Climate Change and the Integrity of Science

Anyone that has been around scientists very much knows how difficult it is to get two or three of them to agree on anything, let alone something as complex as climate. The NAS letter has a profound message in this simple fact: 255 members signed it.

Source File

National Academy of Science

Letter: Climate Change and the Integrity of Science

We are deeply disturbed by the recent escalation of political assaults on scientists in general and on climate scientists in particular. All citizens should understand some basic scientific facts. There is always some uncertainty associated with scientific conclusions; science never absolutely proves anything. When someone says that society should wait until scientists are absolutely certain before taking any action, it is the same as saying society should never take action. For a problem as potentially catastrophic as climate change, taking no action poses a dangerous risk for our planet.

Scientific conclusions derive from an understanding of basic laws supported by laboratory experiments, observations of nature, and mathematical and computer modeling. Like all human beings, scientists make mistakes, but the scientific process is designed to find and correct them. This process is inherently adversarial— scientists build reputations and gain recognition not only for supporting conventional wisdom, but even more so for demonstrating that the scientific consensus is wrong and that there is a better explanation. That's what Galileo, Pasteur, Darwin, and Einstein did. But when some conclusions have been thoroughly and deeply tested, questioned, and examined, they gain the status of "well- established theories" and are often spoken of as "facts."

For instance, there is compelling scientific evidence that our planet is about 4.5bn years old (the theory of the origin of Earth), that our universe was born from a single event about 14bn years ago (the Big Bang theory), and that today's organisms evolved from ones living in the past (the theory of evolution). Even as these are overwhelmingly accepted by the scientific community, fame still awaits anyone who could show these theories to be wrong. Climate change now falls into this category: there is compelling, comprehensive, and consistent objective evidence that humans are changing the climate in ways that threaten our societies and the ecosystems on which we depend.

Many recent assaults on climate science and, more disturbingly, on climate scientists by climate change deniers, are typically driven by special interests or dogma, not by an honest effort to provide an alternative theory that credibly satisfies the evidence. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and other scientific assessments of climate change, which involve thousands of scientists producing massive and comprehensive reports, have, quite expectedly and normally, made some mistakes. When errors are pointed out, they are corrected.

But there is nothing remotely identified in the recent events that changes the fundamental conclusions about climate change:

(i) The planet is warming due to increased concentrations of heat-trapping gases in our atmosphere. A snowy winter in Washington does not alter this fact.

(ii) Most of the increase in the concentration of these gases over the last century is due to human activities, especially the burning of fossil fuels and deforestation.

(iii) Natural causes always play a role in changing Earth's climate, but are now being overwhelmed by human-induced changes.

(iv) Warming the planet will cause many other climatic patterns to change at speeds unprecedented in modern times, including increasing rates of sea-level rise and alterations in the hydrologic cycle. Rising concentrations of carbon dioxide are making the oceans more acidic.

(v) The combination of these complex climate changes threatens coastal communities and cities, our food and water supplies, marine and freshwater ecosystems, forests, high mountain environments, and far more.

Much more can be, and has been, said by the world's scientific societies, national academies, and individuals, but these conclusions should be enough to indicate why scientists are concerned about what future generations will face from business- as-usual practices. We urge our policymakers and the public to move forward immediately to address the causes of climate change, including the unrestrained burning of fossil fuels.

We also call for an end to McCarthy- like threats of criminal prosecution against our colleagues based on innuendo and guilt by association, the harassment of scientists by politicians seeking distractions to avoid taking action, and the outright lies being spread about them. Society has two choices: we can ignore the science and hide our heads in the sand and hope we are lucky, or we can act in the public interest to reduce the threat of global climate change quickly and substantively. The good news is that smart and effective actions are possible. But delay must not be an option.

The signatories are all members of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences but are not speaking on its behalf or on behalf of their institutions:

