Physicists send letter to Senate — Cite 160 scientists protest regarding APS climate position

Since I’m not legally allowed to show the American Physical Society logo (they complained last time) this will have to do:

consensus

A GAGGLE IS NOT A CONSENSUS

You have recently received a letter from the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), purporting to convey a “consensus” of the scientific community that immediate and drastic action is needed to avert a climatic catastrophe.

We do not seek to make the scientific arguments here (we did that in an earlier letter, sent a couple of months ago), but simply to note that the claim of consensus is fake, designed to stampede you into actions that will cripple our economy, and which you will regret for many years. There is no consensus, and even if there were, consensus is not the test of scientific validity. Theories that disagree with the facts are wrong, consensus or no.

We know of no evidence that any of the “leaders” of the scientific community who signed the letter to you ever asked their memberships for their opinions, before claiming to represent them on this important matter.

We also note that the American Physical Society (APS, and we are physicists) did not sign the letter, though the scientific issues at stake are fundamentally matters of applied physics. You can do physics without climatology, but you can’t do climatology without physics.

The APS is at this moment reviewing its stance on so-called global warming, having received a petition from its membership to do so. That petition was signed by 160 distinguished members and fellows of the Society, including one Nobelist and 12 members of the National Academies. Indeed a score of the signers are Members and Fellows of the AAAS, none of whom were consulted before the AAAS letter to you.

Professor Hal Lewis, University of California, Santa Barbara

Professor Fred Singer, University of Virginia

Professor Will Happer, Princeton University

Professor Larry Gould, University of Hartford

Dr. Roger Cohen, retired Manager, Strategic Planning, ExxonMobil

List of 160 signers of the APS petition available at http://tinyurl.com/lg266u

Regarding the National Policy Statement on Climate Change of the APS Council: An Open Letter to the Council of the American Physical Society

As physicists who are familiar with the science issues, and as current and past members of the American Physical Society, we the undersigned urge the Council to revise its current statement* on climate change as follows, so as to more accurately represent the current state of the science:

Greenhouse gas emissions, such as carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide, accompany human industrial and agricultural activity. While substantial concern has been expressed that emissions may cause significant climate change, measured or reconstructed temperature records indicate that 20th 21st century changes are neither exceptional nor persistent, and the historical and geological records show many periods warmer than today. In addition, there is an extensive scientific literature that examines beneficial effects of increased levels of carbon dioxide for both plants and animals.

Studies of a variety of natural processes, including ocean cycles and solar variability, indicate that they can account for variations in the Earth’s climate on the time scale of decades and centuries. Current climate models appear insufficiently reliable to properly account for natural and anthropogenic contributions to past climate change, much less project future climate.

The APS supports an objective scientific effort to understand the effects of all processes – natural and human –on the Earth’s climate and the biosphere’s response to climate change, and promotes technological options for meeting challenges of future climate changes, regardless of cause.

* The statement of the APS Council, adopted on November 18, 2007 is as follows:

“Emissions of greenhouse gases from human activities are changing the atmosphere in ways that affect the Earth’s climate. Greenhouse gases include carbon dioxide as well as methane, nitrous oxide and other gases. They are emitted from fossil fuel combustion and a range of industrial and agricultural processes.

The evidence is incontrovertible: Global warming is occurring. If no mitigating actions are taken, significant disruptions in the Earth’s physical and ecological systems, social systems, security and human health are likely to occur. We must reduce emissions of greenhouse gases beginning now.

Because the complexity of the climate makes accurate prediction difficult, the APS urges an enhanced effort to understand the effects of human activity on the Earth’s climate, and to provide the technological options for meeting the climate challenge in the near and longer terms. The APS also urges governments, universities, national laboratories and its membership to support policies and actions that will reduce the emission of greenhouse gases.”

