Leading climate change denying scientist has been paid in excess of 1.2 million by fossil fuel companies over the last decade. Can you say "conflict of interest?"

Courtesy of the New York Times:  

For years, politicians wanting to block legislation on climate change have bolstered their arguments by pointing to the work of a handful of scientists who claim that greenhouse gases pose little risk to humanity. 

One of the names they invoke most often is Wei-Hock Soon, known as Willie, a scientist at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics who claims that variations in the sun’s energy can largely explain recent global warming. He has often appeared on conservative news programs, testified before Congress and in state capitals, and starred at conferences of people who deny the risks of global warming. 

But newly released documents show the extent to which Dr. Soon’s work has been tied to funding he received from corporate interests. 

He has accepted more than $1.2 million in money from the fossil-fuel industry over the last decade while failing to disclose that conflict of interest in most of his scientific papers. At least 11 papers he has published since 2008 omitted such a disclosure, and in at least eight of those cases, he appears to have violated ethical guidelines of the journals that published his work. 

The documents show that Dr. Soon, in correspondence with his corporate funders, described many of his scientific papers as “deliverables” that he completed in exchange for their money. He used the same term to describe testimony he prepared for Congress. 

Though Dr. Soon did not respond to questions about the documents, he has long stated that his corporate funding has not influenced his scientific findings.

Well of course they didn't. Why would we think otherwise?

Apparently this guy's "work" has been cited by climate change denying politicians as well: 

Politicians who repeatedly cite Soon’s work include Republican Sen. James M. Inhofe of Oklahama, who in a Senate debate in January pointed to photos of scientists who doubt climate change. One of them was Soon. 

“These are scientists that cannot be challenged,” Inhofe said.

Yeah I'm going to disagree with that last statement. 

This is why it is always important to take notice of the consensus reached by the majority of scientists in any given field.

Because you can always find some unethical scientist to deny the facts of evolution, or suggest that vaccinations cause Autism, or claim that man is not responsible for climate change.

But when that person stands alone, or has only handful that agree with them, more often than not somebody is stuffing their pockets full of cash and pulling their strings to get them to say whatever the hell they want them to say.

In my opinion this guy is a traitor to his profession, and should excommunicated from the brotherhood of scientists.