NOAA caught adjusting temperature data to make global warming worse! But why did they do it?

Is this evidence of a vast conspiracy?

Global warming is probably the most serious issue facing the world today. If global temperatures are spiking, then the world as we know it will change. Even the U.S. military considers global warming to be a major threat to national security. But what if the climate data is wrong, or worse, manipulated?

LOS ANGELES, CA (California Network) - Some 300 people, including scientists, engineers, and other experts have asked Chairman of the House Science Committee, Lamar Smith (R-TX), to investigate allegations that the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration cooked the books on old climate data to show a pattern of global warming and to wipe out a "hiatus" in the phenomenon, which happened between 1998 and 2013.

If the allegations are true, then it would uncover evidence of a massive fraud perpetrated against both the American people and the world. Development has been stalled in many places out of concern for CO2 emissions. What if CO2 is hardly a culprit and it's all been a lie?

The letter sent to Smith accuses NOAA of failing to observe standard guidelines and of revising past data downwards, to make the present look dramatically hotter.

Smith has already suggested he will investigate the claims. "It is this Committee's oversight role to ensure that federal science agencies are transparent and accountable to the taxpayers who fund their research," Smith told The Daily Caller. "Americans are tired of research conducted behind closed doors where they only see cherry-picked conclusions, not the facts. This letter shows that hundreds of respected scientists and experts agree that NOAA's efforts to alter historical temperature data deserve serious scrutiny."

So what's really going on? Why Did NOAA "adjust" it's historical data? 

First, historical temperature data was finally gathered into a database which allowed researchers to analyze very large quantities of data using computers, instead of paper-and-pencil. That new database brought in new weather data taken from smaller weather stations around the world, and effectively doubled the number of data points scientists had to work with.

Naturally, when doing science, more data is better.

Second, the method for measuring old sea surface temperatures has been revised, for the first time. Historically, commercial ships have collected temperature data as part of their routine. However, the methods used for data collection have typically skewed the individual results. Scientists simply figured out how to standardize the old data set to get a more precise measurements.

To explain, the old methods involved pulling up a bucket of seawater and dropping in a thermometer to check temperature. Later, around World War II, ships began monitoring temperature through intake valves. Since the measurements were made in engine rooms, the recorded temperatures tended to be about .12 of a degree Celsius hotter. Knowing this, scientists simply corrected the historical data collected by the flawed method, which provides a more accurate measure.

None of this is nefarious, it's just science doing what science does, correcting and improving understandings through peer review and collaboration.

Of course, an investigation is welcome. It's important to keep the air clear about how NOAA and other agencies gather their data. Peer review is essential. Consensus matters.

Fortunately, scientists around the globe have no agenda to perpetuate a myth. This is different from the fossil fuel lobby, which has been caught red-handed buying off small-time scientists and researchers to blog and sow doubt about global warming.

Global warming research is hardly lucrative, but fossil fuels are big business.

Global warming deniers are upset because the new and improved NOAA data suggests the planet was slightly cooler in the past than previously believed. This means the warming we see today is even more serious. Of course, it makes sense they will cry foul, although NOAA has already been transparent about its adjustments.

And people who think adjustments are a sign of conspiracy clearly don't know how science works. Because of science and the improved understandings we acquire, the body of knowledge is always being adjusted! This is no different than how an individual adjusts their behavior as they age and acquire more knowledge.

Hopefully, Rep. Smith will conduct a full and thorough investigation into NOAA's adjustment of historical climate data. Perhaps then the deniers will realize that something very big and very dangerous is going on, and the nefarious ones aren't the scientists, but the big money players who stand to win if the merchants of doubt can make the science controversial.