— APS News; January 2008 (Volume 17, Number 1)

SIGNATURES:

30 October 2009 162 Signatures

Harold M. Agnew President, General Atomics Corporation (1979 -1984) White House Science Councilor (1982 -1989) Director, Los Alamos National Laboratory (1970 -1979)

E.O. Lawrence Award 1966, Enrico Fermi Award 1978, Los Alamos Medal (with H.A. Bethe) 2001 Member National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Engineering; Fellow APS, AAAS

Sol Aisenberg President, International Technology Group Formerly Staff Member, MIT; Lecturer, Harvard Medical School; Visiting Research Professor, Boston University

Ralph B. Alexander Former Associate Professor of Physics Wayne State University President, R.B. Alexander & Associates Technology and market analysis in environmentally friendly materials and coatings Author, Global Warming False Alarm (Canterbury)

Moorad Alexanian Professor of Physics and Physical Oceanography University of North Carolina -Wilmington Member Mexican Academy of Sciences, American Scientific Affiliation

Louis J. Allamandola Director, Astrochemistry Laboratory NASA Ames Research Center Fellow APS, AAAS Member ACS, American Astronomical Society, International Astronomical Union

James L. Allen Engineer/Scientist International Space Station Program The Boeing Company (retired)

Arthur G. Anderson Vice President and former Director of Research IBM (retired) Member National Academy of Engineering, Fellow APS, Fellow IEEE

Eva Andrei Professor of Physics Rutgers University Fellow APS

Robert H. Austin Professor of Physics Princeton University Fellow APS, AAAS; APS Council: 1991-1994, 2007-2010 Member National Academy of Sciences, American Association of Arts and Sciences

David A. Bahr Associate Professor and Chair Department of Physics Bemidji State University

Franco Battaglia Professor of Chemical Physics and Environmental Chemistry University of Modena, Italy Life Member APS

David J. Benard Aerospace Scientist (retired) Co-Inventor of the Chemical Oxygen-Iodine Laser

Lev I. Berger President California Institute of Electronics and Materials Science Author, Semiconductor Materials; and Material and Device Characterization Measurements (CRC Press)

Stuart B. Berger Research Fellow and Divisional Time-to-Market Manager Xerox Corporation (retired)

Ami E. Berkowitz Emeritus Professor of Physics University of California at San Diego Fellow APS

Barry L. Berman Columbian Professor and Chair Physics Department The George Washington University Fellow APS

Edwin X. Berry Atmospheric Physicist, Climate Physics, LLC Certified Consulting Meteorologist #180 Member American Meteorological Society

Frances M. Berting Northern New Mexico Citizens Advisory Board and Committee (2000-present) Los Alamos County Council (2001-2008) Formerly Materials Scientist, Hanford (DOE), Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Westinghouse, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

Vladislav A. Bevc Associate Professor, Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey (retired); Formerly Member of the Technical Staff, The Aerospace Corporation; Physicist, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory; Visiting Fellow, Hoover Institution (Stanford University) Senior Member IEEE

Clifford Bruce Bigham Atomic Energy of Canada, Ltd. (retired) Senior Member APS, Sustaining Member CAP

Arie Bodek George E. Pake Professor of Physics University of Rochester Wolfgang K. H. Panofsky Prize in Experimental Particle Physics (APS) 2004 Fellow APS

John W. Boring Professor Emeritus of Engineering Physics University of Virginia

Lowell S. Brown Emeritus Professor of Physics University of Washington Scientific Staff Member, Los Alamos National Laboratory Fellow APS, AAAS

Daniel M. Bubb Associate Professor and Chair Department of Physics Rutgers University -Camden

Timothy D. Calvin President, Bearfoot Corporation (retired) Fabricated rubber products for the DOD, shoe and automobile industries Member ACS

William J. Camp Emeritus Director: Computation, Information, and Mathematics Sandia National Laboratories Co-founder, IUPAP Commission C-20, The Commission on Computational Physics Nova Award for Invention of the Cray XT3 Computer Architecture (Lockheed Martin Corporation) Fellow APS, Member IEEE Computer Society

Mark L. Campbell Professor, Department of Chemistry United States Naval Academy Life Member APS

Gregory H. Canavan Senior Fellow and Scientific Advisor, Los Alamos National Laboratory Fellow APS

Jack G. Castle Senior Scientist Sandia National Laboratories (retired) Fellow and Life Member APS

Joseph F. Chiang Professor and Former Chairman Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry State University of New York, Oneonta Life Member APS

Roger W. Cohen Manager, Strategic Planning and Programs ExxonMobil Corporation (retired) Otto Schade Prize (Society for Information Display) 2006 Fellow APS

