‘This … Follows From the Basic Laws of Physics’: Scientists Rebuke Scott Pruitt on Climate Change
On Monday, the American Meteorological Society, a key scientific organization whose members have considerable expertise in studying the climate and weather, wrote a letter to Pruitt strongly critiquing the remarks.
“The world’s 7 billion people are causing climate to change and our emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases are the primary cause,” wrote the group’s executive director, Keith Seitter. “This is a conclusion based on the comprehensive assessment of scientific evidence. It is based on multiple independent lines of evidence that have been affirmed by thousands of independent scientists and numerous scientific institutions around the world. We are not familiar with any scientific institution with relevant subject matter expertise that has reached a different conclusion.”
The Environmental Protection Agency did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the American Meteorological Society’s letter.
Not long afterward, a group of 30 U.S. scientists who share an expertise in climate change also wrote to Pruitt, with a similar message. As they put it:
… human beings are changing the Earth’s climate. This key conclusion follows from the basic laws of physics. Just as there is no escaping gravity when one steps off a cliff, there is no escaping the warming that follows when we add extra carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases to the atmosphere.
The signatories included Nobel Laureate Mario Molina, Princeton climate scientist Michael Oppenheimer, the National Center for Atmospheric Research’s Kevin Trenberth and the Carnegie Institution’s Ken Caldeira, among many others.
More: ‘This … follows from the basic laws of physics’: Scientists rebuke Scott Pruitt on climate change