"If you look at the signatories of the op-ed, you won't find people more qualified than that," William Happer, a professor of physics at Princeton University and a signatory, told Design News. "These people are really heavyweights of the scientific world." (See a list of the scientists below.)
It's worth noting that the 16 scientists who signed the editorial aren't alone. Happer told Design News that after the editorial appeared, he received calls from colleagues who wanted to know why they weren't given a chance to sign.
The signatories aren't making a case for coal, oil, nuclear, wind, or solar power. They don't mention whether we should buy electric cars or gas guzzlers. By most measures, their opinion seems apolitical. They just believe that CO2 isn't a problem.
"The demonization of carbon has really distorted everything we do," Happer told us. "If we could back off and say, 'CO2 is probably good,' it would change the way we do things. We'd like to get back to an honest economic discussion not based on carbon footprints or assumptions about 'evil CO2.' "
Whether we agree or disagree with that assessment, it has the potential to affect everything that engineers do. Every day, engineers make decisions about the design of cars, trucks, furnaces, refrigerators, washers, dryers, and all kinds of industrial products. And the emission of CO2 plays into all those decisions. So a solid understanding of global warming science is critical.
In the wild world of the Internet, many bloggers argue that the science is settled. It's "incontrovertible," they say. But is it? Most scientists would acknowledge that the First Law of Thermodynamics is incontrovertible. So is the Second Law, Ohm's Law, Newton's laws, Bernoulli's equation, and a lot of other bedrock scientific principles. But does anthropogenic global warming really belong in the same breath as those?
The letters have been written, the reviews have been done by many, and a few by me. Historical tables of temperatures are not verification of some experiment prompted by a theory, especially when the measuring stations are in places that have become urban islands in the same time period as the warming data. They are just data, and may or may not show a long term trend that may or may not continue. The rate at which new information is being developed is increasing and the noise is getting worse, not better. You would expect the noise to go down roughly by the square root of the number of new sources. For example, a 50 year program of greenhouses on the tundra to measure the expected CO2 release from warming was recently terminated and found no difference. The noise went up. Piece after piece of new info is not supporting the alarmists.
The media people have chosen - what we call journalists today are 98% left-liberal and vote democrat. There is a consensus on that. The professional educators have chosen as well. There is really no need to argue with me. It is a done deal and we in the West will bankrupt ourselves "saving the planet" while the Chinese build a new coal fired electrical plant every week or two. How many people need to switch from cars to bicycles to carbon offset one Chinese plant? And does it matter?
What is your problem? Read the extant literature from the researchers. If you have problems with their findings and data then YOU can a) write to the editor of the article, (b) write to the researcher(s) with your issues, and (c) conduct your own review or research and then you publish your findings.
You obviously have never worked in either physics or the research field, so why do you bother posting?
Of course I have no theory. I want to see proof of yours. That is the whole point of this discussion, that there is no proof. I want to see causal connections, not a conjecture consensus. You respond by saying it is my responsibility to disprove the conjectures of others, something that can not even be done in some cases in science. it is as if you somewhere learned anti-science.
If all the geese that people have seen are white, prove that all geese are white. How would you go about it? Can it be done?
You have no theory! You have produced nothing to even allude to a theory! Where is ANYTHING that discusses your "theory"? No where! You haven't produced anything because all you have is your opinion, as evidenced by these endless posts presenting nothing but your opinion.
I doubt that you are or ever were a scientist from your posts and idea as to how the scientific process works. It is up to you to produce evidence for your "theory", not merely state nonsense.
jeffbliss, I understand that you don't get it. You have an upside down idea of science, where it is not the job of the person with a new theory to prove it right, but the reponsibility of everyone else to prove him wrong. I blame the accademy and the failure to maintain ideals in the face of the onslaught of political correctness. The sciences resisted for a while, but caved as new blood came into the faculties. Your's is a perfect world for junk science. You can even get rid of opponets by labeling them racist or anti-choice or ungreen heartless non-caring throwbacks. It is the Star Wars generation. Use the Force. There is consensus in the Force. Do what feels right but don't rely on reason. Reason, like language, is a white male tool for oppression. There is a consensus among Deconstructionists that this is true. In fact redefine "right" when needed. It is the world we live in now, of unpopular science rejected for political reasons. The Concerned Scientists, Engineers for social justice, Design News and all its green for green's sake the editors love so much. I'm too old to be a respected peer. I can't even speak the language correctly. I commit 'isms of one sort or another without knowing. I don't have the modern thoughtdog that guards against incorrect ideas. So, good luck with all that.
So, I see that you still have nothing to refute the current science and nothing to refute "The global warming myth". Enough of your opinions. Either you have something material to back up your opinion or you do not, and apparently you do not. I doubt that you had anything to do with science, at least at any level that required you to back up your opinion.
"The Global Cooling Myth" monograph is like reading Carl Sagan to learn astronomy. Then I'll watch Al Gore's movie for the hundredth time (If you teach physics and chemistry, every time you sub during your planning period for a bio teacher, they have the kids watch his movie. Just the bio teachers for some reason - the ones who never took calculus.) Stop kiddin around. Have you read "Rules for Radicals" by Saul Alinsky? You should recognize the technique of rewriting history.
I was in college when that article was written and I well remember the many stories and papers on the subject. There were plans put forth by NASA "scientists" and many accademics to prevent the coming catastrophe. Cover the ice of the poles with carbon soot, seed the atmosphere at 90,000 feet with great fleets of U2 type planes and on and on. What would it be like if they had gotten what they wanted?
Luckily, the government and accademic "scientists" of today are so much smarter and this time we ARE doing what they want. Part of it, and they want much more. I know it is going to be just peachy since this time they are really really right! How do I know? Because some of them claim there is a consensus. In the old days, when reason and thinking were popular in accademia, if you had proof you didn't need a consensus. Today we know better. By thinking correctly and not letting our minds wander into improper areas, we can vote instead of think. It is so much easier and sounds good on the news. The real clincher is the Commedy Central mock news politicos make fun of those who are called skeptics. And if you can make a joke about it, it MUST be true! Or False. Whichever way the joke goes. And one of the great features of Consensus Science is that you can weed out the problem people and outliers when selecting who can vote until you get that consensus you need. And you can feel good about it. You are saving the planet. I think they mean the Earth when they say that. A staggering notion. You, by sitting instead of jogging or running or even walking, or even better, dying, without having children, will cut your carbon footprint and save the planet!
If the true believers have their way, the generation being born today is going to despise you.
Sorry, but you're still wrong. Give "The global cooling myth" a read. It has citations. And, again I challenge you to find any overall trending in the scientific community that supports your "point".
I am not a distinguished climate scientist, but those who know me will admit that I do have some understanding of science and technology, as well as a lot of experience differentiating fact from blown smoke.
Armchair basic physics would indicate that pumping CO2 into the atmosphere MIGHT cause the average temperature at the surface of the Earth to increase. When and by how much is up for grabs, however.
Following the research over the past 30 years (in both scientific literature and popular media) has indicated that results leading to the conclusion that we are headed for a climate catastrophe are inconclusive at best. In fact, the most likely conclusion is that the effect is miniscule, and drowned out by other drivers. The reports of imminent disaster smack of politically motivated pseudoscience.
Those who like to confuse correlation with causation should note that historically warm periods (e.g., the medieval warm period) correlate with good times for human society, and cool periods (e.g., the Little Ice Age) correlate with social disruption, famine and disease. So, if CO2 warms the planet, what makes you think it's a bad thing?
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