"Doesn't it seem like you'd have obvious selection bias with who would volunteer for the IPCC?"
Yes it does: Those who care about its conclusion. I don't understand why you think someone who thinks climate change is not happening should be less likely to volunteer, given the impact of the report.
As the article said: the IPCC is only assessing and compiling results of climate research. Those "untrained amateurs" that you talk about, are they "assessing and compiling", or are they doing their own research? If they are doing research, then they should not be compared to the IPCC but to one of the thousands of references that constitute the sources of the assessment report. And if their results are really believable, then hopefully they will be published and be one of the sources used for AR5.
Yes it does: Those who care about its conclusion. I don't understand why you think someone who thinks climate change is not happening should be less likely to volunteer, given the impact of the report.
As the article said: the IPCC is only assessing and compiling results of climate research. Those "untrained amateurs" that you talk about, are they "assessing and compiling", or are they doing their own research? If they are doing research, then they should not be compared to the IPCC but to one of the thousands of references that constitute the sources of the assessment report. And if their results are really believable, then hopefully they will be published and be one of the sources used for AR5.