[Coral-List] Petition saying the Global Warming theory is wrong has 31, 000 signatures, is it a hoax?

[Douglas Fenner]

I was recently sent a copy of a page from a website claiming that there is a petition signed by 31,000 scientists saying global warming is false.  The website is www.worldnetdaily.com and a capture of the first part of the article appears below.  Looks pretty devastating.  Until you do a little checking.  Turns out they don't list any institutional affiliations for the signers or any way to check to see if they are real, and some are obviously hoaxes.  On the petition website itself, it says 40 of the signers have "education" in climatetology http://www.petitionproject.org/gwdatabase/GWPP/Qualifications_Of_Signers.html  but gives no indication what level of "education" that might be.  40, wow that's a lot, sure is impressive compared to the 2000 climate scientists (most with Ph.D.'s I'd hazard a guess) that signed onto the IPCC Climate Change statement, and who represent their governments around the world (who do those 40 on this petition represent??).  The IPCC report is heavily documented with references to peer-reviewed papers, which this petition certainly isn't.  The petition is supported by an "article" that has not been published in a peer-reviewed journal, but is presented in the style of the Proceedings of the US National Academy of Science.  The Academy did not publish it and disavows it.  To me, that doesn't strengthen its credibility, rather the reverse.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Net_Daily

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_Warming_Petition_Project


The Wikipedia article says that the WorldNetDaily website is very popular.  When I did a Yahoo search on WorldNetDaily, one site listed had a title of one of the articles, "Bible expert links elites' meltdown-induced 'new world' promise to Revelation"  Looking at their website at the titles of their current articles will give you more of an idea of their views.

     I was curious about public opinion on the issue of climate change, and so I looked up the Gallup Poll website to get some actual data on the subject for the U.S.  Quite interesting, I recommend checking it out.
http://www.gallup.com/poll/107569/ClimateChange-Views-RepublicanDemocratic-Gaps-Expand.aspx


Anybody else wondering about the validity of global warming might check the Wickipedia articles on the subject, or the US Environmental Protection Agency website.  Keep in mind the latter material was put on that official US government website during the Bush administration, and in spite of that is very clear about the reality of global warming and that it is being caused by human produced greenhouse gases.  Happy reading!
  -Doug Fenner


   
 

       
      
      
      
      
     
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      HEAT OF THE MOMENT
      31,000 scientists reject 'global warming' agenda
      'Mr. Gore's movie has claims no informed expert endorses'




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      Posted: May 19, 2008
      8:51 pm Eastern 

      By Bob Unruh
      © 2008 WorldNetDaily 
             
           
      More than 31,000 scientists across the U.S. - including more than 9,000 Ph.D.s in fields such as atmospheric science, climatology, Earth science, environment and dozens of other specialties - have signed a petition rejecting "global warming," the assumption that the human production of greenhouse gases is damaging Earth's climate.
      "There is no convincing scientific evidence that human release of carbon dioxide, methane, or other greenhouse gases is causing or will, in the foreseeable future, cause catastrophic heating of the Earth's atmosphere and disruption of the Earth's climate," the petition states. "Moreover, there is substantial scientific evidence that increases in atmospheric carbon dioxide produce many beneficial effects upon the natural plant and animal environments of the Earth."
      The Petition Project actually was launched nearly 10 years ago, when the first few thousand signatures were assembled. Then, between 1999 and 2007, the list of signatures grew gradually without any special effort or campaign.
      But now, a new effort has been conducted because of an "escalation of the claims of 'consensus,' release of the movie 'An Inconvenient Truth' by Mr. Al Gore, and related events," according to officials with the project.