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HomeMy WebLinkAbout5ALateDocument28739 Appendix 4 The Petition Project Appendix 4. The Petition Project 1.1. About the Petition 1.2. Qualifications of Signers 1.3. Frequently Asked Questions 1.4. Directory of Signers 1.5. Summary of Peer-Reviewed Research 1.1. About the Petition The petition pictured above has been signed by 31,478 Americans with university degrees in science, including 9,029 with Ph.D.s. The petition reads in part: “There is no convincing scientific evidence that human release of carbon dioxide, methane, or other greenhouse gases is causing or will, in the foreseeable future, cause catastrophic heating of the Earth’s atmosphere and disruption of of the Earth’s climate. Moreover, there is substantial scientific evidence that increases in atmospheric carbon dioxide produce many beneficial effects upon the natural plant and animal environments of the Earth.” A copy of one actual signed petition appears on this page. The majority of the current listed signatories signed or resigned the petition after October 2007. The purpose of? the Petition Project is to demonstrate that the claim of “settled science” and an overwhelming “consensus” in favor of the hypothesis of human-caused global warming and consequent climatological damage is wrong. No such consensus Climate Change Reconsidered 740 or settled science exists. As indicated by the petition text and signatory list, a very large number of American scientists reject this hypothesis. From the clear and strong petition statement that they have signed, it is evident that these 31,478 American scientists are not “skeptics.” These scientists are instead convinced that the humancaused global warming hypothesis is without scientific validity and that government action on the basis of this hypothesis would unnecessarily and counterproductively damage both human prosperity and the natural environment of the Earth. This petition is primarily circulated by U.S. Postal Service mailings to scientists. Included in the mailings are the petition card, a letter from Frederick Seitz (reproduced on the following page), a scientific review article (reproduced on the pages following the directory of petition signers), and a return envelope. If a scientist wishes to sign, he or she completes the petition and mails it to the project by first-class mail. Additionally, many petition signers obtain petition cards from their colleagues, who request these cards from the project. A scientist can also obtain a copy of the petition from www.PetitionProject.org, sign, and mail it. Fewer than 5 percent of the current signatories obtained their petition in this way. The letter on the following page, from Professor Frederick Seitz, is circulated with the petition. Dr. Seitz, a physicist, was president of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences and of Rockefeller University. He received the National Medal of Science, the Compton Award, the Franklin Medal, and numerous other awards, including honorary doctorates from 32 universities around the world. In August 2007, Dr. Seitz reviewed and approved the article by Dr. Arthur B. Robinson, Dr. Noah E. Robinson, and Dr. Willie Soon that is circulated with the petition and gave his enthusiastic approval to the continuation of the Petition Project. A vigorous supporter of the Petition Project since its inception in 1998, Professor Seitz died on March 2, 2008. 1.2. Qualifications of Signers Petition project volunteers evaluate each signer’s credentials, verify signer identities, and, if appropriate, add the signer’s name to the petition list. Signatories are approved for inclusion in the Petition Project list if they have obtained formal educational degrees at the level of Bachelor of Science or higher in appropriate scientific fields. The petition has been circulated only in the United States. The current list of petition signers includes 9,029 persons who hold Ph.D.s, 7,153 who hold an MS, 2,585 who hold MDs or DVMs, and 12,711 who hold a BS or equivalent academic degrees. Most of the MD and DVM signers also have underlying degrees in basic science. All of the listed signers have formal educations in fields of specialization that suitably qualify them to evaluate the research data related to the petition statement. Many of the signers currently work in climatological, meteorological, atmospheric, environmental, geophysical, astronomical, and biological fields directly involved in the climate change controversy. The Petition Project classifies petition signers on the basis of their formal academic training, as summarized below. Scientists often pursue specialized fields of endeavor that are different from their formal education, but their underlying training can be applied to any scientific field in which they become interested. Outlined below are the numbers of Petition Project signatories, subdivided by educational specialties. These have been combined, as indicated, into seven categories. 1. Atmospheric, environmental, and Earth sciences includes 3,803 scientists trained in specialties directly related to the physical environment of the Earth and the past and current phenomena that affect that environment. 2. Computer and mathematical sciences includes 935 scientists trained in computer and mathematical methods. Since the human-caused global warming hypothesis rests entirely upon mathematical computer projections and not upon experimental observations, these sciences are especially important in evaluating this hypothesis. 3. Physics and aerospace sciences include 5,810 scientists trained in the fundamental physical and molecular properties of gases, liquids, and solids, which are essential to understanding the physical properties of the atmosphere and Earth. 4. Chemistry includes 4,818 scientists trained in the molecular interactions and behaviors of the substances of which the atmosphere and Earth are composed. 5. Biology and agriculture includes 2,964 scientists trained in the functional and environmental requirements of living things on the Earth.