DaveScot: When Good Science Goes Bad. Yeah, Right

DaveScot of the ID blog Uncommon Descent recently had a post titled "Glodal Warming is not Due to Human Contribution of Carbon Dioxide." I suspect this comes on the heels of the UN Global Warming Panel's report that humans are at fault for the phenomenon. What is DaveScot's source? Why, an article from notorious global warming denier Timothy Ball, who calls himself Canada's first PhD climatologist. However, there's a few small problems with Ball's credentials, courtesy of desmogblog.com:

Ball and the oil industry
Ball is listed as a "consultant" of a Calgary-based global warming skeptic organization called the "Friends of Science" (FOS). In a January 28, 2007 article in the Toronto Star, the President of the FOS admitted that about one-third of the funding for the FOS is provided by the oil industry. In an August, '06 Globe and Mail feature, the FOS was exposed as being funded in part by the oil and gas sector and hiding the fact that they were. According to the Globe and Mail, the oil industry money was funnelled through the Calgary Foundation charity, to the University of Calgary and then put into an education trust for the FOS.

Ball inflates credentials
Ball and organizations he is affiliated with have repeatedly made the claim that he is the "first Canadian PhD in climatology." Even further, Ball once claimed he was "one of the first climatology PhD's in the world." As many people have pointed out, there have been many PhD's in the field prior to Ball.

Ball and the NRSP
Ball is listed as an "Executive" for a Canadian group called the "Natural Resource Stewardship Project," (NRSP) a lobby organization that refuses to disclose it's funding sources. The NRSP is led by executive director Tom Harris and Dr. Tim Ball. An Oct. 16, 2006 CanWest Global news article on who funds the NRSP, it states that "a confidentiality agreement doesn't allow him [Tom Harris] to say whether energy companies are funding his group."

Ball's research history
Ball retired from the University of Winnipeg in 1996 and a search of 22,000 academic journals shows that, over the course of his career, Ball has published 4 pieces of original research in a peer-reviewed journal on the subject of climate change Ball has not published any new research in the last 11 years.

Ball sues researcher and Calgary Herald newspaper
On Sept. 1, Ball, launched a libel suit against Dr. Dan Johnson, a current Professor of Environmental Science at the University of Lethbridge and a Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Sustainable Grassland Ecosystems. Here are the original Statements of Claim and Defence.

Now, I know DaveScot loves to point out these "rebels" who fight against the unyielding scientific establishment. To him, it seems like proof that the efforts to keep ID out of schools is simply scientific dogma. As DaveScot says:

This is what happens when good science goes bad. It’s the same story with orthodox evolution theory.

Too bad he tries to use a liar with a severe conflict of interest to try and prove his point. Hmm...sounds just like an ID advocate. No wonder DaveScot likes him. Better luck next time.

Update: An anonymous commenter left a sweet link that further exposes Ball's lies. It's a list of all the Canadian climatologists prior to Ball. Check it out and see for yourself. Thanks anonymous.