Barry D. Crane Project Director Institute for Defense Analyses Life Member APS

Steven R. Cranmer Astrophysicist, Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics Karen Harvey Prize (AAS) 2006 Associate Editor, Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics Member: American Astronomical Society, American Geophysical Union

J. F. Cuderman Distinguished Member of the Technical Staff Sandia National Laboratories (retired), Life Member APS

Jerry M. Cuttler President, Cuttler and Associates, Inc. Engineering, consulting, and licensing services for the nuclear power industry President, Canadian Nuclear Society 1995-1996 Fellow Canadian Nuclear Society, Member American Nuclear Society

James H. Degnan Principal Physicist Directed Energy Directorate Air Force Research Laboratory Fellow APS

Joseph G. Depp Founding President and CEO, Accuray Incorporated (retired) Stereotactic radiosurgery technology Founding President and CEO, PsiStar Incorporated Life Member APS

Riccardo DeSalvo Senior Scientist Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatory (LIGO) California Institute of Technology Member ASME

James A. Deye Nuclear and Medical physicist Life Member APS

Eugene H. Dirk APS Division of Astrophysics, and Division of Computational Physics Topical Groups on Gravity, and Precision Measurement and Fundamental Constants

David H. Douglass Professor of Physics University of Rochester Fellow APS

Paul J. Drallos President and CEO, Plasma Dynamics Corporation (retired) Kinetic & fluid dynamic computer simulation services

Murray Dryer Emeritus Scientist Space Weather Prediction Center (retired), NWS National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Member American Astronomical Society, American Geophysical Union, AIAA

William T. Duffy Jr. Professor Emeritus of Physics Santa Clara University

David F. Edwards Physicist, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (retired) Formerly Los Alamos National Laboratory; Professor of Physics and Electrical Engineering, Colorado State University; Lincoln Laboratory, MIT

Albert G. Engelhardt President and CEO, Enfitek, Inc. Environmental control and security systems Senior Life Member IEEE

James E. Enstrom Research Professor Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center University of California at Los Angeles Life Member APS

Jens G. Feder Professor of Physics of Geological Processes University of Oslo Fellow APS

Douglas E. Fields Associate Professor Department of Physics and Astronomy University of New Mexico

Michael M. Fitelson Chief Scientist, Micro-Systems Enablers Northrop Grumman Electronic Systems

Harold K. Forsen Senior Vice President, Bechtel Corporation (retired) Governing Board, National Research Council (1994-2003) Foreign Secretary, National Academy of Engineering (1995-2003) Arthur Holly Compton Award (ANS) 1972 Member National Academy of Engineering; Fellow APS, ANS, American Academy of Arts and Sciences

Bruce L. Freeman Senior Experimental Physicist, Ktech Corporation Formerly Professor of Nuclear Engineering, Texas A&M Coauthor Explosively Driven Pulsed Power (Springer);

Explosive Pulsed Power (Imperial College) Member IEEE Plasma Sciences, Directed Energy Professional Society

Peter D. Friedman Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering University of Massachusetts Dartmouth Member American Geophysical Union, ASME, American Nuclear Society

Michael H. Frese Designer/Developer of Multiphysics

Simulation Codes and Applications Founder and Managing Member of NumerEx, LLC Member SIAM, IEEE Ian J. Fritz Research Physicist, Sandia National Laboratories (retired) R&D 100 Award 1991 Basic Energy Sciences Sustained Outstanding Achievement Award (DOE) 1993 Lockheed Martin NOVA Award 2001

Rodger L. Gamblin Managing Director Corona Color, LLC

John C. Garth Research Physicist Air Force Research Laboratory (retired) Member ANS, ASTM, American Association of Physicists in Medicine, Computational Medical Physics Working Group

G. Roger Gathers Senior Scientist, M. H. Chew and Associates Physicist, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (1967-1993) Author, Selected Topics in Shock Wave Physics and

Equation of State Modeling (World Scientific Publishing)

Gary J. Gerardi Professor, Department of Chemistry and Physics William Paterson University

Ivar Giaever Institute Professor, School of Engineering and School of Science Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Nobel Prize in Physics 1973 Member National Academy of Science, National Academy of Engineering; Fellow APS

George T. Gillies Research Professor, School of Engineering and Applied Science; and Research Professor, Department of Physics University of Virginia Clinical Professor, Department of Neurosurgery, Virginia Commonwealth University Fellow APS

