"Climate Debate Gets Ugly as World Moves To Curb CO2"

"SINGAPORE -- Murderer, liar, fraud, traitor.

Climate scientists, used to dealing with sceptics, are under siege like never before, targeted by hate emails brimming with abuse and accusations of fabricating global warming data. Some emails contain thinly veiled death threats.

Across the Internet, climate blogs are no less venomous, underscoring the surge in abuse over the past six months triggered by purported evidence that global warming is either a hoax or the threat from a warmer world is grossly overstated.

A major source of the anger is from companies with a vested interest in fighting green legislation that might curtail their activities or make their operations more costly.

'The attacks against climate science represent the most highly coordinated, heavily financed, attack against science that we have ever witnessed,' said climate scientist Michael Mann, from Pennsylvania State University in the United States.

'The evidence for the reality of human-caused climate change gets stronger with each additional year,' Mann told Reuters in emailed responses to questions.

Greenpeace and other groups say that some energy companies are giving millions to groups that oppose climate change science because of concerns about the multi-billion dollar costs associated with carbon trading schemes and clean energy policies."

David Fogarty reports for Reuters April 26, 2010.