Andrew Montford
Encyclopedia
Andrew William Montford is an English writer and editor who is the owner of the Bishop Hill blog for climate-change sceptics. He is the author of The Hockey Stick Illusion
(2010).
with a degree in chemistry. then became a chartered accountant. In 2004 he worked with the foundation of Anglosphere, which provides editing services to publishers and other business. His focus at the company is to develop their approach to the publication of scientific literature.
. Matt Ridley
writes in The Spectator
that Montford became interested in climate change in 2005 after reading a post by blogger Tim Worstall
, who was in turn writing about the work of Stephen McIntyre
, the editor of the blog Climate Audit. Montford's layperson's approach to the Hockey Stick debate has received a number of favourable comments, including from The Spectator, specifically his summaries of posts from Climate Audit
, which he called "Caspar and the Jesus Paper" and "The Yamal Implosion".
Bishop Hill has come to public attention several times. In November 2009, journalist James Delingpole
credited Bishop Hill with reporting the British Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
funding of the Climate Outreach and Information Network
charity in the amount of £700,000 over two years. In February 2010, the Daily Mail
reported that Paul Dennis, a British climate scientist, had posted an account on Bishop Hill of Dennis's interview with police investigating the November 2009 unauthorized release of e-mails from the University of East Anglia's Climatic Research Unit called Climategate by the press. Also in February 2010, Philip Campbell
, the editor-in-chief of Nature
, resigned from Sir Muir Russell
's Independent Climate Change Email Review after Bishop Hill and Channel 4 News
drew attention to an interview Campbell had given in 2009 to China Radio International, in which he said there was no evidence the scientists had engaged in a coverup.
. Montford examines the history of the "hockey stick graph
" of global temperatures for the last 1000 years, and argues that more recent research has failed to validate the original studies which appeared in Nature. He discusses the peer review
process and Stephen McIntyre
's efforts to obtain the data behind the graph. The last few chapters examine "Climategate". The book has received a number of positive reviews, including those of Matt Ridley
in Prospect
and Christopher Booker
in The Daily Telegraph. Alastair McIntosh
, writing in the Scottish Review of Books
, strongly criticised the book.
asked him in March 2010 to look at some of the questions Phil Jones might be asked during the parliamentary inquiry into the controversy. Montford wrote in Times Higher Education that the email conversations at the heart of Climategate "suggest a campaign to nobble journals, marginalise climate-change sceptics and withhold data from other researchers."
He was interviewed in April 2010 by Dennis Prager
, an American radio talk show host, and during the same month participated in a live web-debate hosted by The Times
; the debate also featured Times environment editor Ben Webster and Bob Ward
of the London School of Economics
's Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment
. Montford alleged in the debate that the investigations into the leaking of the e-mails were compromised by "highly questionable memberships." He also questioned the appointment of Lord Oxburgh to the panel, writing that Oxburgh has a "direct financial interest in the outcome of his inquiry."
In an interview with Bruce Robbins in The Courier
Montford said, "I believe that CO2, other things being equal, will make the planet warmer. The six million dollar question is how much warmer. I'm less of a sceptic than people think. My gut feeling is still sceptical but I don't believe it's beyond the realms of possibility that the AGW hypothesis might be correct. It's more the case that we don't know and I haven't seen anything credible to persuade me there's a problem."
(GWPF), a British think tank
that is skeptical about global warming policy, hired Montford to lead an inquiry into the three British investigations into the Climatic Research Unit email controversy
, commonly known as "Climategate."
Montford's report, The Climategate Inquiries, was published in September 2010. Fred Pearce
writes in The Guardian
that the three inquiries Montford looked into were all badly flawed, and that Montford's report dissects their systemic failures. He writes that the report, "for all its sharp—and in many cases justified—rejoinders to the official inquiries ... is likely to be ignored in some quarters for its brazen hypocrisy." Pearce argues that one of the criticisms of the three inquiries was that no climate sceptics were on the inquiry teams, and now the critics themselves have produced a review of the reviews that included no one not already supportive of the sceptical position. But, Pearce added, Montford "has landed some good blows here."
