Steven Dutch, Natural and Applied Sciences, Universityof Wisconsin - Green Bay
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The Oregon Petition, run by the x The petition reads:
We urge the United States government to reject the global warming agreement that was written in Kyoto, Japan in December, 1997, and any other similar proposals. The proposed limits on greenhouse gases would harm the environment, hinder the advance of science and technology, and damage the health and welfare of mankind.There is no convincing scientific evidence that human release of carbon dioxide, methane, or other greenhouse gasses is causing or will, in the foreseeable future, cause catastrophic heating of the Earth's atmosphere and disruption of the Earth's climate. 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.
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The current list of 31,072 petition signers includes 9,021 PhD; 6,961 MS; 2,240 MD and DVM [veterinarians]; and 12,850 BS or equivalent academic degrees. Most of the MD and DVM signers also have underlying degrees in basic science.
So, 29 per cent - less than one third - of the signers have Ph.D.'s, the basic requirement for doing science at the university level. 41 per cent have only a four year degree. There's nothing wrong with having only a four year degree, but in science it won't get you a job much beyond lab technician. And the expertise of a four-year degree against the 7 or 8 it takes to get a Ph.D., plus perhaps years of doing research afterward, is about like a high school football player going up against an NFL linebacker. It's like getting a single-engine pilot's license and thinking you can fly a 747.
This isn't mere overestimation of your capabilities. Overestimating your capabilities is enrolling for too many credits and finding out you have to cut back. It's going out for college football and not making it. It's flying your plane into bad weather and crashing. No, we're talking about a severe disconnect with reality. Someone who thinks he can go from high school football to the pros, or thinks he can solo in a light plane and pilot a 747, is not just delusional. He's absolutely clueless about the professional standards of the field. Someone with a bachelor's degree who thinks he's an expert on climate change is equally delusional. And someone who considers himself an expert on climate change when he's trained in a field not closely connected to climate change isn't merely delusional but hallucinating.
As for the medical people, there's a word for thinking a medical degree is a qualification for posing as an expert on climate: malpractice. The MD's and DVM's would never even think of crossing into the other's territory. An MD wouldn't try to treat a cat and a DVM wouldn't try to prescribe medicine for high blood pressure, not if they wanted to keep their licenses. A podiatrist or psychiatrist who tried to treat cancer would be bounced unceremoniously out of medicine. But 2,240 of them think they're professionally qualified to offer opinions on something completely outside of medicine.
1. Atmospheric, environmental, and Earth sciences includes 3,697 scientists trained in specialties directly related to the physical environment of the Earth and the past and current phenomena that affect that environment.
2. Computer and mathematical sciences includes 903 scientists trained in computer and mathematical methods. Since the human-caused global warming hypothesis rests entirely upon mathematical computer projections and not upon experimental observations, these sciences are especially important in evaluating this hypothesis.
3. Physics and aerospace sciences include 5,691 scientists trained in the fundamental physical and molecular properties of gases, liquids, and solids, which are essential to understanding the physical properties of the atmosphere and Earth.
4. Chemistry includes 4,796 scientists trained in the molecular interactions and behaviors of the substances of which the atmosphere and Earth are composed.
5. Biology and agriculture includes 2,924 scientists trained in the functional and environmental requirements of living things on the Earth.
6. Medicine includes 3,069 scientists trained in the functional and environmental requirements of human beings on the Earth.
7. Engineering and general science includes 9,992 scientists trained primarily in the many engineering specialties required to maintain modern civilization and the prosperity required for all human actions, including environmental programs.
1. Atmospheric, environmental, and Earth sciences includes 3,697 scientists trained in specialties directly related to the physical environment of the Earth and the past and current phenomena that affect that environment.
2. Computer and mathematical sciences includes 903 scientists trained in computer and mathematical methods. Since the human-caused global warming hypothesis rests entirely upon mathematical computer projections and not upon experimental observations, these sciences are especially important in evaluating this hypothesis.
3. Physics and aerospace sciences include 5,691 scientists trained in the fundamental physical and molecular properties of gases, liquids, and solids, which are essential to understanding the physical properties of the atmosphere and Earth.
4. Chemistry includes 4,796 scientists trained in the molecular interactions and behaviors of the substances of which the atmosphere and Earth are composed.
5. Biology and agriculture includes 2,924 scientists trained in the functional and environmental requirements of living things on the Earth.
6. Medicine includes 3,069 scientists trained in the functional and environmental requirements of human beings on the Earth.
7. Engineering and general science includes 9,992 scientists trained primarily in the many engineering specialties required to maintain modern civilization and the prosperity required for all human actions, including environmental programs.
1. Atmospheric, environmental, and Earth sciences includes 3,697 scientists trained in specialties directly related to the physical environment of the Earth and the past and current phenomena that affect that environment.
2. Computer and mathematical sciences includes 903 scientists trained in computer and mathematical methods. Since the human-caused global warming hypothesis rests entirely upon mathematical computer projections and not upon experimental observations, these sciences are especially important in evaluating this hypothesis.
3. Physics and aerospace sciences include 5,691 scientists trained in the fundamental physical and molecular properties of gases, liquids, and solids, which are essential to understanding the physical properties of the atmosphere and Earth.
4. Chemistry includes 4,796 scientists trained in the molecular interactions and behaviors of the substances of which the atmosphere and Earth are composed.
5. Biology and agriculture includes 2,924 scientists trained in the functional and environmental requirements of living things on the Earth.
6. Medicine includes 3,069 scientists trained in the functional and environmental requirements of human beings on the Earth.
7. Engineering and general science includes 9,992 scientists trained primarily in the many engineering specialties required to maintain modern civilization and the prosperity required for all human actions, including environmental programs.
Only 12 per cent of the signers are from the Atmosphere, Earth, and Environment Sciences, and only 1.8 per cent are atmospheric scientists. The Oregon Petition doesn't break down the disciplines by degree, but if the proportions of doctoral degrees are anything like the whole pool, only about 4 per cent of the signers have doctorates in the Atmosphere, Earth, and Environment Sciences and only 0.6 per cent are doctoral level atmospheric scientists.
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Total 15356
Nearly half of the signers of the Oregon Petition are engineers, and this, alas, is a pattern we encounter all too often in bad science. When people with scientific credentials support lousy science, a very significant fraction of them are engineers or applied scientists. Engineers are highly trained people but that doesn't automatically qualify them to offer opinions on science. An engineer's qualifications to comment on climate change are precisely as good as a climatologist's qualifications to design a bridge.
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Created 13 December 2008; Last Update 24 May, 2020
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