You know it's coming apart for James Hansen when forty-nine of his fellow NASA colleagues questioned the validity of catastrophic climate change predictions based entirely on flawed climate models and not upon objective assessment of all available scientific data on climate change.
After all, isn't (or wasn't) NASA's job to approach science with an open mind, to look at the data retrieved during its research, collected by instruments both earthbound, airborne, and in space? Yet Hansen has turned all of that on its head, using his standing at NASA as a bully pulpit to put forward his views and just enough of the science to make his claims credible. How much has he tarnished NASA's reputation? (Not that it hasn't been tarnished by others, turning away from actual science and towards “Muslim outreach”, something that has absolutely nothing to do with NASA's charter.)
These forty-nine scientists, all of which have credentials that are equal to or better than Hansen's, are saying “Hey, wait a minute! This climate change stuff isn't based on hard science, but conjecture, incomplete data, and faulty computer prognostications! That's not science!”
Maybe this is just the nudge needed to move the debate about climate change to the actual science, the “un-adjusted” raw data, and away from the politically attractive predetermined results bought and paid for by those who see CAGW as a means to an end.
But I'm not holding my breath that it will happen any time soon.
