London, United Kingdom (AHN) - The scientist at the center of the so-called "climategate" e-mail scandal told a British newspaper he considered suicide following the backlash against him and other climate scientists.

Professor Phil Jones of the University of East Anglia told the Sunday Times that he has lost about 15 pounds and is taking blood pressure and sleeping pills to deal with the criticism.

Jones' e-mails were leaked on the Internet late last year on the eve of international climate change talks in Copenhagen. The e-mails between Jones and other scientists, including renowned American climatologist Michael Mann of Penn State, discuss ignoring public information requests regarding the science behind climate models, keeping scientists skeptical of climate change out of peer-reviewed papers and using a "trick" to indicate warming trends.

Since then, more bad news for climate scientists has emerged, including a revelation that a major claim about Himalayan glaciers disappearing in the coming decades is woefully inaccurate. That claim was included in a widely-cited 2007 United Nations report urging international action to curb emissions blamed for global warming. It said glaciers could disappear by 2035, but the report cited as its source actually states the ice could be gone by 2350.

The e-mail scandal and the reporting on inaccuracies in the UN report have given ammunition to climate change skeptics and opponents of legislation aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Jones has temporarily stepped down from his job as director of climactic research at East Anglia.

By David Goodhue - AHN Reporter.

Source: http://www.allheadlinenews.com/articles/7017749021