Than 1000 International Scientists Dissent Over Man-Made Global ...

clouds is given a low level of scientific understanding (LOSU). The range of possibilities is
so great that the highest estimate of reflectivity from clouds can completely balance the
highest estimate of warming from carbon dioxide. Then, there is the whole issue of water
vapor which is a powerful greenhouse gas. It can range from 0.2 to 2% in the atmosphere.
Whereas, carbon dioxide is about .03%. Sadly, we know so little about water vapor and the
heat it generates," Goldstein wrote. (LINK) In a June 29, 2007 blog post, Goldstein
continued his critique of the shortcoming of climate predictions. "Long range forecasts are
often short on reality. Sure, we have great mathematical equations applied to predicting our
weather. But not all is known about our weather. We don't understand how water vapor
comes into the equations, and that is a big deal. Heat sources represent other major
unknowns, after all, heat drives the atmosphere. We make assumptions about these
unknowns, and as long as these fit for the moment, the forecast looks good. But a slight
error will only magnify as the forecast is further extended," Goldstein wrote. "We can get
an idea of a trend, but specifics 30 days or 90 days out are seldom correct. Most of what we
know about the atmosphere was known a hundred years ago. No doubt, technology has
advanced faster than our basic understanding of the atmosphere. There are times when even
a 24-hour forecast leaves something to be desired," he concluded. (LINK)
Dr. Anthony Lupo, Professor of Atmospheric Science, University of Missouri-
Columbia, wrote in a May 18, 2007 email to EPW, "I don't believe that the climate change
issue is an emergency, or that there is compelling evidence to blame humanity for the
current warming. Warming is undoubtedly occurring, but it may have nothing (0%), or a
little (0-10%) to do with human activity." Lupo continued, "There is abundant scientific
evidence demonstrating that the climate changes cyclically on time-scales ranging from a
few years, to hundreds of thousands of years. There is plenty of evidence to suggest that the
climate is not ‗stagnant' either. The climate has been relatively cool for the last few
hundred years and has warmed to levels which are at or below an inferred maximum
approximately 1000 years ago." "There are too many unknowns (e.g., the nature of solar
and internal variability). There are too many things we don't understand about the current
climate (e.g., the carbon cycle, atms - ocean interactions)," he added. Lupo has also
critiqued Gore's movie. "[Gore's] whole tone of this was, ‗We've got to make radical
changes in our lifestyle, and we have to make them now, and that's because the science on
the issue is settled,'" Lupo said in a July 13, 2006 article in the Columbia Tribune. "Well
that's not entirely the case. The science, for one thing, is not settled." Lupo disputes the
reason for warming temperatures and says recent temperatures are within natural
variability. "One thing I can agree with Gore on is the world is getting warmer," he said.
"One thing I can't agree on is the cause." (LINK)
Dr. Thomas P. Sheahen, an MIT educated physicist, author of the book An
Introduction to High-Temperature Superconductivity, and writer of the popular
newspaper column "Ask the Everyday Scientist," dismisses the idea of a "consensus" on
man-made global warming. "We must all remember that scientific truth is not determined
by popular vote. The [UN] IPCC is severely tainted by politics," Sheahen wrote to EPW on
June 11, 2007. "No one disputes that the Earth has been warming over the last 150 years.
The controversy is over whether it's natural or anthropogenic (AGW)," he added. "I have
done computer modeling of physical and chemical phenomena, and I know two things very
well: first, your outputs will always be conditioned by the input assumptions you make at
the front end; and second, data always trumps theory. For a model to be valid, it has to
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