November 30, 2009
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White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs today brushed aside the concerns of more than 31,000 scientists who have signed a petition challenging the theory of man-made global warming.
WND White House corrrespondent Les Kinsolving brought up the petition as a follow-up to an earlier comment.
Gibbs had been asked by Fox News correspondent Major Garrett, "On climate change, why is it a good idea for the president to arrive near the beginning of the climate talk negotiations (scheduled by the United Nations in Copenhagen early in December) as opposed to the end, when the ultimate deal is going to be struck? And secondarily, does the White House have any evaluation or comment on this controversy of the hacked e-mails that suggest that some of the underlying science through some of the propositions put forward by climatologists may be in error or may have been altered in some way?"
Gibbs responded, "On the second part, I think Carol Browner addressed that last week, on the order of several thousand scientists have come to the conclusion that climate change is happening. I don't think that's anything that is, quite frankly, among – most people – in dispute anymore."
He continued, "In terms of when the president goes, obviously we believe that progress has been made with developing nations – the U.S. has made some progress with the Chinese and the Indians over the past couple of weeks. The president will travel to Oslo on the 10th, and believed it was important to use this visit to help get us to the point of a deal – something that can take the type of action that scientists say needs to be taken to stop and reverse climate change. I think the president believes that a visit happening at the beginning is just as important as it would be at any point to getting that deal going quicker."
Kinsolving then asked about the Petition Project, launched some 10 years ago when the first few thousand signatures were gathered. It now lists well over 31,000 scientists, including over 9,000 with doctorates, who subscribe to the following statement:
"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. 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."
"Are you aware of a list, the published list of 31,000 scientists who oppose this idea of global warming?" Kinsolving asked.
"I don't doubt that there's such a list, Lester. I think there's no real scientific basis for the dispute of this," Gibbs said.
WND has reported extensively on the U.N. climate change summit in Copenhagen where critics forecast a new world government will be adopted to regulate and address "climate change."
The hacked e-mails from the University of East Anglia's Climate Research Unit in the United Kingdom appear to document that many of the scientists promoting man-made global warming – dubbed "warmists" by critics – have manipulated, concealed or doctored information to support their cause.
