Climate Scientist Steps Down During Probe of E-Mail Controversy

A British scientist who emerged as a central figure in a climate research furor after his e-mails were pirated and posted online is stepping down as director of the University of East Anglia’s Climate Research Unit while the university conducts an investigation. Global warming skeptics say a series of e-mails between Phil Jones and other climate researchers reveal evidence of a conspiracy to silence dissenting views in the climate debate. In one e-mail, Jones and a colleague discussed pressuring an academic journal to not accept the work of global warming skeptics. In another, he vowed to “keep them out somehow — even if I have to redefine what the peer-review literature is!” Jones has said the messages, which were hacked from the university’s e-mail system, were taken out of context. In a statement announcing his decision to step down during an independent probe, Jones said, “What is most important is that CRU continues its world leading research with as little interruption and diversion as possible.” Marc Morano, editor of the climate skeptic blog ClimateDepot.com, called Jones’ decision to step down a “positive development in the battle against politicized science.”