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Rupert Matthews: The Government should release all the work of the Climate Research Unit for public scrutiny

MATTHEWS RUPERT Rupert Matthews is a freelance writer who has had over 150 books published, mostly on historical subjects. He was one of the MEP candidates in the East Midlands for the Conservative Party last year.

There has been much talk recently – you can hardly get away from it – about Climage Change, but in all that talk there has been one name that has not been mentioned. This is odd as the career of this man has a lot to show us about the climate change phenomenon. And there is a role in this for David Cameron.

Trofim Lysenko was a Russian agricultural scientist born in 1898, who managed to produce some interesting and very useful agricultural results. Unfortuantely, Lysenko got the theories behind his practical successes completely wrong. In the fledgling science of agronomics he propounded the view that plant breeds were produced when parent plants acquired characteristics as they grew. The rival school of thought held that plant breeds appeared when plants were bred selectively to isolate genes and genetic material.

As the years passed, Lysenko’s work went awry. He began to cover up any results of his experiments that did not support his theory, while loudly publicising those results that did. Next he began faking results. Any scientists that spoke out against his ideas were harshly treated. Some saw their careers ruined, their work languished unpublished and several dozen were thrown into prison where they died.

With Stalin’s death in 1953, Lysenko’s main supporter was gone. The new Soviet leader, Khrushchev ordered Lysenko to publish all his data, not just the bits he wanted the public to see. Lysenko refused, Khruschev sent in the strong men and published the data himself. Lysenko was finished and his theories destroyed.

Now turn to climate change. This is, again, a very new science. It has only really been going some 25 years. Once again there are divergent schools of thought about what is driving climate change – which put simply are that it is either a natural cyclical process or is being caused by human activity. And once again a small group of influential scientists has latched on to one theory and is using political influence and state money to promote it and shout down other opinions.

Of course, modern scientists would never go so far as Lysenko did. Would they?

Well, I would not go so far as to allege corruption or fraud. There are, however, some odd results going on out there. Look at a recent study by the Carnegie Institution in the US that found that increased carbon dioxide in the atmosphere reduces how much water plants evaporate from their leaves, which allows crops to grow in drier areas and could green the deserts. Good news? Um, no. Bad news. The lower rates of water evaporation stop the plants cooling down, thus driving global warming.

This is but a lone example. There are hundreds of reports that seem to deliberately skew their results so that they highlight adverse aspects of climate change. The reason is clear. There are currently hundreds of millions of pounds sloshing about in academia for studies into climate change. And those handing out the dosh are fully signed up to the ideas that climate change is bad and that it is man made. Any scientist producing results saying the opposite is in for a thin time.

And that is not to even touch upon the infamous Climategate emails from East Anglia that showed scientists trying to close down debate, hijack the peer-review process and destroy the careers of those who disagree with the consensus.

As for Lysenko’s imprisoning of opponents, well Michael Mann has called for climate change sceptics to be put on trial for “high crimes againts humanity”. Another climate scientist, David Suzuki, said he wanted them put in prison. James Hoggan said he wanted them treated as war criminals. Greenpeace issued a statement condemning those who questioned the consensus and ended “We know who you are. We know where you live. We know where you work. We be many and you be few.” Charming stuff.

It would seem the only reason that folk like Roger Helmer MEP who dare speak out against the consensus are not in prison is because the scientists do not have the power to put them there.

So what should be done about it. Simples. We Conservatives believe in freedom and we believe in truth. The Climate Research Unit (CRU) in East Anglia has done its work with public funds. We the taxpayer have paid for their work, their facts and their figures.

David Cameron should play the role of Khrushchev. He should order the CRU to release all their data, computer models and information to public scrutiny. After all, we have paid for it all.

So come on David, be bold. Take on the vested interests and speak out for truth and freedom.

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