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Patrick Michaels of the Cato Institute was among those who testified Wednesday disputing the scientific weight of evidence on climate change. A number of environmentalists and scientists are available for comment, including:

KEVIN TRENBERTH

Trenberth, who heads the Climate Analysis Section at the National Center for Atmospheric Research, said: "This is amazing in view of the heat wave going on in Texas and throughout the southern U.S., major flooding in Iowa and New England, major droughts throughout the world and many fires. Extremes of climate are indeed increasing, breaking records by substantial amounts. In 1995, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change stated `the balance of evidence suggests there is a discernible human influence on global climate.' The evidence has since increased. These effects are costing billions of dollars, they are not benign. Michaels has few publications that indicate that he has scientific credentials in this area. When he shows up to conferences, the talk he gives is political, not a scientific talk."

• BRANDON MacGILLIS

  MacGillis, director of campaigns for Ozone Action, is critical of Michaels and others who dispute global warming. "Michaels is a vocal skeptic of global warming who receives funding from a number of corporate interests who share his views," MacGillis said. "Among them are the Edison Electric Institute, the German Coal Mining Association and the Western Fuels Association. This fossil fuel money provides a very loud platform that is out of proportion to the dearth of supporting evidence for skeptic scientists, like Michaels, who claim there is no scientific link between human activities and climate change."

• WENONAH HAUTER

  Hauter, director of Public Citizen's Critical Mass Energy Project, said: "Michaels has no credibility on the subject of climate change; he is a hired gun for the fossil fuel industry. Vested interests, like the ones that fund Michaels, care only about their profits, not the gamble that the human race is taking by failing to immediately and significantly reduce emissions. In 1997, worldwide temperatures were at their highest levels in recorded history. This continues a steady, upward trend that most meteorologists believe is powerful evidence that people are changing the Earth's climate."

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