Dec 04, 2009
As U.S. scientists with substantial expertise on climate change and its impacts on natural
ecosystems, our built environment and human well-being, we want to assure policy makers and
the public of the integrity of the underlying scientific research and the need for urgent action to
reduce heat-trapping emissions. In the last few weeks, opponents of taking action on climate
change have misrepresented both the content and the significance of stolen emails to obscure
public understanding of climate science and the scientific process.
We would like to set the record straight.
The body of evidence that human activity is the dominant cause of global warming is
overwhelming. The content of the stolen emails has no impact whatsoever on our overall
understanding that human activity is driving dangerous levels of global warming. The scientific
process depends on open access to methodology, data, and a rigorous peer-review process.
The robust exchange of ideas in the peer-reviewed literature regarding climate science is
evidence of the high degree of integrity in this process.
As the recent letter to Congress from 18 leading U.S. scientific organizations, including the
American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Geophysical Union, and the
American Meteorological Society, states:
"Observations throughout the world make it clear that climate change is
occurring, and rigorous scientific research demonstrates that the greenhouse
gases emitted by human activities are the primary driver. These conclusions are
based on multiple independent lines of evidence, and contrary assertions are
inconsistent with an objective assessment of the vast body of peer-reviewed
science. ... If we are to avoid the most severe impacts of climate change,
emissions of greenhouse gases must be dramatically reduced."
These "multiple independent lines of evidence" are drawn from numerous public and private
research centers all across the United States and beyond, including several independent
analyses of surface temperature data. Even without including analyses from the UK research
center from which the emails were stolen, the body of evidence underlying our understanding
of human-caused global warming remains robust.
We urge you to take account of this as you make decisions on climate policy.
^ = Member of National Academy of Sciences
Institutional affiliation for identification purposes only
Signed:
David Archer, Ph.D.
Professor
Department of the Geophysical Sciences
University of Chicago
Chicago, IL
William C. Clark, Ph.D.^
Harvey Brooks Professor of International
Science, Public Policy, and Human
Development
John F. Kennedy School of Government
Harvard University
Cambridge, MA
Peter C. Frumhoff, Ph.D.
Director of Science and Policy
Chief Scientist, Climate Campaign
Union of Concerned Scientists
Cambridge, MA
Inez Fung, Ph.D.^
Professor of Atmospheric Science
Co-Director, Berkeley Institute of the
Environment
University of California, Berkeley
Berkeley, CA
Neal Lane, Ph.D.
Professor
Rice University
Former Director, National Science
Foundation
Former Director, White House Office of
Science and Technology Policy
Houston, TX
Michael MacCracken, Ph.D.
Chief Scientist for Climate Change Programs
The Climate Institute
Washington, DC
Pamela Matson, Ph.D.^
Professor
School of Earth Sciences
Stanford University
Stanford, CA
James J. McCarthy, Ph.D.
Alexander Agassiz Professor of Biological
Oceanography
Harvard University
Cambridge, MA
Jerry Melillo, Ph.D.
Senior Scientist and Director Emeritus
The Ecosystems Center
Marine Biological Laboratory
Woods Hole, MA
Edward L. Miles, Ph.D.^
Bloedel Professor of Marine Studies and
Public Affairs
School of Marine Affairs
Co-Director, Center for Science in the Earth
System, JISAO
University of Washington
Seattle, WA
Mario J. Molina, Ph.D.^
Scripps Institution of Oceanography
University of California, San Diego
Nobel Laureate, Chemistry
San Diego, CA
Ellen Mosley-Thompson, Ph.D.^
Director, Byrd Polar Research Center
Professor of Geography and University
Distinguished Scholar
The Ohio State University
Columbus, OH
Gerald R. North, Ph.D.
Distinguished Professor of Atmospheric
Sciences and Oceanography
Texas A&M University
College Station, TX
Michael Oppenheimer, Ph.D.
Albert G. Milbank Professor of Geosciences
and International Affairs
Department of Geosciences and Woodrow
Wilson School of Public and International
Affairs
Princeton University
Princeton, NJ
Jonathan T. Overpeck, Ph.D.
Co-Director, Institute of the Environment
Professor
Department of Geosciences
Department of Atmospheric Sciences
University of Arizona
Tucson, AZ
Ronald G. Prinn, Ph.D.