1. Adams, Robert McCormick, University of California, San Diego
2. Amasino, Richard M, University of Wisconsin
   
3. Anders, Edward, University of Chicago
   
4. Anderson, David J, California Institute of Technology
   
5. Anderson, Wyatt W, University of Georgia
6. Anselin, Luc E, Arizona State University
   
7. Arroyo, Mary Kalin, University of Chile
   
8. Asfaw, Berhane, Rift Valley Research Service
   
9. Ayala, Francisco J, University of California, Irvine
   
10. Bax, Adriaan, National Institutes of Health Bebbington,
    
11. Anthony J, University of Manchester
    
12. Bell, Gordon, Microsoft Research
    
13. Bennett, Michael V L, Albert Einstein College of Medicine
    
14. Bennetzen, Jeffrey L, University of Georgia
    
15. Berenbaum, May R, University of Illinois
    
16. Berlin, Overton Brent, University of Georgia
17. Bjorkman, Pamela J, California Institute of Technology
    
18. Blackburn, Elizabeth, University of California, San Francisco
    
19. Blamont, Jacques E, Centre National d' Etudes Spatiales
    
20. Botchan, Michael R, University of California, Berkeley
    
21. Boyer, John S, University of Delaware
    
22. Boyle, Ed A, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
    
23. Branton, Daniel, Harvard University
    
24. Briggs, Steven P, University of California, San Diego
    
25. Briggs, Winslow R, Carnegie Institution of Washington
    
26. Brill, Winston J, Winston J. Brill and Associates
    
27. Britten, Roy J, California Institute of Technology
    
28. Broecker, Wallace S, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory and Columbia University
    
29. Brown, James H, University of New Mexico
    
30. Brown, Patrick O, Stanford University School of Medicine
    
31. Brunger, Axel T, Stanford University
32. Cairns, Jr John, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
    
33. Canfield, Donald E, University of Southern Denmark
    
34. Carpenter, Stephen R, University of Wisconsin
    
35. Carrington, James C, Oregon State University
    
36. Cashmore, Anthony R, University of Pennsylvania
    
37. Castilla, Juan Carlos, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile
    
38. Cazenave, Anny, Centre National d' Etudes Spatiales
    
39. Chapin, III F, Stuart, University of Alaska
    
40. Ciechanover, Aaron J, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology
    
41. Clapham, David E, Harvard Medical School
    
42. Clark, William C, Harvard University
    
43. Clayton, Robert N, University of Chicago
    
44. Coe, Michael D, Yale University
    
45. Conwell, Esther M, University of Rochester
    
46. Cowling, Ellis B, North Carolina State University
    
47. Cowling, Richard M, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University
    
48. Cox, Charles S, University of California, San Diego
    
49. Croteau, Rodney B, Washington State University
    
50. Crothers, Donald M, Yale University
    
51. Crutzen, Paul J, Max Planck Institute for Chemistry
    
52. Daily, Gretchen C, Stanford University
    
53. Dalrymple, Brent G, Oregon State University
    
54. Dangl, Jeffrey L, University of North Carolina
    
55. Darst, Seth A, Rockefeller University
    
56. Davies, David R, National Institutes of Health
    
57. Davis, Margaret B, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis
    
58. De Camilli, Pietro V, Yale University School of Medicine
    
59. Dean, Caroline, John Innes Centre
    
60. DeFries, Ruth S, Columbia University
    
61. Deisenhofer, Johann, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas
    
62. Delmer, Deborah P, University of California, Davis
    
63. DeLong, Edward F, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
    
64. DeRosier, David J, Brandeis University
    
65. Diener, Theodor O, University of Maryland
    
66. Dirzo, Rodolfo, Stanford University
    
67. Dixon, Jack E, Howard Hughes Medical Center
    
68. Donoghue, Michael J, Yale University
    
69. Doolittle, Russell F, University of California, San Diego
    
70. Dunne, Thomas, University of California, Santa Barbara
    
71. Ehrlich, Paul R, Stanford University
    
72. Eisenstadt, Shmuel N, Hebrew University of Jerusalem
    
73. Eisner, Thomas, Cornell University
    
74. Emanuel, Kerry A, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
    
75. Englander, Walter S, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine
    
76. Ernst, W, G, Stanford University
    
77. Falkowski, Paul G, Rutgers, State University of New Jersey
    
78. Feher, George, University of California, San Diego
    
79. Ferejohn, John A, Stanford University
    
80. Fersht, Sir Alan, University of Cambridge
    
81. Fischer, Edmond H, University of Washington
    
82. Fischer, Robert, University of California, Berkeley
    
83. Flannery, Kent V, University of Michigan
    
84. Frank, Joachim, Columbia University
    
85. Frey, Perry A, University of Wisconsin
    
86. Fridovich, Irwin, Duke University Medical Center
    