Damon Giovanielli President, Sumner Associates scientific consultants Former Division Leader, Physics Division Los Alamos National Laboratory LANL staff member, program and line manager (1972-1993) Fellow AAAS

Albert Gold Associate Dean of Engineering and Applied Sciences Harvard University (retired)

Ronald B. Goldfarb National Institute of Standards and Technology Life Member APS

Laurence I. Gould Professor of Physics University of Hartford Member Executive Board of the New England Section of the APS Chairman (2004), New England Section APS

Paul M. Grant EPRI Science Fellow (retired) IBM Research Staff Member Emeritus Senior Life Fellow APS

Howard D. Greyber University of Pennsylvania (retired) Formerly Princeton University, LLNL Theory Group, Northeastern University Member American Astronomical Society, Fellow Royal Astronomical Society

Ronald J. Gripshover Senior Research Physicist Naval Surface Weapons Center (retired)

Mike Gruntman Professor of Astronautics University of Southern California Author, Blazing the Trail. The Early History of Spacecraft and Rocketry (AIAA) Luigi G. Napolitano Book Award (International Academy of Astronautics) 2006 Member American Geophysical Union, Associate Fellow AIAA

George Hacken Senior Director, Safety-Critical Systems New York City Transit Authority Formerly Senior Member of the Technical Staff, GEC-Marconi Aerospace Chair, New York Chapter, IEEE Computer Society Member AMS, SIAM, ANS, AIAA, New York Academy of Sciences

David S. Hacker Senior Staff Research Engineer Amoco Corporation (retired) Associate Professor of Chemical Engineering, University of Illinois, Chicago Circle (1965-1981) Fellow AIChE

Sultan Hameed Professor of Atmospheric Science School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences Stony Brook University, New York

William Happer Cyrus Fogg Brackett Professor of Physics Princeton University Fellow APS, AAAS Member National Academy of Sciences

Howard C. Hayden Emeritus Professor of Physics University of Connecticut Editor, The Energy Advocate Author, A Primer on CO2 and Climate (Vales Lake)

Dennis B. Hayes Research Physicist Los Alamos, Sandia, and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratories President, Lockheed Martin Nevada Technologies, Inc. (retired) Fellow APS

Jack M. Hollander Professor Emeritus of Energy and Resources, University of California, Berkeley Vice-President Emeritus, The Ohio State University First Head, Energy and Environment Division, Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory Fellow APS, AAAS

David B. Holtkamp Scientific Staff Member, Physics Division Los Alamos National Laboratory

John C. Ingraham Scientific Staff Member, retired Los Alamos National Laboratory Member American Geophysical Union

Helen Jackson Research Physicist, Air Force Research Laboratory Wright Laboratory Member Materials Research Society, IEEE

H. Richard Johnson Co-Founder and Former CEO Watkins-Johnson Company (retired) Member National Academy of Engineering, Life Fellow IEEE

James R. Johnson 3M Company (retired) Member Carlton Society (3M Hall of Fame) Member National Academy of Engineering

O’Dean Judd LANL Fellow Los Alamos National Laboratory (retired) Technical Advisor and Consultant Fellow APS, IEEE, AAAS

Andrew Kaldor Distinguished Scientific Advisor Manager of Breakthrough Research ExxonMobil Corporation (retired) Fellow AAAS, Member ACS

Alexander E. Kaplan Professor, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering The Johns Hopkins University Max Born Award (Optical Society of America) 2005 Alexander von Humboldt Award (von Humboldt Foundation) 1996 Fellow OSA

Thomas J. Karr Director in the Advanced Concepts & Technology Division Northrop Grumman Electronic Systems Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (1984-1996) Editor, Applied Optics (1991-1994) Member OSA, AAAS; Senior Member IEEE

Jonathan Katz Professor of Physics Washington University

William E. Keller Leader, Low Temperature Physics Group 1971-1985 Los Alamos National Laboratory (retired) Fellow APS

John M. Kennel Autonetics Division, Boeing North American (retired) Formerly Electronics Division, Northrop Grumman Corporation Member AAAS, AIAA

Paul I. Kingsbury Manager, Physical Properties Research Department Corning Inc. (retired)

