Sham Study Tricks Climate Skeptics

Turns out undersea bacteria don’t cause global warming after all. But they were on trial for 70 minutes last week after a British prof's email chain linked to a sham study. Climate skeptics and conservatives—Rush Limbaugh included—trumpeted the study until a University of Colorado prof smelled something rotten. “Call me a skeptic skeptic—I smell a hoax,” he posted.

Blogs kicked into reverse when an email update revealed the prank. A Reason magazine blog quickly apologized, and green site DeSmogBlog ran a list of those duped. Who's behind the hoax? A UK writer is claiming responsibility. “What the hoax showed is that there are many people willing to jump on anything that supports their argument, whether it’s true or not," he blogged. (More climate change stories.)