Global warming, what global warming?  It's amazing that Pat Michaels, an environmental sciences professor at the Univ. of Virginia, still denies the existence of global warming, despite a consensus among the scientific community to the contrary. According to a new report from NASA,

The highest global surface temperature in more than a century of instrumental data was recorded in the 2005 calendar year.

The report went on to state that

Recent warming coincides with rapid growth of human-made greenhouse gases. Climate models show that the rate of warming is consistent with expectations (5). The observed rapid warming thus gives urgency to discussions about how to slow greenhouse gas emissions (6).

Michaels begs to differ. According to his web site,

The core issue over the next ten years will not be "How much will the climate warm?" but, rather, "Why did it warm so little?" My research also leads me to believe that the next decade will see the emergence of a paradigm of "robust earth," as opposed to the fashionable "fragility" concept.

He seems to have run out of journals that will publish his rants, as the latest citation is in 2001. I'm sure that his funding sources have nothing to do with the credibility of his research, but according to the ExxonSecrets Factsheet,

Known funding includes $49,000 from German Coal Mining Association, $15,000 from Edison Electric Institute and $40,000 from Cyprus Minerals Company, an early supporter of People for the West, a "wise use" group. He recieved $63,000 for research on global climate change from Western Fuels Association, above and beyond the undisclosed amount he is paid for the World Climate Report/Review [also funded by Western Fuels Association]. According to Harper's magazine, Michaels has recieved over $115,000 over the past four years from coal and oil interests.

posted by Bruce Wright at 11:23 AM #