Robert S. Knox Professor of Physics Emeritus University of Rochester Member APS Council (1985-1988) Fellow APS

M. Kristiansen C.B.Thornton/P.W.Horn Professor Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering Texas Tech University Fellow APS, IEEE

Moyses Kuchnir Applied Scientist Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (retired) Life Member APS, Member IEEE, AAAS

Joseph A. Kunc Professor, Physics and Astronomy University of Southern California Fellow APS

Robert E. LeLevier Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (1951-1957) Physics Department, RAND Corp (1957-1971) R&D Associates (1971-1983) Eos Technologies, Inc. (1983-1993)

Paul L. La Celle Professor, Department of Biomedical Engineering Former Chair, Department of Biophysics University of Rochester Alexander von Humboldt Senior Fellow, Max Planck Institute for Biophysics, Frankfort

Robert E. Levine Industrial and Defense Physics and Engineering (retired) Member ACM, IEEE

Harold W. Lewis Professor of Physics Emeritus University of California at Santa Barbara Chairman, Defense Science Board Panel on Nuclear Winter Chairman, APS Reactor Safety Study Fellow APS, AAAS

John D. Lindl James Clerk Maxwell Prize for Plasma Physics (APS) 2007 Fellow APS, AAAS

Xavier Llobet Research Associate Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne

Gabriel G. Lombardi Senior Scientist, Phase Coherence, Inc. National Research Council Associate (NIST, 1980-82) Life Member APS, Member OSA

Michael D. Lubin Colonel, United States Air Force (retired)

Alfred U. MacRae President, MacRae Technologies Member National Academy of Engineering, Fellow APS, IEEE

Phillip W. Mange Associate Superintendent, Space Science Division Scientific Consultant to the Director of Research, Naval Research Laboratory (retired)

John E. Mansfield Vice Chairman Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board

Kristanka Marinova Department of Chemical Engineering Faculty of Chemistry Sofia University

Joseph Maserjian Senior Research Scientist, California Institute of Technology Jet Propulsion Laboratory (retired)

John H. McAdoo Aerospace Physicist Member IEEE, AAAS

Thomas A. McClelland Vice President, Commercial Products Frequency Electronics, Inc.

Harold Mirels Principal Scientist, The Aerospace Corporation (retired) Fellow APS, AIAA Member National Academy of Engineering

Jim Mitroy Lecturer in Physics, School of Engineering and Information Technology Charles Darwin University, Australia

Michael Monce Professor of Physics, Astronomy, and Geophysics Connecticut College Member AAPT, American Geophysical Union

Nasif Nahle Scientific Research Director Biology Cabinet, Mexico Member AAAS, New York Academy of Sciences

Rodney W. Nichols President and CEO, New York Academy of Sciences (1992-2001) Vice President and Executive Vice President, The Rockefeller University (1970-1990) Secretary of Defense Medal for Distinguished Meritorious Civilian Service (1970) Fellow AAAS, New York Academy of Sciences

Gordon C. Oehler Senior Fellow, Potomac Institute for Policy Studies Working Group Chairman, Congressional Commission on the Strategic Posture of the United States. Corporate Vice President for Corporate Development, SAIC (1998-2004) National Intelligence Officer for Science, Technology and Proliferation (1989-1992)

William P. Oliver Professor of Physics Tufts University Life Member APS

Frank R. Paolini Adjunct Professor of Physics University of Connecticut at Stamford (retired) Senior Member APS, Member IEEE

Daniel N. Payton III Senior Scientist, SAIC (1992-present) Eos Technologies (1984-1992) Technical Director of Nuclear Technology Air Force Weapons Laboratory (1976-1984)

Erik M. Pell Xerox Corporation (retired) Author: From Dreams to Riches – The Story of Xerography (Carlson) Edward Goodrich Acheson Medal (Electrochemical Society) 1986 President, Electrochemical Society (1980-1981) Fellow APS, Honorary Member ECS, Senior Member IEEE

Thomas E. Phipps, Jr. Physicist (retired) Operations Evaluation Group, MIT US Naval Ordnance Laboratory Senior Member APS

Donald Rapp Chief Technologist, Mechanical and Chemical Systems, Jet Propulsion Laboratory (retired) Professor of Physics and Environmental Engineering, University of Texas (1973-1979) Author, “Assessing Climate Change” and “Ice Ages and Interglacials” (Springer-Verlag) Fellow APS

