date: Fri, 16 May 2003 16:11:38 -0400
from: "Michael E. Mann" <mann@virginia.edu>
subject: Fwd: Re: Fwd: Re: Harvard?
to: m.hulme@uea.ac.uk

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     Date: Thu, 15 May 2003 17:37:36 -0400
     To: "Michael E. Mann" <mann@virginia.edu>
     From: Paul Epstein <paul_epstein@hms.harvard.edu>
     Subject: Re: Fwd: Re: Harvard?
     Cc: eric_chivian@hms.harvard.edu, trenbert@ncar.ucar.edu,
        jmccarth@oeb.harvard.edu
     Dear Michael Mann,
     It is indeed a great pleasure to receive your message (showing your famous graph for the
     last millennium so often in talks). My feelings -- and those of Eric Chivian, our
     center's director -- are mutual. It is appalling what Baliunus et al. are doing, using
     the past 50 year window for example, to tell their distorted story.  And of course the
     story is used by those who's interests have become self evident.
     Have you spoken with Mike McElroy and Jim McCarthy? I know that Dan S is steaming mad
     and I do suggest a call to Mike to encourage a response from the Harvard University
     Committee on the Environment. I have discussed this with both Mike and Jim, but a note
     from you might help move things along.
     I look forward to hearing back and would certainly be open to developing a response
     based on climatology and the accumulating biological and health responses to climate
     change.
     With best regards, Paul
     mbm@io.harvard.edu
     617-495-4359
     jmccarth@oeb.harvard.edu
     617-495-2330
     At 10:49 AM 5/15/2003 -0400, Michael E. Mann wrote:

     Dear Paul,
     Kevin reminded me that you would be a good person to contact. I don't know if you have
     followed this story. Baliunas and company have published  these two terrible paper which
     purport, without any credibility whatsoever, to undermine IPCC conclusions. The papers
     were published in "Energy and Environment" (an industry shill) and "Climate Research"
     (with help from some dubious individuals on the editorial boards--there is an
     investigation now into the practices of the editor in question, Chris DeFrietas of New
     Zealand, who rights anti-IPCC and anti-Kyoto op ed pieces in New Zealand). They are
     making some headway within the beltway, though the mainstream media and scientific
     community recognize the stuff for what it is [I'll resist using the appropriate words
     here, because my message might then not make it through the email filters].
     Any insights you might have into the goings on within the PR office at Harvard would be
     of interest. It is disappointing to see Harvard's press office allow itself to be used
     as a pawn  in this transparently political, pseudo-scientific, and industry-backed
     stunt...
     thanks in advance for any help or insight you can provide,
     mike

     Date: Wed, 14 May 2003 18:00:06 -0600
     From: Kevin Trenberth <trenbert@cgd.ucar.edu>
     Organization: NCAR/CGD
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     To: "Michael E. Mann" <mann@virginia.edu>
     Subject: Re: Harvard?
     My main contact there is Dan Schrag: also Paul Epstein.
     Kevin
     Michael E. Mann wrote:

     Dear Colleagues,
     Baliunas and co. appear to have successfully hijacked Harvard's PR office on this. Any
     of you have contacts there you might be able to get some information from?  Both of
     these appeared in the "Harvard Gazette":
     [1]http://www.news.harvard.edu/gazette/2003/04.24/04-sun.html
     [2]http://www.news.harvard.edu/gazette/2003/04.24/01-weather.html
     That provides the appearance of  Harvard's stamp of approval for unsound claims which
     have otherwise been ignored by any other mainstream media outlets (despite the repeated
     attempts of the authors and their promoters to get wider coverage, the story has
     generally only been picked up by right-wing online sites and Murdoch-owned newspapers).
     While the work is getting ignored in scientific circles, and by the mainstream media, it
     is nonetheless being heavily promoted within Washington DC by not just the usual
     suspects like the "Marshall Institute",  which has sponsored multiple presentations on
     this by the authors on capitol hill, but by the administration and agencies directly
     under their control. From what I am told, they are beginning to  make political inroads
     in their attempts to use this to attempt to undermine IPCC's credibility.
     Phil Jones and I are writing a review paper for  "Reviews in Geophysics" which will
     include a debunking of  much of what they say, and Ray Bradley and others have something
     in the works in Science along these lines, but these will both have a long residence
     time--something more immediate may be necessary in the meantime. Thoughts and
     suggestions as to how best to proceed would be appreciated.
     mike
     ______________________________________________________________
                         Professor Michael E. Mann
                Department of Environmental Sciences, Clark Hall
                           University of Virginia
                          Charlottesville, VA 22903
     _______________________________________________________________________
     e-mail: [3]mann@virginia.edu  Phone: (434) 924-7770   FAX: (434) 982-2137
              [4]http://www.evsc.virginia.edu/faculty/people/mann.shtml

     ______________________________________________________________
                         Professor Michael E. Mann
                Department of Environmental Sciences, Clark Hall
                           University of Virginia
                          Charlottesville, VA 22903
     _______________________________________________________________________
     e-mail: mann@virginia.edu   Phone: (434) 924-7770   FAX: (434) 982-2137
              [5]http://www.evsc.virginia.edu/faculty/people/mann.shtml

     Paul R. Epstein, M.D., M.P.H.
     Associate Director
     Center for Health and the Global Environment
     Harvard Medical School
     Landmark Center
     401 Park Drive, Second Floor
     Boston, MA 02215
     Tel. 617-384-8586
     Fax. 617-384-8585
     Email. <paul_epstein@hms.harvard.edu>
     Website. <[6]www.med.harvard.edu/chge>
     .............................................................
     The Mission of the Center for Health and the Global Environment is to study and to
     promote a wider understanding
     of the human health consequences of global environmental change. The Center believes
     that people will protect the
     natural environment when they realize its importance to their health, and to the health
     and lives of their children.

   ______________________________________________________________
                       Professor Michael E. Mann
              Department of Environmental Sciences, Clark Hall
                         University of Virginia
                        Charlottesville, VA 22903
   _______________________________________________________________________
   e-mail: mann@virginia.edu   Phone: (434) 924-7770   FAX: (434) 982-2137
            [7]http://www.evsc.virginia.edu/faculty/people/mann.shtml

