Stephen Schneider: Climate Scientist Harassed, Verbally Attacked At UN Press Conference (VIDEO)

Special To The Huffington Post

Nobel laureate, renowned climate scientist and good friend of former US vice-president Al Gore, Dr. Stephen Schneider, was verbally attacked today during a press conference at the United Nations Climate Talks in Copenhagen.

Dr. Schneider, an outspoken proponent of climate legislation, was announcing his latest book, "Science as a Contact Sport: Inside the Battle to Save Earth's Climate , " when an unidentified man jumped on stage and began to intensely interrogate Schneider. The man became angry after Schneider addressed the leak email controversy from The University of East Anglia's world renowned Climate Research Unit. He repeatedly shouted, "do you approve of deleting data, Dr. Schneider? Do you approve of deleting data?" The man then accused the professor of attempting to censor the press. (Read Dr. Schneider's blog for HuffPost Green).

Professor Schneider, was shaking visibly after the confrontation, but said--repeatedly--he did not agree with deleting data.

Prior to the outburst, Professor Schneider addressed the leaked email controversy also known as "Climategate" in an exclusive interview with environmental reporter Olivia Zaleski. Read the full interview transcript on Earthkeepers, or watch parts of the interview edited within Zaleski's most recent Copenhagen Dispatch from filmmaker Gabriel London.

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Comments

[chrisfrmchi2]

01:27 AM on 12/15/2009

“December 14, 2009

DOE Litigation Hold Notice

DOE-SR has received a “Litigation Hold Notice” from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) General Council and the DOE Office of Inspector General regarding the Climate Research Unit at the University of East Anglia in England. Accordingly, they are requesting that SRNS, SRR and other Site contractors locate and preserve all documents, records, data, correspondence, notes, and other materials, whether official or unofficial, original or duplicative, drafts or final versions, partial or complete that may relate to the global warming, including, but not limited to, the contract files, any related correspondence files, and any records, including emails or other correspondence, notes, documents, or other material related to this contract, regardless of its location or medium on which it is stored. In other words, please preserve any and all documents relevant to “global warming, the Climate Research Unit at he University of East Anglia In England, and/or climate change science.”

As a reminder, this Litigation Hold preservation obligation supersedes any existing statutory or regulatory document retention period or destructive schedule. The determination of what information may be potentially relevant is based upon content and substance and generally does not depend on the type of medium on which the information exists.

Michael L. Wamsted
Associate General Council”

GOTCHA!
http://wattsupwiththat.com/2009/12/14/doe-sends-a-litigation-hold-notice-regarding-cru-to-employees-asking-to-preserve-documents/

[la2010verdad]

04:30 PM on 12/14/2009

It's about time some of these charlatans are confronted about all of the alarmist lies and bullying. They want to completely recast society so they can get rich. Down with global warming!

[norsegirl]

10:29 PM on 12/14/2009

That's a very shallow argument. Perhaps the people who now have all the collective wealth due to fosil fuels don't want to accept or even debate the very real problem of global warming, Do you honestly believe that we can pollute our planet with co2 and other hazardas gasses and yes, co2 in an inbalance though a natural gas is toxic, and not eventually pay the price? Sure there is money to be made off of new ways of producing energy, so what!

[StephenBP]

03:03 PM on 12/14/2009

Denialist meme trends for this week:
1) Those who are interested in the fact that CO2 levels track rising global temperatures with a high degree of synchrony are religious fanatics.
2) All climate change data is now suspect. Every last bit of it. All. Everything. Satellite, land, sea, everything.
3) All climate scientists are all liars. Every one of them.
4) All other scientists are pretty much liars too.

[Enki Smith]

12:23 PM on 12/14/2009

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aUtzMBfDrpI&feature=player_embedded
The other side of the story.

[StephenBP]

03:09 PM on 12/14/2009

Aw, the poor ambush journalist wasn't well received. Poor man, just because he demanded, not asked, but demanded answers on a topic that was not of interest or concern to Stephen Sneider, namely STOLEN emails of PRIVATE messages that show NOTHING of consequence but are the meat and potatos of the likes of ambush journalists and flaming non-scientists like Phelim McAleer, just because he demanded an answer and wouldn't relinquish the microphone, just because he threw a tantrum and was asked to get his sorry butt out of there post haste, well that proves ........ uh...... absolutely nothing...............

