[JohnRPollard]

Anyone who's been around here long-enough knows that many threads, regardless of their original subject, tend to de-rail after the subject has been exhausted. In some ways, it's part of the fun: After the relevant data dump and debate, folks get a little silly and amuse themselves and others with inanity. For the most part there's really no harm in it.

But there are a few threads sprinkled around Sailnet that have done a better job of remaining reasonably on-topic. Some of them attempt to tackle larger, longer-lived issues that don't lend themselves to instantaneous resolution -- a good example being the Cape Fear 38 thread that required patience while we awaited more definitive answers from formal accident investigations.

This "Global Warming" thread is another such thread. The premise of this thread stems from the understanding that the body of "Climate Change" science is incomplete and that research into the causes of climate change is on-going. New data and research becomes available on a regular basis.

Everyone is invited to debate the available scientific evidence -- for or against -- and present new data as it becomes available. While technically, there are no thread "rules", most members have respected efforts to keep this thread focussed on science and climate research. But one question raised throughout this thread is whether some of the science has been manipulated for political or other purposes - so at times political discussions have surfaced as well.

Looking back over some of the recent postings, this thread seems to be getting derailed by too much politics. Camaraderie's most recent posts were way overboard, but were obviously intended to make that point plainly. It would be a shame if things kept going in that direction.

For anyone interested in this debate, I just want to remind folks that this is not the "Dems v. Repubs", the "Market Crash", or the "Big Oil" thread. My suggestion to everyone -- regardless of which side of the debate you fall on -- is: Stick to the presentation and discussion of hard data and research that refutes the positions that others are presenting or that supports your understanding of Climate Change.