87. Frieden, Carl, Washington University School of Medicine
    
88. Futuyma, Douglas J, Stony Brook University
    
89. Gardner, Wilford R, University of California, Berkeley
    
90. Garrett, Christopher J R, University of Victoria
    
91. Gilbert, Walter, Harvard University
    
92. Gleick, Peter H, Pacific Institute, Oakland
    
93. Goldberg, Robert B, University of California, Los Angeles
    
94. Goodenough, Ward H, University of Pennsylvania
    
95. Goodman, Corey S, venBio, LLC
    
96. Goodman, Morris, Wayne State University School of Medicine
    
97. Greengard, Paul, Rockefeller University
    
98. Hake, Sarah, Agricultural Research Service
    
99. Hammel, Gene, University of California, Berkeley
    
100. Hanson, Susan, Clark University
     
101. Harrison, Stephen C, Harvard Medical School
     
102. Hart, Stanley R, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
     
103. Hartl, Daniel L, Harvard University
     
104. Haselkorn, Robert, University of Chicago
     
105. Hawkes, Kristen, University of Utah
     
106. Hayes, John M, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
     
107. Hille, Bertil, University of Washington
     
108. Hökfelt, Tomas, Karolinska Institutet
     
109. House, James S, University of Michigan
     
110. Hout, Michael, University of California, Berkeley
     
111. Hunten, Donald M, University of Arizona
     
112. Izquierdo, Ivan A, Pontifical Catholic University of Rio Grande do Sul
     
113. Jagendorf, André T, Cornell University
     
114. Janzen, Daniel H, University of Pennsylvania
     
115. Jeanloz, Raymond, University of California, Berkeley
     
116. Jencks, Christopher S, Harvard University
     
117. Jury, William A, University of California, Riverside
     
118. Kaback, H Ronald, University of California, Los Angeles
     
119. Kailath, Thomas, Stanford University
     
120. Kay, Paul, International Computer Science Institute
     
121. Kay, Steve A, University of California, San Diego
     
122. Kennedy, Donald, Stanford University
     
123. Kerr, Allen, University of Adelaide
     
124. Kessler, Ronald C, Harvard Medical School
     
125. Khush, Gurdev S, University of California, Davis
     
126. Kieffer, Susan W, University of Illinois
     
127. Kirch, Patrick V, University of California, Berkeley
     
128. Kirk, Kent C, University of Wisconsin
     
129. Kivelson, Margaret G, University of California, Los Angeles
     
130. Klinman, Judith P, University of California, Berkeley
     
131. Klug, Sir Aaron, Medical Research Council
     
132. Knopoff, Leon, University of California, Los Angeles
     
133. Kornberg, Sir Hans, Boston University
     
134. Kutzbach, John E, University of Wisconsin
     
135. Lagarias, J Clark, University of California, Davis
     
136. Lambeck, Kurt, Australian National University
     
137. Landy, Arthur, Brown University
     
138. Langmuir, Charles H, Harvard University
     
139. Larkins, Brian A, University of Arizona
     
140. Le Pichon, Xavier T, College de France
     
141. Lenski, Richard E, Michigan State University
     
142. Leopold, Estella B, University of Washington
     
143. Levin, Simon A, Princeton University
     
144. Levitt, Michael, Stanford University School of Medicine
     
145. Likens, Gene E, Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies
     
146. Lippincott-Schwartz, Jennifer, National Institutes of Health
     
147. Lorand, Laszlo, Northwestern University
     
148. Lovejoy, Owen C, Kent State University
     
149. Lynch, Michael, Indiana University
     
150. Mabogunje, Akin L, Foundation for Development and Environmental Initiatives
     
151. Malone, Thomas F, North Carolina State University
     
152. Manabe, Syukuro, Princeton University
     
153. Marcus, Joyce, University of Michigan
     
154. Massey, Douglas S, Princeton University
     
155. McWilliams, Jim C, University of California, Los Angeles
     
156. Medina, Ernesto, Venezuelan Institute for Scientific Research
     
157. Melosh, Jay H, Purdue University
     
158. Meltzer, David J, Southern Methodist University
     
159. Michener, Charles D, University of Kansas
     
160. Miles, Edward L, University of Washington
     
161. Mooney, Harold A, Stanford University
     
162. Moore, Peter B, Yale University
     
163. Morel, Francois M M, Princeton University
     
164. Mosley-Thompson, Ellen, Ohio State University
     
165. Moss, Bernard, National Institutes of Health
     
166. Munk, Walter H, University of California, San Diego
     
167. Myers, Norman, University of Oxford
     
168. Nair, Balakrish G, National Institute of Cholera and Enteric Diseases
     
169. Nathans, Jeremy, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
     
170. Nester, Eugene W, University of Washington
     
171. Nicoll, Roger A, University of California, San Francisco
     
172. Novick, Richard P, New York University School of Medicine
     
173. O'Connell, James F, University of Utah
     
