Jan 16 2012
In “GAO Confirms: Anthony Watts Is Right, UN Temperature Data Rigged To Show Warming”, Tom Harris, a Canadian executive director of International Climate Science Coalition, claims that the USHCN globe temperature data is unreliable and thus the warming trend is rigged. This statement concurs with Anthony Watts’ report on the authenticity of the U.S. surface temperature record. Anthony Watts is a American meteorologist, editor of the blog, Watts Up With That? and also a climate change skeptic.
Tom Harries made his statement base on the findings of The U.S. Government Accountability Office. The GAO found that 41% of the weather stations are placed too close to heat sources that humanly increases up the temperature measurements. This evidence is not convincing because surface temperature records collected by weather stations are far from the only indicator of globe warming. Sea level rise, increased melting rate of ice, weather balloon measurements and other evidences also account for the measured warming trend.
This article contains a fallacy: Hasty Generalization. One can not conclude the warming trend is untrue just base on surface temperature records and without taking other indicators in to consideration.