I was in the process of writing an analysis of the disclosures from a general systems point of view, but someone beat me to it, which is just great. The second half of the post discusses why the disclosed data issues are so damaging to the modeling enterprise, the first half puts the scientific, economic and political issues into context. Very nicely done, and credible from my POV, though colonists may have to stumble over some UK-isms. (What, for instance, is "a hiding to nothing"?) (*) It's posted by the pseudonymous "Pedant General", who means he/she can pull rank on me.
(Thanks to SDA.)
Update: Here's another good piece at the WSJ from an MIT meteorology professor. Generally skeptical, but focuses on both what is generally accepted by both sides, and on the issues with modeling rather than just the data quality problems. A sample:
The main statement publicized after the last IPCC Scientific Assessment two years ago was that it was likely that most of the warming since 1957 (a point of anomalous cold) was due to man. This claim was based on the weak argument that the current models used by the IPCC couldn't reproduce the warming from about 1978 to 1998 without some forcing, and that the only forcing that they could think of was man. Even this argument assumes that these models adequately deal with natural internal variability—that is, such naturally occurring cycles as El Nino, the Pacific Decadal Oscillation, the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation, etc.(Via Maggie's Farm.)
Update 2: And another good list of modeling issues from Coyote. Meanwhile, these guys have the code from a prominent climate model and are starting to examine it and decide on a platform to bring it up. The Army of Davids is beginning to assemble; we're going to end up with transparency one way or another.
*(Belated update: Apparently a "hiding to nothing" is a colloquial way of saying something along the lines of "you're doomed". Derivation unknown, but possibly from "getting their hides thrashed until there's nothing left" or "hiding in a nonexistent spot, and being, therefore, failed fugitives". Thanks to 'Nortius Maximus' for the "English" lesson.)