Duke Energy / Duke Environment

[caraher]

2. The GW deniers think this helps their case?

Wow. It just says the most likely future is what the IPCC says the most likely future is. The headline is almost tautological, as has been pointed out - if you're uncertain and explore a bunch of scenarios, your "worst case" scenarios are pretty much always among those you consider least likely, and thus your "most likely" forecast will be less extreme.

Also, there's no reason to sniff for nefarious connections between Duke Energy and the researchers in this study. The link tells you exactly where they got their money - the National Science Foundation. And the "Duke" in "Duke Environment" is Duke University, a well-respected research-focused educational institution, not Duke Energy. The connection is James Buchanan Duke, the early investor who put some of his tobacco money into what's now Duke Energy and still more funds into supporting Duke University, a school whose name changed in honor of said donations, all of which happened about 100 years ago. They are completely separate institutions. Lots of things in North Carolina might carry the Duke name just as many institutions near me now are named for Lilly, in the Detroit area are named for Ford, Pittsburgh for Carnegie, etc.