 The information contained in this email is confidential and is intended solely for the use of the named addressee. Access, copying or re-use of the information in it by any other is not authorised. If you are not the intended recipient please notify us immediately by return email to postmaster@sepa.org.uk -----Original Message----- From: Mike Hulme [mailto:m.hulme@uea.ac.uk] Sent: 14 January 2004 10:21 To: Curran, James Cc: a.minns@uea.ac.uk Subject: Re: "Bad Scientists" James, Thanks for this. Unfortunately Wogan isn't the only one! Melanie Phillips in the Daily Mail (it would be!) wrote an even more vitriolic attack on climate science, and Sir David King in particular, just this week. And then just last night on Radio4, the Climate Wars programme drew attention to a controversy that has blown up over the warmth of the last millennium with powerful USA vested interests. This is one where we have taken a stand and several senior climate scientists, myself included, have resigned from the disputed journal. We will certainly consider your suggestion; how much energy we - Tyndall - puts into these types of responses is a tricky Q for us; one person could almost be employed full-time. But it is also an issue I intend to raise at the new climate science-policy forum DEFRA are convening later in January with Hadley, Tyndall, UKCIP, etc. Best wishes for the New Year, Mike At 09:30 14/01/2004 +0000, you wrote: I'm sure you don't listen to it and it must be a pure accident that I quite often hear it on the way to work - but do you ever come across the Terry Wogan programme on Radio 2 in the mornings ? I believe it has the biggest radio audience in the UK - several million perhaps. Terry Wogan doesn't have a particularly good environmental record in his personal life - something about planting trees in Caithness as a tax avoidance measure some years ago ? Anyway, he has a real down on climate change, especially just now, and makes repeated disparaging remarks. Yesterday (13/1/04) he actually made some comment about it being promoted by "bad scientists". Rather than just complaining to the BBC, I wondered if you might consider inviting him to the Tyndall Centre to try and persuade him how well researched and serious the issue is and hopefully getting him to talk some sense on his show. Best wishes, James Professor James Curran Environmental Futures Scottish Environment Protection Agency Corporate Office Erskine Court, Castle Business Park STIRLING FK9 4TR Scotland Tel 01786 457700 Fax 01786 446885 The information contained in this email is confidential and is intended solely for the use of the named addressee. Access, copying or re-use of the information in it by any other is not authorised. If you are not the intended recipient please notify us immediately by return email to postmaster@sepa.org.uk