Why Steve McIntyre does what he does at ClimateAudit

Richard Betts asks:

Steve,

Thank you for your very frank feedback on the Met Office, it is always interesting to see how one’s employer is perceived.

Since you have been so direct with me, I hope I can ask you a direct question in return, prompted by Richard Drake’s remark that

IPCC acolytes seek to paint McIntyre as a gratuitous troublemaker.

Is this picture an accurate one? Are you “a gratuitous troublemaker” or are you just trying to help, albeit in a way which some find uncomfortable?

Indeed what would “success” look like for you at the end of the AR5 process? A Fifth Assessment Report which is as scientifically robust as possible, so that governments can make informed decisions on climate policy, whatever the outcome of those decisions might be, or do you (as some appear to think) have a particular objective to influence these decisions in a particular direction?

I hope these are not impertinent questions. I didn’t really intend to get into such issues, especially not in one of my first contributions to your blog since I only commented to clear up a couple of misunderstandings and answer some specific questions, but your comment and Richard Drake’s has sparked these off in my mind.

Best regards and thank you for your attention,

Richard

Steve McIntyre answers (highlights by me):

My wife and friends have never understood why I’m doing this and think that I should go back to doing business.

Mostly I do it because I’m interested in what I write about. I’m not as interested as I was a few years ago, when I woke up every day with 3 or 4 things that I was interested in writing about. There was a lot of energy in my posts a few years ago. I also found the low culture of the Climategate correspondents very distasteful and this has sapped my interest.

Answering your question would take a fairly long essay. It’s late here and I’ll try to reply some time, though I don’t know when.

I’m actually not that interested in “big” policy. I assume that politicians will do what they’re going to do. On a private basis, I tend to think that if climate is a “big” problem, the proffered solutions are probably totally inadequate and that windmills, for example, are like prescribing laetrile for cancer. But that’s not an issue that I deal with at this blog. The only policy that I’ve advocated is much better data archiving. The opposition on this point by climate scientists has been totally insane and the opposition to the [by the?] prima donnas should have been led by people worried about climate, not by “skeptics”. (As regular readers know, I am not confident enough in my knowledge of all the relevant issues to express an opinion on the “big picture”.) I realize that many readers are interested in policy, but, as an editorial policy, for the most part, I avoid discussions of policy and delete many comments that do not adhere to this policy and urge readers to take such discussions to other blogs (of which there are obvious excellent examples.)

I’ve frequently made suggestions as to how people concerned about the impact of increased CO2 could present their case more effectively. I’ve often used the term “engineering quality report” as an important element in the process. It’s not something that I’ve defined or explained and it would take considerable effort to set out specs for such a document. Most readers get wrongfooted on the phrase and talk about V-and-V or try to point to little articles that they find meritorious, but the sort of thing that I have in mind is more like the sort of document that a professional engineering firm would do for a refinery or a mine or something like that.

I thought that the IAC review should have re-examined the purpose of the IPCC reports – a point that I made to Shapiro in a telephone conversation but which wasn’t considered in their report. It is not at all obvious to me that a literature review of work in the previous 5 years is what is needed.

I obviously have a very low opinion of the standard of work in the 1000-year field. While my criticisms in this area are pointed, I try to write accurately and, when writing well, avoid editorializing as much as possible. If you are aware of any inaccuracies in anything that I’ve written, please bring it to my attention so that I can make appropriate corrections.

Some of my original engagement arose from my astonishment at outright dishonesty that I encountered early on and by the lack of self-policing of such conduct within the field. This was long before Climategate. As a matter of decorum, I’ve established blog policies that do not allow readers or myself to make accusations of dishonesty or “fraud”, but I don’t say everything that I think. I think that the handling of Climategate by the broader climate community has exacerbated what was a difficult situation. Something like the trick to hide the decline should have been disowned in some manner, rather than whitewashed. Financial managers, lawyers, accountants and other professionals are dumbfounded that the climate community is unoffended by such conduct. The various “inquiries” have unfortunately exacerbated the problem through their failure to adhere to even the most elementary principles of public inquiry. These defects are easily understood by non-academics.

There’s lots else that I can say.