174. Olsen, Paul E, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University
     
175. Opdyke, Neil D, University of Florida
     
176. Oster, George F, University of California, Berkeley
     
177. Ostrom, Elinor, Indiana University
     
178. Pace, Norman R, University of Colorado
     
179. Paine, Robert T, University of Washington
     
180. Palmiter, Richard D, University of Washington School of Medicine
     
181. Pedlosky, Joseph, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
     
182. Petsko, Gregory A, Brandeis University
     
183. Pettengill, Gordon H, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
     
184. Philander, George S, Princeton University
     
185. Piperno, Dolores R, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute
     
186. Pollard, Thomas D, Yale University
     
187. Price Jr. Buford P, University of California, Berkeley
     
188. Reichard, Peter A, Karolinska Institutet
     
189. Reskin, Barbara F, University of Washington
     
190. Ricklefs, Robert E, University of Missouri
     
191. Rivest, Ronald L, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
     
192. Roberts, John D, California Institute of Technology
     
193. Romney, Kimball A, University of California, Irvine
     
194. Rossmann, Michael G, Purdue University
     
195. Russell, David W, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center of Dallas
     
196. Rutter, William J, Synergenics, LLC
     
197. Sabloff, Jeremy A, University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archeology and Anthropology
     
198. Sagdeev, Roald Z, University of Maryland
     
199. Sahlins, Marshall D, University of Chicago
     
200. Salmond, Anne, University of Auckland
     
201. Sanes, Joshua R, Harvard University
     
202. Schekman, Randy, University of California, Berkeley
     
203. Schellnhuber, John, Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research
     
204. Schindler, David W, University of Alberta
     
205. Schmitt, Johanna, Brown University
     
206. Schneider, Stephen H, Woods Institute for the Environment
     
207. Schramm, Vern L, Albert Einstein College of Medicine
     
208. Sederoff Ronald R, North Carolina State University
     
209. Shatz, Carla J, Stanford University
     
210. Sherman, Fred, University of Rochester Medical Center
     
211. Sidman, Richard L, Harvard Medical School
     
212. Sieh, Kerry, Nanyang Technological University
     
213. Simons, Elwyn L, Duke University Lemur Center
     
214. Singer, Burton H, Princeton University
     
215. Singer, Maxine F, Carnegie Institution of Washington
     
216. Skyrms, Brian, University of California, Irvine
     
217. Sleep, Norman H, Stanford University
     
218. Smith, Bruce D, Smithsonian Institution
     
219. Snyder, Solomon H, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
     
220. Sokal, Robert R, Stony Brook University
     
221. Spencer, Charles S, American Museum of Natural History
     
222. Steitz, Thomas A, Yale University
     
223. Strier, Karen B, University of Wisconsin
     
224. Südhof, Thomas C, Stanford University School of Medicine
     
225. Taylor, Susan S, University of California, San Diego
     
226. Terborgh, John, Duke University
     
227. Thomas, David Hurst, American Museum of Natural History
     
228. Thompson, Lonnie G, Ohio State University
     
229. Tjian, Robert T, Howard Hughes Medical Institute
     
230. Turner, Monica G, University of Wisconsin
     
231. Uyeda, Seiya, Tokai University
     
232. Valentine, James W, University of California, Berkeley
     
233. Valentine, Joan Selverstone, University of California, Los Angeles
     
234. Van Etten, James L, University of Nebraska
     
235. Van Holde, Kensal E, Oregon State University
     
236. Vaughan, Martha, National Institutes of Health
     
237. Verba Sidney, Harvard University
     
238. Von Hippel, Peter H, University of Oregon
     
239. Wake, David B, University of California, Berkeley
     
240. Walker, Alan, Pennsylvania State University
     
241. Walker John E, Medical Research Council
     
242. Watson, Bruce E, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
     
243. Watson, Patty Jo, Washington University, St. Louis
     
244. Weigel, Detlef, Max Planck Institute for Developmental Biology
     
245. Wessler, Susan R, University of Georgia
     
246. West-Eberhard, Mary Jane, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute
     
247. White, Tim D, University of California, Berkeley
     
248. Wilson, William Julius, Harvard University
     
249. Wolfenden, Richard V, University of North Carolina
     
250. Wood, John A, Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics
     
251. Woodwell, George M, Woods Hole Research Center
     
252. Wright, Jr Herbert E, University of Minnesota
     
253. Wu, Carl, National Institutes of Health
     
254. Wunsch, Carl, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
     
255. Zoback, Mary Lou, Risk Management Solutions, Inc