Friends of Science

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Friends of Science is a Canadian non-profit organization founded in 2002, "Made up of active and retired engineers, earth scientists and other professionals, as well as many concerned Canadians, who believe the science behind the Kyoto Protocol is questionable." According to their website, the goal of Friends of Science is, "To encourage and assist the Canadian Federal Government to re-evaluate the Kyoto Protocol by engaging in a national public debate on the scientific merit of Kyoto and the Global Warming issue, and to educate the public through dissemination of relevant, balanced and objective technical information on this subject."[1] Its scientific advisors are Madhav Khandekar, Chris de Freitas, Tim Patterson and Sallie Baliunas. The current president of Friends of Science is Douglas Leahey.

Friends of Science has produced a 23 minute on-line video[2] that claims to contrast the views of politicians and scientists on the question of climate change. The scientists on the video included consultant Tim Ball, Professor of Geology Tim Patterson of Carleton University, and Professor of Political Science Barry F. Cooper of the University of Calgary, all of whom are known for skepticism with regard to the mainstream scientific view on global warming. Scientists representing the mainstream view were not represented.

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[edit] Claims

Comparison of ground based (blue) and satellite based (red: UAH; green: RSS) records of temperature variations since 1979. Trends plotted since January 1982. This chart was debunked as being inaccurate with the appearance of being an intentional fraud due to the way the data was made up and other data from multiple sets were misinterpreted in several disjoint ways, again creating the impression of intentional fraud. The creator of this chart has been tied to the fossil fuel industry and conservative group political activities. See: Laut, "Solar Activity and Terrestial Climate: An Analysis of Some Purported Correlations", in the Journal of Atmospheric and Solar-Terrestial Physics (March 2003 (preprint)), and Laut "Pattern of Strange Errors Plagues Solar Activity and Terrestrial Climate Data" in Eos, v85 n39 pp. 370, 374 (Sept 2004) for a very strenuous debunking of this and the other charts used by Friends of Science
Comparison of ground based (blue) and satellite based (red: UAH; green: RSS) records of temperature variations since 1979. Trends plotted since January 1982. This chart was debunked as being inaccurate with the appearance of being an intentional fraud due to the way the data was made up and other data from multiple sets were misinterpreted in several disjoint ways, again creating the impression of intentional fraud. The creator of this chart has been tied to the fossil fuel industry and conservative group political activities. See: Laut, "Solar Activity and Terrestial Climate: An Analysis of Some Purported Correlations", in the Journal of Atmospheric and Solar-Terrestial Physics (March 2003 (preprint)), and Laut "Pattern of Strange Errors Plagues Solar Activity and Terrestrial Climate Data" in Eos, v85 n39 pp. 370, 374 (Sept 2004) for a very strenuous debunking of this and the other charts used by Friends of Science

Friends of Science disputes the scientific consensus on global warming, claiming on the basis of its interpretation of satellite and balloon temperature records that no significant global warming has taken place over the last three decades.

Friends of Science states:[3]

Accurate satellite, balloon and mountain top observations made over the last three decades have not shown any significant change in the long term rate of increase in global temperatures. Average ground station readings do show a mild warming of 0.6 to 0.8 C over the last 100 years, which is well within the natural variations recorded in the last millennium. The ground station network suffers from an uneven distribution across the globe; the stations are preferentially located in growing urban and industrial areas ("heat islands"), which show substantially higher readings than adjacent rural areas ("land use effects").

[edit] Funding

Friends of Science has been criticized as an Astroturfing organization[4][5] with close links to the oil and gas industry.[6] Their funding sources are unclear; MP John Godfrey said, "Financial links between the petroleum industry and climate change skeptic groups in the United States are well documented... We need more transparency about who is behind this campaign in Canada."[7] They themselves say their "efforts to bring balance to the climate change debate are being restricted because of our lack of funding. We have mostly relied upon the good nature of our members, with some contributions from Charitable Foundations. There has also been some funding from “big oil”. But they seldom smile on us. They appear to believe that marketing is more important than historical climate information…Your support is essential for getting things done! Without it, we will probably have to shut down operations within the year."[8]

Funds do not come directly from industry donors but are instead solicited for the Calgary Foundation, a charitable funds administrator which maintains a policy of not disclosing the identity of donors. The donations are then passed on to the Science Education Fund, an account at the University of Calgary set up by Prof. Barry Cooper. In the final step, the Science Education Fund uses those funds to support the activities of the Friends of Science.[9] Friends of Science does not disclose details of their funding sources, though Cooper has stated that their funds are "not exclusively from the oil and gas industry."

[edit] References

  1. ^ Friends of Science. Retrieved on 2007-04-30.
  2. ^ Climate Catastrophe Cancelled: What You're Not Being Told About the Science of Climate Change. Retrieved on 2007-03-05.
  3. ^ Myths/Facts: Common Misconceptions About Global Warming. Retrieved on 2007-03-05.
  4. ^ Who's still cool on global warming?. Retrieved on 2007-03-05.
  5. ^ Veale, Sarah. Getting Astroturfed. View Magazine. Retrieved on 2007-04-24.
  6. ^ The Denial Machine - a CBC documentary about climate scepticism and funding. Retrieved on 2007-03-05.
  7. ^ Friends of Science Newsletter, September 2006
  8. ^ Friends of Science Newsletter, April 2007
  9. ^ Charles Montgomery. "Mr. Cool: Nurturing doubt about climate change is big business", Globe and Mail, August 12, 2006. Retrieved on 2007-05-01. 

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