Question by Richie: Why has NASA still not handed over the Freedom of Information climate data requested years ago?
The fight over global warming science is about to cross the Atlantic with a U.S. researcher poised to sue NASA, demanding release of the same kind of climate data that has landed a leading British center in hot water over charges it skewed its data.

Chris Horner, a senior fellow at the Competitive Enterprise Institute, said NASA has refused for two years to provide information under the Freedom of Information Act that would show how the agency has shaped its climate data and would explain why the agency has repeatedly had to correct its data going as far back as the 1930s.

“I assume that what is there is highly damaging,” Mr. Horner said. “These guys are quite clearly bound and determined not to reveal their internal discussions about this.”

The numbers matter. Under pressure in 2007, NASA recalculated its data and found that 1934, not 1998, was the hottest year in its records for the contiguous 48 states. NASA later changed that data again, and now 1998 and 2006 are tied for first, with 1934 slightly cooler.

The data has still not been handed over, what has NASA got to hide?

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/dec/03/researcher-says-nasa-hiding-climate-data/

Best answer:

Answer by mintie_boy
Having worked for a State Government in Western Australia I can tell you that FOI requests took about 6 months to even be looked at.

That is in a state with a little over 2 million people. NASA services a population of over 250 million people. How many FOI’s do you think they receive everyday? (My tiny state agency received in excess of 2 a day … now imagine servicing 125 times the population). So are they hiding or is it just due process, and this requester is not at the top of the list (sour grapes)?

Also data has to be recalculated because the standards applied in the past wouldn’t necessary meet standards now required. This is done for many “old” measurements, not just temperature. The Bureau of Meteorology (Australia) has had to do a similar process.

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