Ned S. Rasor Consulting Physicist Formerly President and CEO, Rasor Associates, Inc. Member IEEE, AIAA

Richard T. Rauch NASA Stennis Space Center Life Member APS, Associate Fellow AIAA

John E. Rhoads Professor of Physics Midwestern State University (retired) Member SPE

Harry I. Ringermacher Sr. Research Physicist General Electric Global Research Center AIP “History of Physics in Industry” Participant at GE Sir William Herschel Medal (American Academy of Thermology) Copper Black Award (American Mensa) 2003 and 2007

Stanley Robertson Emeritus Professor of Physics Southwestern Oklahoma State University

Berol Robinson Principal Scientific Officer UNESCO (retired) Member AAPT, AAAS, Association des Écologistes Pour le Nucléaire

Daniel J. Rogers Staff Scientist Applied Information Sciences Department Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory Member OSA

Robert C. Rohr Reactor Physicist Knolls Atomic Power Laboratory (retired) Former Adjunct Professor of Nuclear Engineering, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

Kelly R. Roos Professor of Physics Bradley University

Isaac C. Sanchez William J. Murray, Jr. Chair in Engineering and Associate Chair Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Texas at Austin

U.S. Department of Commerce Medals 1980, 1983 Edward U. Condon Award (NIST) 1983; SPE International Research Award 1996 Member National Academy of Engineering, Fellow APS

Raymond E. Sarwinski President, Cryogenic Designs, Inc. Life Member APS

Nicola Scafetta Research Scientist, Physics Department, Duke University Member American Geophysical Union

Mark D. Semon Professor, Department of Physics and Astronomy Bates College Member American Academy of Forensic Scientists, American College of Forensic Examiners

Thomas P. Sheahen President/ CEO, Western Technology, Inc. (energy sciences consulting) Member AAAS; APS Congressional Science Fellowship (1977-78) Author, Introduction to High Temperature Superconductivity (Springer)

Arnold J. Sierk Technical Staff Member Theoretical Division Los Alamos National Laboratory Fellow APS

Joseph Silverman Professor Emeritus of Nuclear Engineering, Department of Materials Science and Engineering University of Maryland Fellow APS, ANS

S. Fred Singer Professor of Environmental Sciences Emeritus University of Virginia First Director of the National Weather Satellite Service Fellow APS, AAAS, American Geophysical Union

Frans W. Sluijter Professor, Department of Applied Physics Eindhoven University of Technology Former Chair, Plasma Physics Division, European Physics Society Former Vice President, International Union of Pure and Applied Physics Member Dutch Physical Society, Institute of Physics UK

John R. Smith Project Physicist, Experimental High Energy Physics Department of Physics University of California, Davis Life Member APS

Hermann Statz Raytheon Corporation (retired) Microwave Pioneer Award (IEEE) 2004 Fellow APS

Nick Steph Chair, Department of Physics Franklin College Member AAPT, ACS

Peter Stilbs Professor of Physical Chemistry Royal Institute of Technology (KTH), Stockholm, Sweden Life Member APS

Norman D. Stockwell Senior Project Engineer, TRW (retired) Former Member of the Technical Staff, The Aerospace Corporation Life Member APS, Member AAAS

Thomas F. Stratton Fellow, Los Alamos National Laboratory (retired) Fellow APS

William R. Stratton Scientific Staff Member Los Alamos National Laboratory (retired) Member AEC Advisory Committee on Reactor Safety Chair ANS Nuclear Reactor Accident Study Fellow ANS

Szymon Suckewer Professor of School of Engineering & Applied Sciences Director of Plasma Science & Technology Program Princeton University Fellow APS, OSA

Ronald M. Sundelin Associate Director, DOE Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility (retired) Commonwealth Professor Emeritus of Physics, Virginia Tech Fellow APS

Andrei Szilagyi Formerly Chief Scientist, Aura Systems, Inc. Chief Technologist, Radiant Technology Corporation Chief Scientist, NanoMuscle Inc. Member MRS, Electrochemical Society, TMS – The Minerals, Metals, and Materials Society

Willard L. Talbert Scientific Consultant (1993-present) Scientific Staff Member, Los Alamos National Laboratory, 1976-1993 (retired) Professor of Physics, Iowa State University (1961-1976) Fellow APS

