Science & Environmental Policy Project

The Science & Environmental Policy Project (SEPP) is a research and advocacy group financed by private contributions based in Arlington, Virginia in the United States. It was founded in 1990 by atmospheric physicist S. Fred Singer.[1] SEPP disputes the prevailing scientific views of climate change and ozone depletion. SEPP also questioned the science used to establish the dangers of secondhand smoke, arguing the risks are overstated.[2]

SEPP's former Chairman of the Board of Directors is listed as Rockefeller University president emeritus Frederick Seitz,[3] a former president of the National Academy of Sciences, now deceased.[3][4]

SEPP's views

SEPP lists the following key issues:

On September 2, 1997, Singer said that "The possibility that global temperatures could rise because of an increase in carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is a concern that needs to be monitored...But there has been no indication in the last century that we've seen anything other than natural climate fluctuations. Both greenhouse theory and computer models predict that global warming should be more rapid in the polar regions than anywhere else," he says, "but in July the Antarctic experienced the coldest weather on record."

SEPP was the author of the Leipzig Declaration, which was based on the conclusions drawn from a November 1995 conference in Leipzig, Germany, which SEPP organized with the European Academy for Environmental Affairs.

Rebuttals

SEPP's critics offer the following rebuttals to its claims:

NIPCC

In 2008, The Science and Environmental Policy Project completed the organization[6] of the Nongovernmental International Panel on Climate Change (NIPCC) as the culmination of a process that began in 2003. The NIPCC calls itself "an international coalition of scientists convened to provide an independent examination of the evidence available on the causes and consequences of climate change in the published, peer-reviewed literature – examined without bias and selectivity."[7]

The 2008 NIPCC document titled Nature, Not Human Activity Rules the Climate: Summary for Policymakers of the Report of the Nongovernmental International Panel of Climate Change,[8] published by The Heartland Institute,[9] was released in February–March 2008. Singer served as General Editor and also holds the copyright.

Unnamed climate scientists from NASA, Stanford University and Princeton who were contacted by ABC News dismissed the same report as "fabricated nonsense.".[10] In response, Singer objected to the ABC News piece, calling it "an appalling display of bias, unfairness, journalistic misbehavior, and a breakdown of ethical standards" which used "prejudicial language, distorted facts, libelous insinuations, and anonymous smears."[11]

See also

References

  1. Revkin, Andrew C. (2002-02-26). "Climate Plan Is Criticized As a Risky Bet". The New York Times. Retrieved 2010-05-23.
  2. SEPP, Key Issues (Updated July 2006)
  3. 3.0 3.1 SEPP, SEPP Board of Directors, accessed 19 Sep 2010
  4. Patricia Sullivan, Washington Post, 6 March 2008, Frederick Seitz, 96; Physicist Cast Doubt On Global Warming
  5. NASA Research Finds 2010 Tied for Warmest Year on Record, January 12, 2011
  6. Singer, S. Fred (2007-09-01-). "The Week that Was". SEPP. Retrieved 2008-05-09. Because of these omissions, which became evident from the initial drafts of AR4, the SEPP decided to set up a ‘Team B’ to produce an independent evaluation of the available scientific evidence. While the initial organization took place in 2004, Team B only became activated after the SPM appeared in February 2007; it changed its name to NIPCC and organized an international climate workshop in Vienna in April 2007. Check date values in: |date= (help)
  7. Harriette Johnson and Joseph L. Bast (2008-05-05). "Climate Change Conference Invigorates Global Warming Debate". Environment News. The Heartland Institute. Retrieved 2008-05-07.
  8. Singer, Editor, S. Fred (2008-03-02). "Nature, Not Human Activity, Rules the Climate". Summary for Policymakers of the Report of the Nongovernmental International Panel on Climate Change. Nongovernmental International Panel on Climate Change / The Heartland Institute. Retrieved 2008-05-08.
  9. Report notice: Opinions expressed are solely those of the authors. Nothing in this report should be construed as reflecting the views of the Science and Environmental Policy Project or The Heartland Institute, or as an attempt to influence pending legislation.
  10. Harris, Dan; Felicia Biberica, Elizabeth Stuart and Nils Kongshaug (2008-03-23). "Global Warming Denier: Fraud or 'Realist'?". ABC News (ABCnews.com). Retrieved 2008-03-24.
  11. Singer, S. Fred (2008-03-28). "Letter to ABC News from Dr. S. Fred Singer". News Releases > March 2008. Science & Environmental Policy Project. Retrieved 07/08/2009. Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)

Further reading

In 2004 Singer was coauthor of two papers published in Geophysical Research Letters:

Scientific criticism of SEPP's views:

External links