A recent university survey revealed that the number of Americans who believe climate change is a hoax is 16 percent, reports the New York Times. This number is more than double that of 2008. 

Science can never be free of flaws, Al Gore wrote in the Times, but the overwhelming consensus on climate change remains.There are many factors behind climate science disbelief, but matters have worsened following recent reports of scientific errors and alleged manipulation of information given to the public.

According to Peter C. Frumhoff of the Union of Concerned Scientists, "the climate science community was just not prepared for the scale and ferocity of the attacks and they simply have not responded swiftly and appropriately."  Frumhoff recommends that climate scientists "acknowledge the errors and help turn attention from what's happening in the blogosphere to what's happening in the atmosphere."

To set the record straight, research institutions are making their work more transparent and allowing for external oversight. The National Academy of Sciences plans to publish a paper on what is known and not known about climate. Showered with criticism for relatively minor errors in a recent report, the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) plans to allow independent review of its research.

"It is time the climate scientists stopped just playing defense," writes Thomas Friedman in the Times. He suggests the scientific community put together a summary of all the errors and wild exaggerations" made climate skeptics -- and list where they are getting their funding from.