by Mitch Battros

April 13, 2012

from NoahMuller Website

49 former NASA scientists and astronauts sent a letter to NASA Administrator Charles Bolden last week admonishing the agency for its role in advocating a high degree of certainty that man-made CO² is a major cause of climate change while neglecting empirical evidence that calls the theory into question.
 

The group, which includes seven Apollo astronauts and two former directors of NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, are dismayed over the failure of NASA, and specifically the Goddard Institute For Space Studies (GISS), to make an objective assessment of all available scientific data on climate change.

They charge that NASA is relying too heavily on complex climate models that have proven scientifically inadequate in predicting climate only one or two decades in advance.

“We believe the claims by NASA and Goddard, that man-made carbon dioxide is having a catastrophic impact on global climate change are not substantiated, especially when considering thousands of years of empirical data,” the group wrote.

 

“With hundreds of well-known climate scientists and tens of thousands of other scientists publicly declaring their disbelief in the catastrophic forecasts, coming particularly from the GISS leadership, it is clear that the science is NOT settled.”

H. Leighton Steward, chairman of the non-profit Plants Need CO², noted that many of the former NASA scientists harbored doubts about the significance of the CO²-climate change theory and have concerns over NASA’s advocacy on the issue.

While making presentations in late 2011 to many of the signatories of the letter, Steward realized that the NASA scientists should make their concerns known to NASA and the GISS.

“These American heroes - the astronauts that took to space and the scientists and engineers that put them there - are simply stating their concern over NASA’s extreme advocacy for an unproven theory,” said Leighton Steward.

 

“There’s a concern that if it turns out that CO² is not a major cause of climate change, NASA will have put the reputation of NASA, NASA’s current and former employees, [and put] the very reputation of science itself at risk of public ridicule and distrust.”

The letter included a request for NASA to refrain from mentioning CO² as a cause of global warming in future press releases and websites.

The agency’s “Global Climate Change” webpage says that,

“Humans have increased atmospheric CO² concentration by a third since the Industrial Revolution began. This is the most important long-lived “forcing” of climate change.”

The EPA website says that,

“Increasing levels of greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide in the atmosphere since pre-industrial times are well-documented and understood.”

It goes on to say that

“The atmospheric buildup of CO² and other greenhouse gases is largely the result of human activities such as the burning of fossil fuels.”

What does NASA say?

“NASA sponsors research into many areas of cutting-edge scientific inquiry, including the relationship between carbon dioxide and climate,” says the agency’s chief scientist, Dr. Waleed Abdalati.

 

“As an agency, NASA does not draw conclusions and issue ‘claims’ about research findings. We support open scientific inquiry and discussion…If the authors of this letter disagree with specific scientific conclusions made public by NASA scientists, we encourage them to join the debate in the scientific literature or public forums rather than restrict any discourse.”

The Full Text of The Letter

April 11, 2012

from ABCScienceForun Website
 

March 28, 2012
The Honorable Charles Bolden, Jr.
NASA Administrator
NASA Headquarters
Washington, D.C. 20546-0001

CC: Mr. John Grunsfeld, Associate Administrator for Science
CC: Ass Mr. Chris Scolese, Director, Goddard Space Flight Center

Ref: Letter to NASA Administrator Charles Bolden, dated 3-26-12, regarding a request for NASA to refrain from making unsubstantiated claims that human produced CO² is having a catastrophic impact on climate change.

Dear Charlie,

We, the undersigned, respectfully request that NASA and the Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS) refrain from including unproven remarks in public releases and websites.

 

We believe the claims by NASA and GISS, that man-made carbon dioxide is having a catastrophic impact on global climate change are not substantiated, especially when considering thousands of years of empirical data.

 

With hundreds of well-known climate scientists and tens of thousands of other scientists publicly declaring their disbelief in the catastrophic forecasts, coming particularly from the GISS leadership, it is clear that the science is NOT settled.

The unbridled advocacy of CO² being the major cause of climate change is unbecoming of NASA’s history of making an objective assessment of all available scientific data prior to making decisions or public statements.

As former NASA employees, we feel that NASA’s advocacy of an extreme position, prior to a thorough study of the possible overwhelming impact of natural climate drivers is inappropriate.

 

We request that NASA refrain from including unproven and unsupported remarks in its future releases and websites on this subject. At risk is damage to the exemplary reputation of NASA, NASA’s current or former scientists and employees, and even the reputation of science itself.

For additional information regarding the science behind our concern, we recommend that you contact Harrison Schmitt or Walter Cunningham, or others they can recommend to you.

Thank you for considering this request.