TEPCO Professor of Atmospheric Science
Director, Center for Global Change Science
Co-Director, Joint Program on the Science
and Policy of Global Change
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Cambridge, MA
Alan Robock, Ph.D.
Distinguished Professor
Rutgers University
President, Atmospheric Sciences Section,
American Geophysical Union
Chair-Elect, Atmospheric and Hydrospheric
Sciences Section, American Association for
the Advancement of Science
New Brunswick, NJ
Benjamin D. Santer, Ph.D.
Program for Climate Model Diagnosis and
Intercomparison
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
Livermore, CA
William H. Schlesinger, Ph.D.^
President, Cary Institute of Ecosystem
Studies
Millbrook, NY
Daniel P. Schrag, Ph.D.
Sturgis Hooper Professor of Geology
Professor of Environmental Science and
Engineering
Director, Harvard University Center for the
Environment
Cambridge, MA
Drew Shindell, Ph.D.
Senior Scientist
NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies
New York, NY
Richard C. J. Somerville, Ph.D.
Distinguished Professor Emeritus and
Research Professor
Scripps Institution of Oceanography
University of California, San Diego
La Jolla, CA
Warren M. Washington, Ph.D.
Senior Scientist
National Center for Atmospheric Research
Boulder, CO
Donald J. Wuebbles, Ph.D
.
The Harry E. Preble Professor of
Atmospheric Sciences
Department of Atmospheric Sciences
University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
Urbana, IL
Carl Wunsch, Ph.D.^
Cecil and Ida Green Professor of Physical
Oceanography
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Cambridge, MA
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As U.S. scientists with substantial expertise on climate change and its impacts on natural
ecosystems, our built environment and human well-being, we want to assure policy makers and
the public of the integrity of the underlying scientific research and the need for urgent action to
reduce heat-trapping emissions. In the last few weeks, opponents of taking action on climate
change have misrepresented both the content and the significance of stolen emails to obscure
public understanding of climate science and the scientific process.
We would like to set the record straight.
The body of evidence that human activity is the dominant cause of global warming is
overwhelming. The content of the stolen emails has no impact whatsoever on our overall
understanding that human activity is driving dangerous levels of global warming. The scientific
process depends on open access to methodology, data, and a rigorous peer-review process.
The robust exchange of ideas in the peer-reviewed literature regarding climate science is
evidence of the high degree of integrity in this process.
As the recent letter to Congress from 18 leading U.S. scientific organizations, including the
American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Geophysical Union, and the
American Meteorological Society, states:
"Observations throughout the world make it clear that climate change is
occurring, and rigorous scientific research demonstrates that the greenhouse
gases emitted by human activities are the primary driver. These conclusions are
based on multiple independent lines of evidence, and contrary assertions are
inconsistent with an objective assessment of the vast body of peer-reviewed
science. ... If we are to avoid the most severe impacts of climate change,
emissions of greenhouse gases must be dramatically reduced."
These "multiple independent lines of evidence" are drawn from numerous public and private
research centers all across the United States and beyond, including several independent
analyses of surface temperature data. Even without including analyses from the UK research
center from which the emails were stolen, the body of evidence underlying our understanding
of human-caused global warming remains robust.
We urge you to take account of this as you make decisions on climate policy.
^ = Member of National Academy of Sciences
Institutional affiliation for identification purposes only
Signed:
David Archer, Ph.D.
Professor
Department of the Geophysical Sciences
University of Chicago
Chicago, IL
William C. Clark, Ph.D.^
Harvey Brooks Professor of International
Science, Public Policy, and Human
Development
John F. Kennedy School of Government
Harvard University
Cambridge, MA
Peter C. Frumhoff, Ph.D.
Director of Science and Policy
Chief Scientist, Climate Campaign
Union of Concerned Scientists
Cambridge, MA
Inez Fung, Ph.D.^
Professor of Atmospheric Science
Co-Director, Berkeley Institute of the
Environment
University of California, Berkeley
Berkeley, CA
Neal Lane, Ph.D.
Professor
Rice University
Former Director, National Science
Foundation
Former Director, White House Office of
Science and Technology Policy
Houston, TX
Michael MacCracken, Ph.D.
Chief Scientist for Climate Change Programs
The Climate Institute
Washington, DC
Pamela Matson, Ph.D.^
Professor
School of Earth Sciences
Stanford University
Stanford, CA
James J. McCarthy, Ph.D.
Alexander Agassiz Professor of Biological
Oceanography
Harvard University
Cambridge, MA
Jerry Melillo, Ph.D.
