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Is global warming just a myth?

Daffodils

Following disclosures about leaked emails, people no longer know who or what to believe on the subject, since few of those making statements on the subject are completely impartial and are without any vested interest in the outcome. In an attempt to settle the argument, the front page of today's Times reports,

"The Met Office plans to re-examine 160 years of temperature data after admitting that public confidence in the science on man-made global warming has been shattered by leaked e-mails.

"The new analysis of the data will take three years, meaning that the Met Office will not be able to state with absolute confidence the extent of the warming trend until the end of 2012.

The Met Office database is one of three main sources of temperature data analysis on which the UN’s main climate change science body relies for its assessment that global warming is a serious danger to the world. This assessment is the basis for next week’s climate change talks in Copenhagen aimed at cutting CO2 emissions." Full article here

There are surely easier ways of getting hold of the information that this? Botanical gardens the world over have been recording the dates of flowering of various species for 250 years and more.

Plants that flower early in the spring, such as daffodils and crocus, are sensitive to the weather. The data collected in this way is completely objective and impartial and provides a reliable guide to long-term trends. It is surely sufficient to resolve the question one way or another.

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