A Scientific Theory Is Judged By Its Predictive Power

John at Powerline points out that if a scientific theory makes predictions that do not come true, it's false.

Dr. David Viner is a senior research scientist at the climatic research unit (CRU) of the University of East Anglia; the leading climate research organization in the world, and the source of the infamous leaks of e-mails that showed how the data on climate change was "massaged" and how scientists that did not agree got blacklisted from peer reviewed publications.

Here's his prediction in the year 2000

Sledges, snowmen, snowballs and the excitement of waking to find that the stuff has settled outside are all a rapidly diminishing part of Britain's culture, as warmer winters - which scientists are attributing to global climate change - produce not only fewer white Christmases, but fewer white Januaries and Februaries. ...

According to Dr David Viner, a senior research scientist at the climatic research unit (CRU) of the University of East Anglia,within a few years winter snowfall will become "a very rare and exciting event".

"Children just aren't going to know what snow is," he said.

Can we review how that prediction turned out?

And from the Daily Mail via the Drudge report Report UK: Coldest December since records began...

We're not talking about a nobody making predictions about the weather in a week, we're talking about an official "climate scientist" at the Mecca of "climate science"  making the kind of long-term prediction that should prove the validity of global warming.  In fact, the exact opposite of the prediction is happening, so the charlatans who brought us the first prediction are ramping up the wattage.