Climate Scientists are Pissed Off

It just drives me crazy . . . It is so frustrating. We have known for decades — no question — that global warming was started by anthropogenic increases of CO2,” Martinson said, adding that the evidence is overwhelming. “The straws that broke the camel’s back are so thick now you can’t even see the camel. . .. People’s opinions being dictated by talk show hosts — it’s just not right. Get your information from a scientist, not a talk show host.”

That’s from Douglas Martinson, Antarctic Researcher at the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory.

As you can see, Martinson is getting a little pissed. And who wouldn’t blame him? Someone who’s career has been centered around understanding our climate, and how and why it is changing, is unknown to the world, as are thousands of his counterparts, yet while the science now so clearly shows that global weirding is caused by humans, people get their information on this matter from talk show hosts who do not care to understand the science at all and won’t communicate to the public that 97% of leading climate scientists are in complete agreement on the causes of global weirding.

A recent post by Joe Romm of Climate Progress, where I got the quote above in the first place, quotes some other rather pissed off climate scientists from the U.S. Antarctic Program (USAP) who are both frustrated and bewildered at how the world has been turned against them, well-meaning climate scientists:

Richard Alley, Professor Of Geosciences, Pennsylvania State University: “The fact that important people in Washington don’t know that is our failure,” he said. “This is not policy prescriptive, saying there is a greenhouse effect and we’re increasing it. It’s in no way a political statement. Saying there is not a greenhouse effect is a political statement because there’s no scientific basis for it.”

Don Voigt, Antarctic Researcher, Pennsylvania State University: “We’re just making observations here and trying to tell people what’s going on. Being attacked for an observation is kind of strange — it’s beyond comprehension in a lot of ways,” Voigt said. “At some point you keep doing what you’re doing because you know it’s the right thing to do.”

Leigh Stearns, Department Of Geology, University Of Kansas: “It’s such a pervasive change, in the Arctic in particular, and parts of the Antarctic. We need to be better activists of our science. We need to get the word out in a more succinct matter,” Stearns said. “It’s not political. It’s our environment,” she added.

And at least one more article shows quotes from Colorado climate scientists clearing up this completely disturbing lack of understanding or outright misrepresentation of the facts by politicians (in particular, one of their own) and media personalities…

Originally from a Wonk Room article, Colorado Climate Scientists Tell Ken Buck: Global Warming Is Not A ‘Hoax’:

Scott Denning, Climatologist, Colorado State University: “There’s really no question at all that CO2 molecules emit heat. It seems like the onus is on them to explain how you can add heat to the surface without warming it up. The basic science of the effect of human-produced CO2 on climate change is 150 years old. It was first measured in 1863. The first estimates of the effect were published in 1896. It piles up and the more stuff you put up there, the more heat you’re going to get.”

Dennis Ojima, Chair, Natural Resource Ecology Laboratory, Colorado State University: “Quite simply, there is no hoax in studying climate change. It is an important research concern, the same as studying cancer or the economic growth. There is no controversy about the role human actions have made to alter the climate system through the emissions of greenhouse gases over the past 150 years. The fundamental physics associated with the impact of this change in atmospheric concentrations of these gases is not disputed. The manner in which these gases react in the atmosphere is one of the fundamental properties of the climate system.The science at the fundamental level related to greenhouse gases and climate are as solid and as important as the finding that germs are responsible for illnesses and that there are specific strategies to reduce germs in the environment we live in.”

Caspar Amman, Scientist, Climate And Global Dynamics Division, National Center For Atmospheric Research: “Climate science is not at all a hoax….  The magnitude [of expected warming], even on a geologic perspective, is a substantial change, far larger than anything human civilization has ever seen.”

Christian Shorey, Geology And Geologic Engineering Faculty, Colorado School Of Mines: “Though it is impossible for a scientist to speak of natural phenomena in terms of absolute certainty, I would have to say that the present state of our knowledge leaves little possibility that human induced greenhouse gas accumulation in our atmosphere is not causing an increase in average global surface temperatures….  Proper policy will have to take a long term view of the problem, and as such our politicians will need to have a proper respect for the results of well researched science.”

The question is, will scientists find a way to get heard over dirty energy puppets in politics and the media who have no interest in letting them explain the truth to the world before it is too late?

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Photo Credit: adavies via flickr (CC license)

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