[Enki Smith]

06:19 AM on 12/15/2009

Journalism is asking questions. The room was not over flowing with people needing to get their question in and the "poor man" was polite and waiting his turn.
But the article here says,
"Stephen Schneider: Climate Scientist Harassed, Verbally Attacked At UN Press Conference (VIDEO)"
"Harassed and Verbally attacked" is a pretty strong statement yet the video that does show what was going on shows a different picture.

[Enki Smith]

12:18 PM on 12/14/2009

That was one side of the story, told with no backing info but a nice and fuzzy interview.

A search of YouTube shows a different one real video of what happened. A member of the press asking a question and the Scientist and those around him going over board. Calling armed guards and all.

Guess there is something there if it is so important to suppress.

[Enki Smith]

09:21 AM on 12/14/2009

both sides are just s bad as each other. But debate is pushed out the door replaced by Name calling.

No mention of the armed guards with guns. Sad that dissent is squashed and science is a political mess.

But there is $$$$$ in this so the party carries on and no one really cares 2 cents about the environment. Gore has his earnings from the mine on his property, his book and movie sales and all those investments that Ken helped him with. Dr Pachauri's company earns billions of carbon credits to lay off people and hurt their lively hoods. When is sanity going to be seen and there be a care for the environment and for mankind?

Why is there so much secrecy about the data that should all be on a web site for all to see? Cause then people would see that it is about money.

[daultman463]

09:47 AM on 12/14/2009

That about nails this climate changs debate enki.Outstanding reply!

[tanglez]

10:45 PM on 12/13/2009

Priceless.......

http://i46.tinypic.com/9h8im1.gif

[LittleMittens]

10:33 PM on 12/13/2009

Oh god, teabaggers are crashing UN events now? Ugh!

[norsegirl]

10:31 PM on 12/14/2009

Windbags is more like it.

[joanrimart]

06:50 PM on 12/12/2009

Just a note for the uninformed (like the cute reporter). Schneider is not a Nobel laureate. He was awarded the 'genius' grant some years back, but not the Nobel.

[StephenBP]

08:15 AM on 12/13/2009

After decades of work, Dr. Schneider, along with four generations of IPCC authors, received a collective Nobel Peace Prize for their joint efforts in 2007.

[joanrimart]

09:04 AM on 12/14/2009

That's some stretch! Over 2000 scientists then can claim they are too Nobel laureates. The Nobel was given to the IPCC, not to any particular scientist. Pachauri is the only one who can probably claim he got the price.

[WestcoastSteve]

04:29 PM on 12/12/2009

Here's my prediction for how things might look 30 years from now even if no global warming is happening:

Most of Africa is now a desert due to relentless removal of forests because of short-term profit farming practices and use of the wood for basic heating needs.

Most of the bigger animals on Earth, tigers, elephants, rhinos, etc are gone due to destruction of their habitats.

The oceans are largely emptied of fish suitable for eating, like salmon and cod, due to overfishing. Whales are almost extinct due rapacious whaling practices and ocean pollution. What remaining fish that remain are laced with toxins like mercury.

Monoculture farming has drained most of the remaining arable lands of nutrients, leading to poorer crops, and these too are laced with heavy-metal pollutants and other contaminates.

Auto-immune diseases like asthma kill millions as the air gets more and more polluted. People can't go out into direct sunlight anymore because the ozone layer is mostly gone.

AND yet, the Earth hasn't warmed at all. Most days are cool and pleasant.

Wake up people. Global 'warming' is a red herring. It is the unsustainable way humans use the Earth that is threatening us all, and things have to change big time if we are going to survive, even if global warming wasn't an issue. If you prove to me otherwise, please do. A few emails from scientists you don't like won't change this.

[DrCardio]

07:04 PM on 12/12/2009

Hopefully my predictions land closer to the truth, and we, as a global community start nipping things in the bud, very soon. Global warming is real, and it will exponentially multiply the imminence of all the other environmental issues that you mentioned, and that have been brought to the forefront and maintained there by Al Gore, and others. This is a crucial time, and hopefully we land ont he proper side of history. Great post, and i'm glad you liked mine lol.

[Organic-Guy]

11:50 PM on 12/12/2009

There are many threats to our survival. We needn't diminish one or another to come to a conclusion that they all need our attention at once. Had we attended to each one as we became aware of it much like taking care of our automobiles the fix would not be so immediately necessary or expensive. We've waited far too long to address many problems.