Lu Ting Professor Emeritus of Mathematics Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences, New York University Lead Author, Vortex Dominated Flows (Applied Mathematical Sciences, Springer) Member SIAM, AIAA, AAM

Frank J. Tipler Professor of Mathematical Physics Tulane University Coauthor, The Anthropic Cosmological Principle (Oxford University Press)

Salvatore Torquato Professor of Chemistry and the Princeton Center for Theoretical Science, Materials Institute and Applied & Computational Mathematics Princeton University 2009 APS David Alder Lectureship Award in the Field of Material Physics Fellow APS

Rusty S. Towell Professor of Physics Abilene Christian University Member IEEE

Edward S. Troy Principal Engineer Aerospace Consulting Wireless, RF, microwave, analog/DSP, and GPS circuits and systems Member IEEE

William B. Walters Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Maryland John Simon Guggenheim Fellow (1986) ACS Award in Nuclear Chemistry (2001) Alexander von Humboldt Senior Fellow, University of Mainz (2002) Life Member APS, Member ACS

Samuel A. Werner Curators’ Professor Emeritus The University of Missouri Guest Researcher, NIST Fellow APS, AAAS

Bruce J. West Adjunct Professor of Physics Duke University Fellow APS

Peter J. Wojtowicz Group Head, Senior Member Technical Staff (retired) RCA Labs, GE, Sarnoff Corporation Fellow APS

Ya-Hong Xie Professor of Materials Science and Engineering University of California at Los Angeles Senior Member IEEE, Member Materials Research Society

M. John Yoder Principal Physicist The MITRE Corporation Life Member APS

Claude Zeller Principal Fellow Pitney Bowles Inc. Member IEEE

Martin V. Zombeck Physicist, Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics (retired) Author, Handbook of Space Astronomy and Astrophysics (Cambridge University Press) Coauthor, High Resolution X-Ray Spectroscopy of Cosmic Plasmas (Cambridge University Press)

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Bill in Vigo
November 2, 2009 7:18 am

Sounds as if some scientists are objecting to their societies by inclusion signing their names by proxy with out empirical sampling. Hurray for them. About time the political end of societies devoted to science had to take a back seat to the scientific end of said societies.
Bill Derryberry

Vincent
November 2, 2009 7:23 am

I call these 160 physicists the “myth busters”, busting the myth of consensus. And not a moment too soon. Just look at this piece of jibberish from the Financial Times of all newspapers.
“Some of the sceptics may have scientific backgrounds but they are not in the mainstream of contemporary climate research. The real experts – hundreds of scientists worldwide who are examining the link between climate and carbon dioxide emissions – have no doubt that man-made global warming is a real crisis that must be addressed urgently.”
So, according to the FT, sceptics only have a “science background” away from mainstream climate research. Those who form the consensus, are, according to the FT, “real experts.” Thus Lindzen, Christy, Spencer, Pielke, Eschenbach et al merely have a science background, while Schmidt, Mann, Briffa et al count as real experts.
Yeah right. So now we can add 160 physicists to the sceptics list. I’ll just sit back and wait for the announcement to be read in this evenings news broadcast.

Bernie
November 2, 2009 7:31 am

Wow, this is one tough letter. They are calling the wannabees essentially know nothings: “You cannot to climatology without physics”. The adults have decided to get involved.

November 2, 2009 7:36 am

I dropped my APS membership after reading the AGW position statement. Perhaps if it were revised I would consider rejoining. I was always leery of the “consensus” amongst those in my discipline…

TerryBixler
November 2, 2009 7:39 am

Thank you to all the scientists that signed the petition and had the courage to produce the petition.

November 2, 2009 7:48 am

That “Baghdad Bob” picture is priceless. I have created also one for different case:
http://i34.tinypic.com/21oo46x.jpg
“You can do physics without climatology, but you can’t do climatology without physics” is my Quote of the week.

John
November 2, 2009 7:53 am

The picture of comical Ali made me laugh out loud. Hopefully this will be how Al Gore et al appear as the AGW theory crumbles.

pyromancer76
November 2, 2009 7:55 am

Remember all these physicists who know their science and know not to prostate it before politics/grants/money. Remember their institutions/organizations. Thanks to Anthony for the names of heroes for science. Now if people like Brian B would join forces with those named above, rather than quit, and demand the resignation of those who perverted, at the very least, climate science, then we might begin to see some sanity return to western societies and science.

