A strange question perhaps, considering the considerable political influence the Met Office has within political circles when it comes to energy and climate policy. But certainly one worth asking following a comment by Northern Ireland’s Regional Development Minister last month.
On the topic of burst water pipes and the sevehttps://autonomousmind.wordpress.com/wp-admin/post-new.phpre supply problems affecting thousands of people in Northern Ireland over the Christmas period, the Belfast Telegraph reported on 19th January:
Forecasts of another seven years of the extreme winter that triggered the burst pipes crisis in Northern Ireland may force changes to how water is plumbed into homes, the regional development minister has warned.
Conor Murphy, facing questions from his Stormont scrutiny committee on the Christmas emergency, said some meteorologists believed the region had entered a weather cycle that would see successive deep freezes.
In the face of that, Mr Murphy said the Executive may have to look at changing building regulations to ensure that water pipes are buried deeper and insulated better.
What makes the comment interesting is this response to a Freedom of Information request submitted by Autonomous Mind (using an alias), enquiring which Meterologists provided this advice and requesting a copy of the advice that was provided to the Minister enabling him to make his assertion.
The response from the NI Department for Regional Development (click to enlarge) is telling:
This shows that for all his multitude of failings, Conor Murphy is listening to what meteorologists other than the Met Office are saying about changes to our weather that contradict the Met Office line of ever increasing warming. Not only that, they are using what they have listened to in official evidence to government committees.
A very small example maybe, but marginalising the Met Office in this way – intentionally or otherwise – represents a visible crack in the climate consensus that has consistently told us mankind is changing the climate, making the world warmer and the result will be warmer and wetter winters. The structures are weakening.
Autonomous Mind 
AM,
If you asked “which meteorologists?” and requested a copy of the advice, your FOI enquiry hasn’t been satisfied.
That was my initial reaction Solent. However it became clear to me the department could not answer the question because the Minister had eschewed official sources. So only Conor Murphy could answer the question.
For me the lack of an answer to the question does not detract from the significance of the response received.
AM,
have you written to Connor Murphy to ask which meterologists he’s consulted with?
Not so far James. I hadn’t planned to because I’m not sure the answer would add much value beyond what’s in the post. But it is an option.
Don’t forget the DUP’s Sammy Wilson (Stormont Minister of Finance & Personnel). The ONLY UK Minister to question the cAGW scam:-
http://www.sammywilson.org/2011/01/04/sammys-newsletter-column-1-jan-2011/
Perhaps Conor Murphy asked his fellow Minister whether to trust Mystic Met?
Curiouser and curiouser. I so like watching this most interesting space of yours.
Thanks Lynne :) (Add me to your blogroll, go on, you know you want to… ;)
AM when Northern Ireland realize they are now paying a climate change levy as from April and it is due to rise over the next 24 months, then hopefully people will start to become aware that “climate change” means anthropogenic (man made) global warming.
With that said, I honestly thought the people in Northern Ireland were more intelligent than this, hopefully they are! but as usual it comes down to tribal politics and currently DUP’s Sammy Wilson is the only representative to speak out against the “Communist climate change people” (CCCP) and with all due respect to Sammy Wilson for his stance on this issue, it isn’t right that he’s the only one there, I find it shocking considering the amount of people that don’t belive a word of AGW or agree with any of this nihilistic Malthusian politics, or even understand it to make informed decisions.
I don’t believe that it’s likely that people in NI will catch this one in time until it starts to really Bite hard!
I also think that at sometime they will try to use this Climate change BS to justify bringing this water tax everyone is against, and its funny how a small place like Northern Ireland is now paying a Global warming tax on their co2 emissions when their emissions are not even a tiny percentage of what other countrys co2 emissions are, compare china, America or even the rest of the European countrys to Northern Ireland and the AGW tax begins to look Absurd possibly even fraudulent.