Oil Spill Timeline from RightChange on Vimeo.

(wsj)  Last November there was a world-wide outcry when a trove of emails were released suggesting some of the world's leading climate scientists engaged in professional misconduct, data manipulation and jiggering of both the scientific literature and climatic data to paint what scientist Keith Briffa called "a nice, tidy story" of climate history. The scandal became known as Climategate.

Now a supposedly independent review of the evidence says, in effect, "nothing to see here." Last week "The Independent Climate Change E-mails Review," commissioned and paid for by the University of East Anglia, exonerated the University of East Anglia. The review committee was chaired by Sir Muir Russell, former vice chancellor at the University of Glasgow.

Mr. Russell took pains to present his committee, which consisted of four other academics, as independent. He told the Times of London that "Given the nature of the allegations it is right that someone who has no links to either the university or the climate science community looks at the evidence and makes recommendations based on what they find."

No links? One of the panel's four members, Prof. Geoffrey Boulton, was on the faculty of East Anglia's School of Environmental Sciences for 18 years. At the beginning of his tenure, the Climatic Research Unit (CRU)—the source of the Climategate emails—was established in Mr. Boulton's school at East Anglia. Last December, Mr. Boulton signed a petition declaring that the scientists who established the global climate records at East Anglia "adhere to the highest levels of professional integrity."

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(thehill) Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) said Thursday that strong global warming legislation lacks 60 votes and claimed Republicans are paying attention to conservative media pundits rather than climate science.

"It is absolutely incredible and very, very sad — and I say this not from a political point of view — that a lot of very bright Republicans no longer pay attention to science and are much more interested in the rhetoric of Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck," he said.

Sanders spoke with reporters in the Capitol on his way to a meeting of the Senate Democratic caucus on energy and climate.

The meeting comes as Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) is trying to craft an energy package to be brought to the floor this summer.

 Sanders said that with "virtually" no Republican support, every Democrat would have to support a climate plan.

"Do I think we have 60 votes to come up with strong global warming legislation? No," Sanders said. "I think it is a tragedy, but that's the way it is."

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