Adam Gallon
November 2, 2009 7:56 am

Well, the very fact that this person appears
Dr. Roger Cohen, retired Manager, Strategic Planning, ExxonMobil
It just shows that it’s all funded by BIG OIL and thus is completely biased, unlike anything from The (Insert countryof choice) Government and can be ignored.
Not!

November 2, 2009 7:58 am

http://www.phys.uconn.edu/icap2008/exhibitors/aps-logo.jpeg
In case anyone is feeling cheated. (By the way, did you know that people are PIRATING
Holywood Movies by the Internet? 60 Minutes on Sunday. Horrors! The Holywood people are up in arms about it! But that’s a real concern of lost revenue. Not a “we just don’t like you” concern, as Anthony using the APS logo in a legitimate way.)

UK Sceptic
November 2, 2009 7:58 am

Looks like common sense is back in fashion. Something to celebtrate…

November 2, 2009 7:59 am

PS – The misspelling on Hollywood is intentional.

Ron de Haan
November 2, 2009 8:05 am

You can control and dictate “party lines” for Government bodies, institutions, Universities, NGO’s and the media, but you can’t control the individual mind.
I am worried though, especially when Lord Moncton, in his radio interview with Glenn Beck mentioned that there was a “state of fear” within Congress and the Senate.
I applaud all the scientists on the list and thank them for their initiative and WUWT for posting this message.

Gail Combs
November 2, 2009 8:07 am

I am glad to see the Physicists have added their voice to that of the chemists upset with the American Chemical Society. http://wattsupwiththat.com/2009/07/30/american-chemical-society-members-revolting-against-their-editor-for-pro-agw-views/
Do not tell my hubby but the Physicists (him) top the chemists (me) in scientific clout when it comes to AGW.
“You cannot do climatology without physics” is so true. The paper published in the International Journal of Modern Physics. By G. Gerlich,  R. D. Tscheuschner made a lot of sense to my poor chemist’s mind.

DAV
November 2, 2009 8:08 am

Wow! It’s about time.

November 2, 2009 8:13 am

If anyone ever says to me that chemists, or physicists (…or insert your empirically driven scientific discipline of choice here…) are not climatologists, I reply with, “no, they are REAL scientists. NOT political advocates. UNLIKE the entire IPCC.”

November 2, 2009 8:16 am

“You cannot do climatology without physics”
Indeed, but that does not stop many of them climatologists trying, does it?
Climatology is the only discipline in “science” that is entirely conclusion lead, ignores empirical evidence and relies on flawed computer simulations, errors and blatant lies to self-validate in the least scientific process I have ever witnessed of any organisation that claims to be scientific.

Ron de Haan
November 2, 2009 8:20 am
Steve Keohane
November 2, 2009 8:31 am

Thank you for injecting some science into the emotion/money baised climate hysteria.

MartinGAtkins
November 2, 2009 8:33 am

So there are some honest scientists left out there. Rare these days, perhaps we should have them stuffed and mounted for posterity.

November 2, 2009 8:40 am

Members of AGU got a similar letter:
http://www.agu.org/cgi-bin/asla/asla-list?read=2009-19.msg

John Phillips
November 2, 2009 8:45 am

Political types eventually occupy major organization leadership roles, even if the organization is a scientific, medical or engineering society. By definition, political types are succeptable to political correctness and can be pressured into supporting politically correct “consensus”.

jorgekafkazar
November 2, 2009 8:59 am

JoePapp (07:58:35) :”…By the way, did you know that people are PIRATING Holywood Movies by the Internet? 60 Minutes on Sunday. Horrors! The Holywood people are up in arms about it!”
Yes, and MICHAEL JACKSON DIED!!

November 2, 2009 9:23 am

Ron de Haan (08:20:00) : It´s over. It´s time to congratulate the warmists.
As the chinese proverb reads: “Wait in front of your house and you´ll see the corpse of your enemy`passing by”
.

ShrNfr
November 2, 2009 9:29 am

In view of the politicization of the AAAS I will not be renewing my membership. I have been a member for over 20 years.

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