One physicist out of 47,000 leaves an organization because of the phrase "global warming is incontrovertible" - well, it will be interesting to see how many others quit.
I thought the physicist's letter was revealing - especially his editorial at the end.
The fact that he felt compelled to add - "besides, even if it is warmer thinsg are still good and lifespans increased as it got warmer" pretty much tells you what his ideological underpinnings happen to be. "Global warming's not so bad, m'kay" - pretty much a callsign of a certain school of media rhetoric against AGW.
His snippeting of language he objects to is not totally clear - the part that claims anthopogenism may or may not be directly connected to the part about "the evidence is incontrovertible". (note - on finding this letter I have to amend my paraphrasing of the statement as 'global warming is incontrovertible' - apparently the correct version is 'the evidence is incontrovertble'.)
http://www.dailytech.com/Nobel+Laure...ticle22744.htm
Quote:
Thank you for your letter inquiring about my membership. I did not renew it because I can not live with the statement below:
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.
In the APS it is ok to discuss whether the mass of the proton changes over time and how a multi-universe behaves, but the evidence of global warming is incontrovertible? The claim (how can you measure the average temperature of the whole earth for a whole year?) is that the temperature has changed from ~288.0 to ~288.8 degree Kelvin in about 150 years, which (if true) means to me is that the temperature has been amazingly stable, and both human health and happiness have definitely improved in this 'warming' period.
Best regards,
Ivar Giaever
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