Sincerely,

(Attached signatures)

Jack Barneburg, Jack - JSC, Space Shuttle Structures, Engineering Directorate, 34 years
Larry Bell - JSC, Mgr. Crew Systems Div., Engineering Directorate, 32 years
Dr. Donald Bogard - JSC, Principal Investigator, Science Directorate, 41 years
Jerry C. Bostick - JSC, Principal Investigator, Science Directorate, 23 years
Dr. Phillip K. Chapman - JSC, Scientist - astronaut, 5 years
Michael F. Collins, JSC, Chief, Flight Design and Dynamics Division, MOD, 41 years
Dr. Kenneth Cox - JSC, Chief Flight Dynamics Div., Engr. Directorate, 40 years
Walter Cunningham - JSC, Astronaut, Apollo 7, 8 years
Dr. Donald M. Curry - JSC, Mgr. Shuttle Leading Edge, Thermal Protection Sys., Engr. Dir., 44 years
Leroy Day - Hdq. Deputy Director, Space Shuttle Program, 19 years
Dr. Henry P. Decell, Jr. - JSC, Chief, Theory & Analysis Office, 5 years
Charles F. Deiterich - JSC, Mgr., Flight Operations Integration, MOD, 30 years
Dr. Harold Doiron - JSC, Chairman, Shuttle Pogo Prevention Panel, 16 years
Charles Duke - JSC, Astronaut, Apollo 16, 10 years
Anita Gale
Grace Germany - JSC, Program Analyst, 35 years
Ed Gibson - JSC, Astronaut Skylab 4, 14 years
Richard Gordon - JSC, Astronaut, Gemini Xi, Apollo 12, 9 years
Gerald C. Griffin - JSC, Apollo Flight Director, and Director of Johnson Space Center, 22 years
Thomas M. Grubbs - JSC, Chief, Aircraft Maintenance and Engineering Branch, 31 years
Thomas J. Harmon
David W. Heath - JSC, Reentry Specialist, MOD, 30 years
Miguel A. Hernandez, Jr. - JSC, Flight crew training and operations, 3 years
James R. Roundtree - JSC Branch Chief, 26 years
Enoch Jones - JSC, Mgr. SE&I, Shuttle Program Office, 26 years
Dr. Joseph Kerwin - JSC, Astronaut, Skylab 2, Director of Space and Life Sciences, 22 years
Jack Knight - JSC, Chief, Advanced Operations and Development Division, MOD, 40 years
Dr. Christopher C. Kraft - JSC, Apollo Flight Director and Director of Johnson Space Center, 24 years
Paul C. Kramer - JSC, Ass.t for Planning Aeroscience and Flight Mechanics Div., Egr. Dir., 34 years
Alex (Skip) Larsen
Dr. Lubert Leger - JSC, Ass’t. Chief Materials Division, Engr. Directorate, 30 years
Dr. Humbolt C. Mandell - JSC, Mgr. Shuttle Program Control and Advance Programs, 40 years
Donald K. McCutchen - JSC, Project Engineer - Space Shuttle and ISS Program Offices, 33 years
Thomas L. (Tom) Moser - Hdq. Dep. Assoc. Admin. & Director, Space Station Program, 28 years
Dr. George Mueller - Hdq., Assoc. Adm., Office of Space Flight, 6 years
Tom Ohesorge
James Peacock - JSC, Apollo and Shuttle Program Office, 21 years
Richard McFarland - JSC, Mgr. Motion Simulators, 28 years
Joseph E. Rogers - JSC, Chief, Structures and Dynamics Branch, Engr. Directorate,40 years
Bernard J. Rosenbaum - JSC, Chief Engineer, Propulsion and Power Division, Engr. Dir., 48 years
Dr. Harrison (Jack) Schmitt - JSC, Astronaut Apollo 17, 10 years
Gerard C. Shows - JSC, Asst. Manager, Quality Assurance, 30 years
Kenneth Suit - JSC, Ass’t Mgr., Systems Integration, Space Shuttle, 37 years
Robert F. Thompson - JSC, Program Manager, Space Shuttle, 44 years/s/ Frank Van Renesselaer - Hdq., Mgr. Shuttle Solid Rocket Boosters, 15 years
Dr. James Visentine - JSC Materials Branch, Engineering Directorate, 30 years
Manfred (Dutch) von Ehrenfried - JSC, Flight Controller; Mercury, Gemini & Apollo, MOD, 10 years
George Weisskopf - JSC, Avionics Systems Division, Engineering Dir., 40 years
Al Worden - JSC, Astronaut, Apollo 15, 9 years
Thomas (Tom) Wysmuller - JSC, Meteorologist, 5 years