truepeers@98: but even in a decadent world such as ours, are you not more likely to protect your interests when you don’t come off all hysterical but rather fight with best available reason?

Keep in mind that you sampled only one self-selected population within the broader global warming scientific community. Each researcher focuses on a specific issue funded under the broad umbrella. Those who are engaged in solid activities of independent scientific value will usually discuss only their own specific research. Those who see GW as only a means to another good (revival of nuclear power, for example), likewise tend to be silent in public. In general working scientists prefer to avoid public fights over policy. They may recognize the umbrella program as a scam or not, but either way their focus will be on their own individual activities.

You encountered the frightened and fanatical, who dominate the public face of global warming research.