The Hockey Stick Illusion
The Hockey Stick Illusion: Climategate and the Corruption of Science is a book written by Andrew Montford and published by Stacey International in 2010...
(2010).
Early life
Montford graduated from the University of St AndrewsUniversity of St Andrews
The University of St Andrews, informally referred to as "St Andrews", is the oldest university in Scotland and the third oldest in the English-speaking world after Oxford and Cambridge. The university is situated in the town of St Andrews, Fife, on the east coast of Scotland. It was founded between...
with a degree in chemistry. then became a chartered accountant. In 2004 he worked with the foundation of Anglosphere, which provides editing services to publishers and other business. His focus at the company is to develop their approach to the publication of scientific literature.
Bishop Hill
Montford founded the Bishop Hill blog on November 21, 2006 which at first focused on British politics. He describes it as one of the main websites for global warming sceptics in the United KingdomUnited Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. Matt Ridley
Matt Ridley
Matthew White Ridley, FRSL, FMedSci is an English journalist, writer, biologist, and businessman.-Career:...
writes in The Spectator
The Spectator
The Spectator is a weekly British magazine first published on 6 July 1828. It is currently owned by David and Frederick Barclay, who also owns The Daily Telegraph. Its principal subject areas are politics and culture...
that Montford became interested in climate change in 2005 after reading a post by blogger Tim Worstall
Tim Worstall
Tim Worstall is an English writer and blogger, who writes about a variety of topics, but particularly about economics. In his day job, he works as a consultant and dealer in scandium and other exotic metals...
, who was in turn writing about the work of Stephen McIntyre
Stephen McIntyre
Stephen McIntyre is a Canadian mathematician, former minerals prospector, and semi-retired mining consultant who is best known as the founder and editor of Climate Audit, a blog devoted to the analysis and discussion of climate data...
, the editor of the blog Climate Audit. Montford's layperson's approach to the Hockey Stick debate has received a number of favourable comments, including from The Spectator, specifically his summaries of posts from Climate Audit
Climate Audit
Climate Audit is a blog which was founded on 31 January 2005 by Steve Mcintyre.The New York Times has called it "a popular skeptics’ blog".The website has won the 2007 Best Science Blog award and was a runner up in the same category in 2008.-Founding:...
, which he called "Caspar and the Jesus Paper" and "The Yamal Implosion".
Bishop Hill has come to public attention several times. In November 2009, journalist James Delingpole
James Delingpole
James Delingpole is an English columnist and novelist. A self-described libertarian conservative, he writes for The Times, The Daily Telegraph, and The Spectator. He has published several novels and four political books, most recently Watermelons: The Green Movement's True Colors [2011]...
credited Bishop Hill with reporting the British Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs is the government department responsible for environmental protection, food production and standards, agriculture, fisheries and rural communities in the United Kingdom...
funding of the Climate Outreach and Information Network
Climate Outreach and Information Network
The Climate Outreach and Information Network is a British charity that works with the general public to provide information about climate change and how to deal with it. Based in Oxford, it was registered as a charity in March 2008, and since then has run a number of projects and talks on climate...
charity in the amount of £700,000 over two years. In February 2010, the Daily Mail
Daily Mail
The Daily Mail is a British daily middle-market tabloid newspaper owned by the Daily Mail and General Trust. First published in 1896 by Lord Northcliffe, it is the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling daily newspaper after The Sun. Its sister paper The Mail on Sunday was launched in 1982...
reported that Paul Dennis, a British climate scientist, had posted an account on Bishop Hill of Dennis's interview with police investigating the November 2009 unauthorized release of e-mails from the University of East Anglia's Climatic Research Unit called Climategate by the press. Also in February 2010, Philip Campbell
Philip Campbell (scientist)
Philip Campbell is the editor-in-chief of the science journal, Nature, and of the Nature Publishing Group.-Education:Campbell graduated from the University of Bristol with a Bachelor of Science degree in aeronautical engineering in 1972...
