November 18, 1998
To: the Editor
International Herald Tribune
Fax: 011-33-141-43-93-38We request the opportunity to reply to the article by Woodwell and Holdren, published on November 14-15.
Not only are their statements untrue, but they also attack us personally, by name, in a slanderous manner.
Our reply is restrained. We do not mention the fact that Green activists tried to sabotage the petition signed by over 17,000 scientists by fraudulently introducing some fake names and then “discovering” their presence. Nor do we find it necessary to point out that Woodwell and Holdren have no discernible qualifications as climate scientists.
Frederick Seitz
ChairmanS. Fred Singer
PresidentNovember 18, 1998
Letter to International Herald Tribune
It is regrettable that ecologist George Woodwell and energy policy specialist John Holdren ("Climate-Change Skeptics Are Wrong, IHT , Nov. 14-15) find it necessary to use vituperative language in their attempt to downplay the existence of widespread scientific dissent to the activist view of global warming. They were commenting on an article by columnist Jeff Jacoby ("The 'Chicken Little' Mindset, IHT, Nov. 7), which mentioned prominent scientists who oppose the Kyoto climate accord.
Both the 1996 Leipzig Declaration and the 1998 Oregon Petition (signed by over 17,000 scientists, two-thirds with advanced degrees) are subscribed to by well-recognized experts, including members of the National Academy of Sciences and scientist-participants in the UN-sponsored climate reports. The names of all of the signers of the Oregon Petition were rechecked and verified. As for the Leipzig Declaration, perhaps Woodwell and Holdren are confusing it with a 1997 pro-global warming petition circulated by a Green group called Ozone Action; the OA petition was indeed found to have been signed by numerous non-scientists. Signatories to the Leipzig Declaration, and their impressive credentials, are posted on the Internet at www.sepp.org. Each of those listed requested in writing that their name be added.
More to the point, Woodwell and Holdren seem unaware that the observed temperatures, as recorded by instruments on satellites and on weather balloons, show no discernible warming trend in the past two decades, which strongly conflicts with the results of computer climate models. Based on the available evidence from actual observations, most scientists would extrapolate at most a slight warming by the year 2100, which would barely be detectable and most certainly inconsequential.
In contrast, the framers of the infamous Kyoto Protocol posit a catastrophic climate "disruption", and then put forth a strategy that, even if stringently enforced, would reduce their forecast warming by just 0.05 degrees. For this minute amount, the United States would have to cut its energy use by about 35 percent within a decade, at a huge economic cost.
No serious scientist would endorse such a plan, and more than 17,000 of them -- hardly a "handful" -- have said so, for the record.
Dr. Frederick Seitz, Tel: (212)327-8423
Dr. S. Fred Singer, Tel: (703) 934-6940Dr. Frederick Seitz and Dr. S. Fred Singer serve as chairman and president, respectively, of The Science & Environmental Policy Project, a non-partisan, non-profit organization of scientists. Dr. Seitz is a former president of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences and of the American Physical Society, and president emeritus of the Rockefeller University. He is recipient of the National Medal of Science. Dr. Singer, an atmospheric physicist, received a White House commendation for his pioneering work on instrumented satellites. He is a former director of the U.S. Weather Satellite Service and devised the satellite instrumentation for measuring stratospheric ozone.
Comments on this posting?
Click here to post a public comment on the Trash Talk Bulletin Board.
Click here to send a private comment to the Junkman.
Copyright © 1998 Steven J. Milloy. All rights reserved on original material. Material copyrighted by others is used either with permission or under a claim of "fair use." Site developed and hosted by WestLake Solutions, Inc.
Material presented on this home page constitutes opinion of Steven J. Milloy.