There wasn’t really enough coverage this week about the demise of the so-called “climate-gate” scandal.  Sure, you can read in the Washington post here, or the Wall Street Journal here, or CBS News here how Michael Mann–one of the scientists whose reputation was tarnished by accusations that he had “fudged” data–was cleared by Penn State of any misconduct or wrongdoing.

From CBS News:

“The review cleared Mann of charges that he falsified climate change data, manipulated that data, improperly refused to share his research data and–generally behaved badly by trying to discredit other researchers’ work.”

From the Penn St. report:

“…the Investigatory Committee determined that Dr. Michael E. Mann did not engage in, nor did he participate in, directly or indirectly, any actions that seriously deviated from accepted practices within the academic community for proposing, conducting, or reporting research, or other scholarly activities.”

In response, the Republican chair of the House Science Committee, Sherwood Boehlert, said that “the attacks on scientists were a manufactured distraction, and today’s report is a welcome return to common sense.”

Media Matters is asking whether the news outlets (think Fox) that so-heavily pushed the climate-gate story will be as eager to report about the investigation that puts the controversy over Mann to rest.  Not likely. The coverage in Sunday’s Dem-Gaz amounted to about a one-inch by one-inch sentence in the newspaper’s sidebar.

That’s pretty much how it goes.  It’s much easier to start a lie than to end one.  “Climate-gate” will be forever with us.  It will always give certain people who prefer conspiracy theories to common sense a way to believe what they want to believe.  Accusations certainly don’t need to be true to be effective, they only need to be made.