, the editor-in-chief of Nature
Nature (journal)
Nature, first published on 4 November 1869, is ranked the world's most cited interdisciplinary scientific journal by the Science Edition of the 2010 Journal Citation Reports...
, resigned from Sir Muir Russell
Muir Russell
Sir Muir Russell KCB DL FRSE is a former civil servant and former Principal and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Glasgow, and Chairman of the Judicial Appointments Board for Scotland.-Early life:...
's Independent Climate Change Email Review after Bishop Hill and Channel 4 News
Channel 4 News
Channel 4 News is the news division of British television broadcaster Channel 4. It is produced by ITN, and has been in operation since the broadcaster's launch in 1982.-Channel 4 News:...
drew attention to an interview Campbell had given in 2009 to China Radio International, in which he said there was no evidence the scientists had engaged in a coverup.
The Hockey Stick Illusion
Montford's The Hockey Stick Illusion: Climategate and the Corruption of Science was published in January 2010 by Stacey InternationalStacey International
Stacey International is an independent publisher based at 128 Church Street, Kensington in London. Founded in 1974 by Tom Stacey, the company aims to "maintain a resolute tradition of adaptive and imaginative publishing". Originally focusing on the Middle East and Islamic world, since 2005 have...
. Montford examines the history of the "hockey stick graph
Hockey stick controversy
The hockey stick controversy refers to debates over the technical correctness and implications for global warming of graphs showing reconstructed estimates of the temperature record of the past 1000 years...
" of global temperatures for the last 1000 years, and argues that more recent research has failed to validate the original studies which appeared in Nature. He discusses the peer review
Peer review
Peer review is a process of self-regulation by a profession or a process of evaluation involving qualified individuals within the relevant field. Peer review methods are employed to maintain standards, improve performance and provide credibility...
process and Stephen McIntyre
Stephen McIntyre
Stephen McIntyre is a Canadian mathematician, former minerals prospector, and semi-retired mining consultant who is best known as the founder and editor of Climate Audit, a blog devoted to the analysis and discussion of climate data...
's efforts to obtain the data behind the graph. The last few chapters examine "Climategate". The book has received a number of positive reviews, including those of Matt Ridley
Matt Ridley
Matthew White Ridley, FRSL, FMedSci is an English journalist, writer, biologist, and businessman.-Career:...
in Prospect
Prospect (magazine)
Prospect is a monthly British general interest magazine, specialising in politics and current affairs. Frequent topics include British, European, and US politics, social issues, art, literature, cinema, science, the media, history, philosophy, and psychology...
and Christopher Booker
Christopher Booker
Christopher John Penrice Booker is an English journalist and author. In 1961, he was one of the founders of the magazine Private Eye, and has contributed to it for over four decades. He has been a columnist for the Sunday Telegraph since 1990...
in The Daily Telegraph. Alastair McIntosh
Alastair McIntosh
Alastair McIntosh is a Scottish writer, academic and activist.He was brought up in Leurbost on the Isle of Lewis and is married to Vérène Nicolas. He is involved with Scottish land reform especially on Eigg and campaigned successfully against the Harris superquarry in Lingerbay...
, writing in the Scottish Review of Books
Scottish Review of Books
The Scottish Review of Books is a quarterly literary magazine published in Scotland. . It was established in October 2004 with the support of the Scottish Arts Council. In 2009 it became a limited company with a board of directors, Scottish Review of Books Limited. It is now managed from the...
, strongly criticised the book.
