"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?
Charles--I agree completely. Well said. I have not idea as to how this discussion will ultimately "shake out" between those who choose to respond but I certainly hope technology leads the way and not those who stand to gain. Many thanks for a great post.
What evidence? Remember, the only raw data set that showed a link between CO2 and climate was destroyed before it could be peer reviewed. So everything we have is based on reports done from that data set, by a very small group of scientists. The same group that wrote an internal email saying, in effect, that the raw data didn't match their theory.
I am not impressed with the list. Richard Lindzen is one of the few actually within the relevant field, and if I recall correctly, he is betting everything on clouds to save our bacon. Burt Rutan is a hero to me, but how could he know what is going on with the climate just by observation and intuition?
What would my kids and grandkids think of me if I used my credibility or fame to disrupt corrective action on climate change? There are other compelling reasons to not continue burning hydrocarbons at the same rate or faster, after all.
Farewell Design News. I can't abide providing cover for those who don't care to take responsible action.
I also am an ME and certainly don't feel qualified to deliver an opinion that can be backed up with hard data.
I agree. Like all of the commenters here, neither you nor your friend are climate scientists and are thus unqualified to deliver an opinion that can be backed up. Moreover, we are all addicted to cheap fossil fuels that enable our low cost, high standard of living and thus we all have a conflict of interest when we deny the existence of global warming. We only hurt our reputations further when we use what science and engineering backgrounds we have as an excuse based on the grounds that we're showing open-mindedness.
Real climate scientists are unequivocal about the clear and present danger posed by global warming, aside from the 2% or so who have mostly financial, political, or religious conflicts of interest.
A person of science can't honestly look at the >97% of best experts who say the planet is facing a critical tipping point impacting hundreds of millions of people and trillions of dollars in costs and then logically conclude that the science is unsettled and that no action is the prudent course.
We might know our own areas of non-climate science, but we ignore the best climate science at our own peril.
Excellent post. It's very obvious from the number of comments that global warming is a topic followed by many, if not most, concerned engineers and other technical individuals. I also am an ME and certainly don't feel qualified to deliver an opinion that can be backed up with hard data. I think the evidence is very conflicting at best. I have a friend who teaches math on the doctoral level. His specialty is formulating algorithms for defining chaotic processes. Some months ago we were discussing global warming and he indicated he feels, we will be decades, if ever, from structuring "working and predictive" math models relative to weather forecasting. It's just that complex. We also agreed we are stewards of the world we were born into. You make your bed, wash the dishes, dust the house, fix the roof, maintain your car, mow your lawn--why not make decisions that foster insuring favorable environmental conditions for your kids, grandkids, etc. There is certainly a growing awareness among the engineering community that this trend will continue and designs will not be accepted in the marketplace if they damage our ecological system. It just makes good sense.
God has everything to do with science. Who do you think put the earth in its perfect orbit? Who put life here? Certainly not some swamp who decided to break the laws of thermodynamics (chaos). You ignore the obvious, my friend, when you give all power to man or chance. Yes, there is a God and He has called prophets and Apostles in these last days to help us understand His creations. Don't think man is so smart or lucky. As an engineer I use his creations to better mankind. I guess to you I might be a reactionary, or maybe peculiar. I can live happily with that...
God has nothing to do with science. And, for you to bring it in this discussion shows how ridiculously biased you are. As I said, you are no conservative; you are a reactionary!
2005 - high # hurricanes proof of GCC since 2005; extremely few hurricanes proof of GCC Flooding of 3 years ago proof of GCC drought last year proof of GCC to hot true to cold true to many ticks true to many weeds true
What do you think weird weather describes??? It's CLIMATE CHANGE, silly!!!!!!!!
Does Rush have you thinking that climate change cannot be accepted until everyone on the planet is simultaneously uncomfortably warm, year-round? The effect of Climate Change (aka Global Warming) is that there is much more extreme and unstable weather. More storms, more floods, more draught, more heat, more snow, more tornadoes and hurricanes, more hail, etc. This is exactly what has been happening, and warming has just begun! Also there's enough literal warming, though seemingly small in average temperature rise, to move frost lines northward, trigger mass wildlife extinction for plants and animals, and cost us billions per year in agricultural losses. Considering property damages and wildlife costs, it may very well cost less money to end our oil dependency, which carries many other justifications besides mitigating climate change.
Here in the south our normal January temps used to range from about 10 degrees to about 45 degrees F, with extreme weather extending about 5 degrees above or below that. In the last 10 years, however, it's usually in the 40s or 50s with a lot of periods in the 60s. A couple of weeks ago we had temps in the 70s and yesterday morning it was 69 degrees at 7am. We received 3 inches of rain over the day and the region saw eleven (11) tornadoes! Tonight, snow is forecast.
Before you think this is just fluky weather, realize that fluky is fast becoming the norm. Too many 20, 50, 100, or 1000 year weather events have become regular occurrences with each successive year. Dangerous tornadoes, which almost never occurred while I was growing up here, have become normal and are occurring IN EACH AND EVERY ONE OF THE FOUR SEASONS!
This stuff just didn't used to happen. Even if you live in a bubble, you would know from following the news of the entire world that this is not just anecdotal observations about my region. Global warming = global weirding, not just "warm"!
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