[Coral-List] Climate Change: The journal Energy & Environment as a source

[David M. Lawrence]

Energy & Environment, at least historically, has not been peer-reviewed, 
so its reliability as a source of up-to-date science is in question. 
Even Roger A. Pielke Jr. has criticized its "peer review" process 
(http://blogs.nature.com/climatefeedback/2007/05/should_hurricanes_be_part_of_t.html#comment-86797 
or http://tinyurl.com/d8lbk9).

See this excerpt from a story (Richard Monastersky, "Storm Brews Over 
Global Warming") that appeared in the Sept. 4, 2003, issue of the 
Chronicle of Higher Education:

The journal's editor, Sonja Boehmer-Christiansen, a reader in
geography at the University of Hull, in England, says she
sometimes publishes scientific papers challenging the view
that global warming is a problem, because that position is
often stifled in other outlets. "I'm following my political
agenda -- a bit, anyway," she says. "But isn't that the right
of the editor?"

Here is more of Boehmer-Christiansen's philosophy (from the Web site of 
Garnaut Review)"

"I am pretty certain that the link between fossil fuel use and climate
remains speculative and hypothetical.(See quotes at end) Before such
model forecasts, be they scientific or economics, are accepted as
credible inputs to policy, they should be tested for their political
motivations and promises. These should be discussed in public.

"My journal has published contributions to this debate, both scientific
and economic, since the early 1990s. In my personal opinion, both types
of modelling have made considerable academic progress, but their
contributions to policy-related decisions must still be treated with
scepticism. Neither Stern nor the IPCC final summaries reflect true
academic opinion, they are the products of civil servants. They have
been exaggerated the climate 'threat' in order to serve the interests
primarily of fossil fuel-poor industrialised countries. Australia's
interests, and those of the world, lie elsewhere."

More interesting reading concerning her philosophy can be found in her 
Nov. 3, 2003, e-mail to Michael Mann, which is available at: 
http://stephenschneider.stanford.edu/Publications/PDF_Papers/EandEEditorLetter.pdf 
or http://tinyurl.com/bovep9.

Later,

Dave

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