[research]

03:48 PM on 12/12/2009

There are thousands of imperatives reasons we Must Stop Burning Fossils nukes.

1 TRILLION DOLLAR PER YEAR for imported Oil and Wars to protect that Oil,

SO2, Mercury, Mountain top removal, water use and contamination, O2 depletion, CO2, Deadly mining jobs.

The total Death wish insanity of Uninsurable Nuclear power=nuclear war sooner= Million of Trillions of dollars of land to store waste for a million years, expensive, fuel gone in 16 years, dirty bombs, police state required security

ONLY rooftop solar, Waste Bio Fuels and some wind and water turbines, can:

Provide all the energy and fuels the world will need Forever.

Cleanly, Safely, Cheaper, carbon negative and forever.

Green energy is ready NOW, don't believe the bs. Solar and wind both doubled in 2008. Solar and Wind are now being mass produced and can ramp up to 30GW per year with 2 years.

rooftop solar at 3 cents per kwh bussbar over 30 years, is already the cheapest electricity the end user can buy for appropriate rooftops.

Take away all subsides and assistance to fossils and nukes,

transfers all that money to directly purchasing green energy for all gov buildings, and for direct loans to businesses and homeowners to install rooftop solar and green energy.

See me profile for proof.

Plenty of reputable links to prove what I say.

Disproving the CO2 Climate science, which has not been done, will only remove one of the reasons for converting to green energy.

[Codebreaker9500]

07:53 PM on 12/12/2009

Way to plug your business, research.

Not against what you do, but it is typical of those wanting us to "believe" that CO2 causes warming.

[research]

08:51 PM on 12/12/2009

Did you miss the whole point of what I said?

CO2 is just one of the reasons????

Trying reading again?

[Organic-Guy]

11:59 PM on 12/12/2009

Like Al Gore said. It's been a proven fact for over 100 years that CO2 captures heat in our atmosphere. It's not a theory. It's fact. No denial by industry and political hacks and investors in dirty technology who stand to lose big when we face our problems like adults and stop having tantrums in the supermarket isle can change the facts of the case. Like gravity. Global climate change exists and our massive production of CO2 since the start of the industrial age is primarily to blame.

Or shall we go back to belief in Greek Mythology or blame Rah or some other mystical creature for our problems?

[BOWIEMAN]

12:58 PM on 12/12/2009

can you imagine how many 'researchers' will be out of jobs when the truth about so-called global warming is totally exposed to be the hoax it is??!! - no wonder they are scrambling to limit the press, along with the lamestream media itself

[BlueGreen55]

09:19 PM on 12/14/2009

Can you imagine how many people will lose the land they live on or how much it will cost to save it if man made CC is real? Can you imagine what your great grand children will say about you as they literally starve to death while they bathe in and drink gray water because that's all there is? I can hear it now. It's the year 2050 and all of the current Deniers will be saying mea culpa while they support wars for food and water - because after all, it's not their food and water, it's OUR food and water.

[chrisfrmchi2]

12:45 PM on 12/12/2009

Professor Stephen Schneider was interviewed by Not Evil Just Wrong, but then he had a second thought on the matter and brought the strong arm of Stanford University's legal department out to handle the situation.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZwvUz0mtrOk

[siasina]

10:06 AM on 12/12/2009

Wow this looks like a cult, a religion.

This is just a one sided debate right? I mean like they said the science is set in stone, there is nothing to debate apparently.

[BOWIEMAN]

12:55 PM on 12/12/2009

That's why they are so upset about the emails being exposed, showing they were panicked about the fact that there was no temp increase since 1998 and trying to figure out how to hide the fact

[MAJK]

05:22 PM on 12/12/2009

“Stolen e-mails have revealed no scientific conspiracy, but do highlight ways in which climate researchers could be better supported in the face of public scrutiny.” http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v462/n7273/full/462545a.html

http://factcheck.org/2009/12/climategate/

[realpolitic]

04:40 AM on 12/12/2009

Did anyone read about the denier conference held in Copenhagen hosted by Lord Monckton? There were exactly five people in the audience in attendance. Wow, what excitement! It speaks for the energy of the denier movement. Everyone knows it is a fraud!