Media appearances
Montford has been interviewed a number of times about the "Climategate" controversy. Britain's Channel 4Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
asked him in March 2010 to look at some of the questions Phil Jones might be asked during the parliamentary inquiry into the controversy. Montford wrote in Times Higher Education that the email conversations at the heart of Climategate "suggest a campaign to nobble journals, marginalise climate-change sceptics and withhold data from other researchers."
He was interviewed in April 2010 by Dennis Prager
Dennis Prager
Dennis Prager is an American syndicated radio talk show host, syndicated columnist, author, and public speaker. He is noted for his conservative political and social views emanating from conservative Judeo-Christian values. He holds that there is an "American Trinity" of essential principles,...
, an American radio talk show host, and during the same month participated in a live web-debate hosted by The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
; the debate also featured Times environment editor Ben Webster and Bob Ward
Bob Ward
Robert Ward is a Canadian author and travel writer with a special interest in pilgrimages. Though a self-professed atheist, he specialized in religious studies and English literature at the University of Toronto before doing an M.A...
of the London School of Economics
London School of Economics
The London School of Economics and Political Science is a public research university specialised in the social sciences located in London, United Kingdom, and a constituent college of the federal University of London...
's Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment
Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment
The Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment is a research centre at the London School of Economics and Political Science founded in May 2008...
. Montford alleged in the debate that the investigations into the leaking of the e-mails were compromised by "highly questionable memberships." He also questioned the appointment of Lord Oxburgh to the panel, writing that Oxburgh has a "direct financial interest in the outcome of his inquiry."
In an interview with Bruce Robbins in The Courier
The Courier
The Courier & Advertiser, more commonly known as simply The Courier, is a broadsheet newspaper published by DC Thomson in Dundee, Scotland...
Montford said, "I believe that CO2, other things being equal, will make the planet warmer. The six million dollar question is how much warmer. I'm less of a sceptic than people think. My gut feeling is still sceptical but I don't believe it's beyond the realms of possibility that the AGW hypothesis might be correct. It's more the case that we don't know and I haven't seen anything credible to persuade me there's a problem."
Climatic Research Unit emails controversy
In July 2010, the Global Warming Policy FoundationGlobal Warming Policy Foundation
The Global Warming Policy Foundation is a registered, educational charity and think tank in the United Kingdom, whose stated aims are to challenge "extremely damaging and harmful policies" envisaged by governments to mitigate anthropogenic global warming.-History:Established in November 2009,...
(GWPF), a British think tank
Think tank
A think tank is an organization that conducts research and engages in advocacy in areas such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, and technology issues. Most think tanks are non-profit organizations, which some countries such as the United States and Canada provide with tax...
that is skeptical about global warming policy, hired Montford to lead an inquiry into the three British investigations into the Climatic Research Unit email controversy
Climatic Research Unit email controversy
The Climatic Research Unit email controversy began in November 2009 with the hacking of a server at the Climatic Research Unit at the University of East Anglia...
, commonly known as "Climategate."
Montford's report, The Climategate Inquiries, was published in September 2010. Fred Pearce
Fred Pearce
Fred Pearce is an English author and journalist based in London. He has been described as one of Britain's finest science writers and has reported on environment, popular science and development issues from 64 countries over the past 20 years. He specializes in global environmental issues,...
writes in The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
that the three inquiries Montford looked into were all badly flawed, and that Montford's report dissects their systemic failures. He writes that the report, "for all its sharp—and in many cases justified—rejoinders to the official inquiries ... is likely to be ignored in some quarters for its brazen hypocrisy." Pearce argues that one of the criticisms of the three inquiries was that no climate sceptics were on the inquiry teams, and now the critics themselves have produced a review of the reviews that included no one not already supportive of the sceptical position. But, Pearce added, Montford "has landed some good blows here."
External links
- Climate science after the ‘hockey stick’ affair by AW Montford, Spiked (magazine)Spiked (magazine)Spiked is a British Internet magazine focusing on politics, culture and society from a humanist and libertarian viewpoint.- Editors and contributors :...
, 6/22/2010