Senior Scientist and Director Emeritus
The Ecosystems Center
Marine Biological Laboratory
Woods Hole, MA
Edward L. Miles, Ph.D.^
Bloedel Professor of Marine Studies and
Public Affairs
School of Marine Affairs
Co-Director, Center for Science in the Earth
System, JISAO
University of Washington
Seattle, WA
Mario J. Molina, Ph.D.^
Scripps Institution of Oceanography
University of California, San Diego
Nobel Laureate, Chemistry
San Diego, CA
Ellen Mosley-Thompson, Ph.D.^
Director, Byrd Polar Research Center
Professor of Geography and University
Distinguished Scholar
The Ohio State University
Columbus, OH
Gerald R. North, Ph.D.
Distinguished Professor of Atmospheric
Sciences and Oceanography
Texas A&M University
College Station, TX
Michael Oppenheimer, Ph.D.
Albert G. Milbank Professor of Geosciences
and International Affairs
Department of Geosciences and Woodrow
Wilson School of Public and International
Affairs
Princeton University
Princeton, NJ
Jonathan T. Overpeck, Ph.D.
Co-Director, Institute of the Environment
Professor
Department of Geosciences
Department of Atmospheric Sciences
University of Arizona
Tucson, AZ
Ronald G. Prinn, Ph.D.
TEPCO Professor of Atmospheric Science
Director, Center for Global Change Science
Co-Director, Joint Program on the Science
and Policy of Global Change
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Cambridge, MA
Alan Robock, Ph.D.
Distinguished Professor
Rutgers University
President, Atmospheric Sciences Section,
American Geophysical Union
Chair-Elect, Atmospheric and Hydrospheric
Sciences Section, American Association for
the Advancement of Science
New Brunswick, NJ
Benjamin D. Santer, Ph.D.
Program for Climate Model Diagnosis and
Intercomparison
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
Livermore, CA
William H. Schlesinger, Ph.D.^
President, Cary Institute of Ecosystem
Studies
Millbrook, NY
Daniel P. Schrag, Ph.D.
Sturgis Hooper Professor of Geology
Professor of Environmental Science and
Engineering
Director, Harvard University Center for the
Environment
Cambridge, MA
Drew Shindell, Ph.D.
Senior Scientist
NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies
New York, NY
Richard C. J. Somerville, Ph.D.
Distinguished Professor Emeritus and
Research Professor
Scripps Institution of Oceanography
University of California, San Diego
La Jolla, CA
Warren M. Washington, Ph.D.
Senior Scientist
National Center for Atmospheric Research
Boulder, CO
Donald J. Wuebbles, Ph.D
.
The Harry E. Preble Professor of
Atmospheric Sciences
Department of Atmospheric Sciences
University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
Urbana, IL
Carl Wunsch, Ph.D.^
Cecil and Ida Green Professor of Physical
Oceanography
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Cambridge, MA
As U.S. scientists with substantial expertise on climate change and its impacts on natural
ecosystems, our built environment and human well-being, we want to assure policy makers and
the public of the integrity of the underlying scientific research and the need for urgent action to
reduce heat-trapping emissions. In the last few weeks, opponents of taking action on climate
change have misrepresented both the content and the significance of stolen emails to obscure
public understanding of climate science and the scientific process.
We would like to set the record straight.
The body of evidence that human activity is the dominant cause of global warming is
overwhelming. The content of the stolen emails has no impact whatsoever on our overall
understanding that human activity is driving dangerous levels of global warming. The scientific
process depends on open access to methodology, data, and a rigorous peer-review process.
The robust exchange of ideas in the peer-reviewed literature regarding climate science is
evidence of the high degree of integrity in this process.
As the recent letter to Congress from 18 leading U.S. scientific organizations, including the
American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Geophysical Union, and the
American Meteorological Society, states:
"Observations throughout the world make it clear that climate change is
occurring, and rigorous scientific research demonstrates that the greenhouse
gases emitted by human activities are the primary driver. These conclusions are
based on multiple independent lines of evidence, and contrary assertions are
inconsistent with an objective assessment of the vast body of peer-reviewed
science. ... If we are to avoid the most severe impacts of climate change,
emissions of greenhouse gases must be dramatically reduced."
