In response to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) publishing a 2015 study that eliminated the 15-year pause in global warming from the temperature records, hundreds of scientists wrote and sent a letter to lawmakers claiming that they may have violated federal laws during this process, according to The Daily Caller.
"We, the undersigned, scientists, engineers, economists and others, who have looked carefully into the effects of carbon dioxide released by human activities, wish to record our support for the efforts of the Committee on Science, Space and Technology to ensure that federal agencies complied with federal guidelines that implemented the Data Quality Act," the approximately 300 scientists and researchers wrote to the Chairman of the House Science Committee, Texas Republican Rep. Lamar Smith. "In our opinion... NOAA has failed to observe the OMB [Office of Management and Budget] (and its own) guidelines, established in relation to the Data Quality Act."
This act is in place to ensure that agencies such as the NOAA uphold quality, objectivity, utility and integrity of information when conducting their studies and releasing their data.
Despite these claims, some are pointing to this outcry as a result of conspiracy theorists and those looking to accuse the NOAA of manipulating the data in order to benefit the Obama administration, a common theme that made its way through Internet blogs, according to The Guardian. One of the biggest pieces of support for this viewpoint is the fact that the net overall affect of the adjustments actually reduced the overall estimated warming compared to the raw data.
Of course, all attempts for the NOAA to disclose their data have proved to be futile thus far, causing many to doubt their methods and casting suspicion on the organization, according to Heartlander Magazine. Only time will tell whether or not the adjustments are a part of a bigger scheme or this notion is simply the result of misguided speculation.
