San Francisco Chronicle: Long before the eruption of "Climategate," Stephen H. Schneider had taken up the cause of climate change, armed with the sword of his convictions and the shield of scientific data. His fierceness in battle earned him plaudits as an advocate, and derision from climate-change skeptics. "There was no better person to argue with about climate change – what we know, what we don’t know, and what we can and should do with our knowledge in a democratic society in a world we are rapidly …