Penn State Clears “Award-Winning” Mann in Climategate

MannMadeGlobalWarmingUnsurprisingly, Penn State’s second investigation into its own faculty member, Michael Mann, cleared him of any scientific misconduct charges today.

Among the reasons for clearing Mann, the report notes:

  1. “This level of success in proposing research, and obtaining funding to conduct it, clearly places Mann among the most respected scientists in his field.” Yet his ability to obtain funding for Penn State is exactly why an independent investigation, conducted outside the university, is needed.
  2. “Had Dr. Mann’s conduct been outside the range of accepted practices, it would have been impossible for him to receive so many awards…” But OJ Simpson, Tiger Woods, and Al Gore also won awards – this does not excuse their bad behavior.

 

The Penn State inquiry failed to address the most important charge: the fact Mann secretly blackballed those with opposing views – suggesting to his correspondents they should confront reporters publishing views challenging theirs and join together to ban a journal that published climate change criticism.

The partiality of the University in this investigation is undeniable, which is why CF urged that an independent investigation be done.