These "multiple independent lines of evidence" are drawn from numerous public and private
research centers all across the United States and beyond, including several independent
analyses of surface temperature data. Even without including analyses from the UK research
center from which the emails were stolen, the body of evidence underlying our understanding
of human-caused global warming remains robust.
We urge you to take account of this as you make decisions on climate policy.
^ = Member of National Academy of Sciences
Institutional affiliation for identification purposes only
Signed:
David Archer, Ph.D.
Professor
Department of the Geophysical Sciences
University of Chicago
Chicago, IL
William C. Clark, Ph.D.^
Harvey Brooks Professor of International
Science, Public Policy, and Human
Development
John F. Kennedy School of Government
Harvard University
Cambridge, MA
Peter C. Frumhoff, Ph.D.
Director of Science and Policy
Chief Scientist, Climate Campaign
Union of Concerned Scientists
Cambridge, MA
Inez Fung, Ph.D.^
Professor of Atmospheric Science
Co-Director, Berkeley Institute of the
Environment
University of California, Berkeley
Berkeley, CA
Neal Lane, Ph.D.
Professor
Rice University
Former Director, National Science
Foundation
Former Director, White House Office of
Science and Technology Policy
Houston, TX
Michael MacCracken, Ph.D.
Chief Scientist for Climate Change Programs
The Climate Institute
Washington, DC
Pamela Matson, Ph.D.^
Professor
School of Earth Sciences
Stanford University
Stanford, CA
James J. McCarthy, Ph.D.
Alexander Agassiz Professor of Biological
Oceanography
Harvard University
Cambridge, MA
Jerry Melillo, Ph.D.
Senior Scientist and Director Emeritus
The Ecosystems Center
Marine Biological Laboratory
Woods Hole, MA
Edward L. Miles, Ph.D.^
Bloedel Professor of Marine Studies and
Public Affairs
School of Marine Affairs
Co-Director, Center for Science in the Earth
System, JISAO
University of Washington
Seattle, WA
Mario J. Molina, Ph.D.^
Scripps Institution of Oceanography
University of California, San Diego
Nobel Laureate, Chemistry
San Diego, CA
Ellen Mosley-Thompson, Ph.D.^
Director, Byrd Polar Research Center
Professor of Geography and University
Distinguished Scholar
The Ohio State University
Columbus, OH
Gerald R. North, Ph.D.
Distinguished Professor of Atmospheric
Sciences and Oceanography
Texas A&M University
College Station, TX
Michael Oppenheimer, Ph.D.
Albert G. Milbank Professor of Geosciences
and International Affairs
Department of Geosciences and Woodrow
Wilson School of Public and International
Affairs
Princeton University
Princeton, NJ
Jonathan T. Overpeck, Ph.D.
Co-Director, Institute of the Environment
Professor
Department of Geosciences
Department of Atmospheric Sciences
University of Arizona
Tucson, AZ
Ronald G. Prinn, Ph.D.
TEPCO Professor of Atmospheric Science
Director, Center for Global Change Science
Co-Director, Joint Program on the Science
and Policy of Global Change
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Cambridge, MA
Alan Robock, Ph.D.
Distinguished Professor
Rutgers University
President, Atmospheric Sciences Section,
American Geophysical Union
Chair-Elect, Atmospheric and Hydrospheric
Sciences Section, American Association for
the Advancement of Science
New Brunswick, NJ
Benjamin D. Santer, Ph.D.
Program for Climate Model Diagnosis and
Intercomparison
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
Livermore, CA
William H. Schlesinger, Ph.D.^
President, Cary Institute of Ecosystem
Studies
Millbrook, NY
Daniel P. Schrag, Ph.D.
Sturgis Hooper Professor of Geology
Professor of Environmental Science and
Engineering
Director, Harvard University Center for the
Environment
Cambridge, MA
Drew Shindell, Ph.D.
Senior Scientist
NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies
New York, NY
Richard C. J. Somerville, Ph.D.
Distinguished Professor Emeritus and
Research Professor
Scripps Institution of Oceanography
University of California, San Diego
La Jolla, CA
Warren M. Washington, Ph.D.
Senior Scientist
National Center for Atmospheric Research
Boulder, CO
Donald J. Wuebbles, Ph.D
.
The Harry E. Preble Professor of
Atmospheric Sciences
Department of Atmospheric Sciences
University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
Urbana, IL
Carl Wunsch, Ph.D.^
Cecil and Ida Green Professor of Physical
Oceanography
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Cambridge, MA
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