Fred Singer

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Siegfried Frederick Singer (born September 27, 1924 in Vienna) is an electrical engineer and physicist. He is best known as President and founder (in 1990) of the Science & Environmental Policy Project, which disputes the prevailing scientific opinion on climate change.

Singer is also skeptical about the connection between CFCs and ozone depletion, between ultraviolet radiation and skin cancer [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] and between second hand smoke and lung cancer. [6] [7] [8] Singer has also worked with organisations with similar views, such as the Independent Institute, the American Council on Science and Health, Frontiers of Freedom, the Marshall Institute, and the National Center for Policy Analysis.

Singer is Professor Emeritus of environmental science at the University of Virginia. He is a fellow of a number of scientific bodies, including the American Physical Society.

Contents

[edit] Degrees and awards

Singer holds a degree in Electrical engineering from Ohio State University and a PhD in Physics from Princeton University.[9]

In 1959 he was selected as one of "Ten Outstanding Young Men of the Nation" by the U.S. Junior Chamber of Commerce.

[edit] Career

In the 1940s and 50s Singer was involved in designing instruments used in satellites to measure cosmic radiation and ozone. [9]

Previous government and academic positions:

  • Director of the Center for Atmospheric and Space Physics, University of Maryland (1953-62)
  • Special advisor to President Eisenhower on space developments (1960)
  • First Director of the National Weather Satellite Service (1962-64)
  • Founding Dean of the School of Environmental and Planetary Sciences, University of Miami (1964-67)
  • Deputy Assistant Secretary for Water Quality and Research, U.S. Department of the Interior (1967- 70)
  • Deputy Assistant Administrator for Policy, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (1970-71)
  • Professor of Environmental Sciences, University of Virginia (1971-94)
  • Chief Scientist, U.S. Department of Transportation (1987- 89)

[edit] Kuwaiti petroleum fires debate

During Operation Desert Storm in 1991, Singer debated Carl Sagan on the impact of the Kuwaiti petroleum fires on the ABC News program Nightline. Sagan said the smoke would loft into the upper atmosphere, disrupt the monsoons and lead to ecological disaster. Singer said such a view was ridiculous, that the smoke would go up only a few thousand feet and then be washed out of the atmosphere by rain. Although "black rain" (caused by the black smoke from the oil fires set by Saddam Hussein's army) fell on Iran three days later, the ecological impact was very minor and did not cause any disruption of the monsoon season.

[edit] Global warming

Singer emphasizes natural factors over anthropogenic causes to explain global warming. Singer wrote:

The scientific world had known about the sunspot connection to Earth’s climate for some 400 years. British astronomer William Herschel claimed in 1801 that he could forecast wheat prices by sunspot numbers, because wheat crops were often poor when sunspots (and thus solar activity) were low. Not only did the Maunder minimum (1645-1715) coincide with the coldest period of the Little Ice Age, the Spörer Minimum (1450–1543) aligned with the second-coldest phase of that period. [10]

His most recent sole-author publication on global warming was a letter about other scientists' research which appeared in Eos, December 16, 1997.[11] However, Singer is also listed as co-author of two 2004 articles in Geophysics Research Letters.[12]

Singer has also claimed that most glaciers are advancing, a claim widely publicised by David Bellamy as evidence against global warming. In fact, the vast majority of glaciers have been retreating since 1850. Singer's stated source is an unspecified 1989 article in Science. George Monbiot performed both electronic and manual searches of the journal, and found no such article. [13]

[edit] Publication on health effects of tobacco

In 1994 Singer was Chief Reviewer of the report Science, economics, and environmental policy: a critical examination published by the Alexis de Tocqueville Institution (AdTI), a conservative think tank of which he was a Senior Fellow.[14] The report attacked the US Environmental Protection Agency for their 1993 study about the cancer risks of passive smoking and called it "junk science". [15]

[edit] Accusations of conflict of interest

Singer has been accused of conflicts of interest, most notably involving financial ties to oil and tobacco companies. [16] [17] In 1993 APCO, a public relations firm, sent a memo to Philip Morris to vice-president Ellen Merlo stating: "As you know, we have been working with Dr. Fred Singer and Dr. Dwight Lee, who have authored articles on junk science and indoor air quality (IAQ) respectively ..."[18]

In a February 2001 letter to the Washington Post, Singer denied receiving funding from the oil industry, except for consulting work some 20 years prior. While funds were not directed specifically in his name, publicly available documents show that Singer's non-profit corporation SEPP received multiple grants from ExxonMobil, including in 1998 and 2000.[17]

[edit] References

  1. ^ S. Fred Singer. Environmental Strategies with Uncertain Science. Cato Institute. Retrieved on 2007-02-26.
  2. ^ S. Fred Singer (1995-02-01). Lecture at St. Vincent College: The Use and Misuse of Science. SEPP. Retrieved on 2007-02-26.
  3. ^ S. Fred Singer (1996-08-01). Testimony in the U.S. House of Representatives, on Ozone Depletion. SEPP. Retrieved on 2007-02-26.
  4. ^ S. Fred Singer (July 1994). Ozone, Skin Cancer, and the SST. SEPP. Retrieved on 2007-02-26.
  5. ^ S. Fred Singer (1994-03-21). The hole truth about CFCs. SEPP. Retrieved on 2007-02-26.
  6. ^ S. Fred Singer (2006-07-22). The Week That Was. SEPP. Retrieved on 2007-02-26.
  7. ^ S. Fred Singer (1999-01-10). Parting green clouds. SEPP. Retrieved on 2007-02-26.
  8. ^ S. Fred Singer (2006-11-22). Public misled. Retrieved on 2007-02-26.
  9. ^ a b Singer's CV
  10. ^ S. Fred Singer; Dennis T. Avery (September 2005). The Physical Evidence of Earth’s Unstoppable 1,500-Year Climate Cycle (PDF). NCPA. Retrieved on 2007-02-26.
  11. ^ Unknowns About Climate Variability Render Treaty Targets Premature, EOS, Transactions, American Geophysical Union, Volume 78, page 584, December 16, 1997
  12. ^ See SEPP, "Further reading"
  13. ^ George Monbiot (2005-05-10). Junk Science. The Guardian. Retrieved on 2007-02-26.
  14. ^ The EPA and the science of environmental tobacco smoke / [1]
  15. ^ Junking Science to Promote Tobacco (PDF). Retrieved on 2007-02-26.
  16. ^ ExxonMobil Emerges as Major Funder of "GREENHOUSE SKEPTICS". Retrieved on 2007-02-26.
  17. ^ a b Factsheet: S. Fred Singer. ExxonSecrets.org. Retrieved on 2007-02-26.
  18. ^ George Monbiot (2006-09-19). The denial industry. The Guardian. Retrieved on 2007-02-26.

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

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