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‘Craziness’ Of The Global Warming Debate Drives Prominent Skeptic From Academia

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Michael Bastasch DCNF Managing Editor
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Prominent global warming skeptic Dr. Judith Curry is retiring from academia, citing the “craziness” of the politically-charged field of climate science.

“It’s time for me to leave the ivory tower,” Curry wrote in a blog post about resigning from her position at Georgia Tech. She will be focusing more time growing her climate analytics company and blogging.

“I’m ‘cashing out’ with 186 published journal articles and two books,” Curry wrote of her academic life. “The superficial reason is that I want to do other things, and no longer need my university salary. This opens up an opportunity for Georgia Tech to make a new hire.”

“The deeper reasons have to do with my growing disenchantment with universities, the academic field of climate science and scientists,” she wrote.

Curry made waves in 2010 when a Scientific American article labeled her a “climate heretic” for “turning” on her colleagues by questioning the dogma of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).

Curry believes humans are having an impact on the climate, but she’s become known for pointing out the massive uncertainties in climate science and the failures of most climate models to predict global warming and reproduce observed temperatures.

“If the IPCC is dogma, then count me in as a heretic,” she wrote in 2010. Since then, Curry has been a prominent critic of global warming alarmism, taking part in debates and even testifying before Congress.

Curry cites a less-than-subtle reason motivating her exodus from the ivory tower. “A deciding factor was that I no longer know what to say to students and postdocs regarding how to navigate the CRAZINESS in the field of climate science,” she wrote.

“Research and other professional activities are professionally rewarded only if they are channeled in certain directions approved by a politicized academic establishment — funding, ease of getting your papers published, getting hired in prestigious positions, appointments to prestigious committees and boards, professional recognition, etc,” she added.

“How young scientists are to navigate all this is beyond me, and it often becomes a battle of scientific integrity versus career suicide,” she wrote.

Curry has no plans to join President-Elect Donald Trump’s administration, but suggests that Trump’s win could restore some sanity back to the climate debate.

Curry’s critics, however, we glad to see her go. Penn State University climatologist Michael Mann (of “hockey stick” fame) told E&E News that “climate science would be stronger without Curry.”

“Much of what I have seen from her in recent years is boilerplate climate change denial drivel,” Mann said, adding that Curry “routinely engaged in character attack, ‘confusionism and denialism’ and eroded scientific discussion.” He offered no evidence to back up his claims.

Mann may be disappointed, since Curry has no plans to stop blogging or commenting on climate science.

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