It's Official: "Climategate" Scientists Withheld Data

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It's official: the University of East Anglia violated of the U.K. Freedom of Information Act. According to a BBC report, the university at the center of "Climategate" withheld data requested by a climate change skeptic a few years back. (Now we can add that to the list of reasons Americans are growing apathetic in the climate change discussion.) While only time will tell how opponents and supporters will react, the news will more than likely hinder the progress of those attempting to solve the problem of man-made climate change, explains Treehugger:

I'm not going to lie, or try to spin this-this is bad. These scientists engaged in the illegal withholding of data. As a result, their actions have created a major setback for all those hoping for progress in addressing the growing threat of global climate change. Because that's the one thing that none of this calls into question. None of the data itself has been manipulated...This is not a blow to the evidence of climate change, but it is a blow to the credibility of climate scientists.

Scientists continue to stand by their data, which proves that climate change is attributable to human activity, but the violation will surely fuel the fire for the growing pool of opponents and indifferent attitudes.Photo via Catch the Fire.