Read here. As most will remember, Duke University's academic community and administration supported a fact-challenged accusation of its lacrosse team members regarding a reported rape crime, which ultimately was proven to be totally bogus. It would seem the Duke faculty is quick to accuse if it is politically convenient and correct. Apparently this proclivity also hold trues for their "climate scientists."
A new study by Duke "scientists" claims summer rainfall, within the Southeast region of the U.S., has become more variable due to global warming, the grant-funded scientist's favorite boogieman. Unfortunately for these Duke scientists, again the evidence does not support their politically correct hypothesis (accusation?). (click on image to enlarge)
As NASA data indicates, "global warming" has been pretty sparse over the last decade, especially in the U.S. and the Southeast region. In fact, the National Climate Data Center (NCDC) reports the Southeast region has experienced slight global cooling since 1895 through September, 2010.
As far as summer rainfall claim by Duke "scientists"? The above NCDC data clearly shows that summer rainfall has always been highly variable. As the 10-year average (red curve) shows, recent Southeast summer rainfall levels are not unusual nor unprecedented. In addition, as the chart reveals, atmospheric CO2 greenhouse gas levels (black dots) seemingly have no impact on summer rainfall.