Much of the hoopla surrounding the illicit publication of a batch of electronic-mail documents stolen from the servers of the Climate Research Unit at the University of East Anglia in England boggles the mind. Your leader and the associated article do point out that the documents are far from a proof of conspiracy among those who argue that the earth’s climate is changing, or that it is changing because of human activity, but you still poke fun at scientist for their slip-ups in informal communication (“A Heated Debate” and “Mail-Strom,” November 28, 2009). Yes, scientists are human. A raucous minority remains in the wake of nearly every scientific debate, which is resolved only by the passage of time. And careers. But scientists still offer the best model of how to resolve disputes by sticking to the evidence and theories that best explain it. Most important in this case, they offer the only chance we have for understanding climate change and what to do about it. A few flippant remarks should be granted even scientists, especially when they are bantering in private. And that is all that needs to be said about this sorry tale.