MIT Climatologist Richard S. Lindzen To Address Cooler Heads Coalition
The Cooler Heads Coalition Presents
On The Meaning of Global Warming ClaimsA Congressional and Media Briefing By
Dr. Richard S. Lindzen, ClimatologistMassachusetts Institute of Technology
Monday, 30th SeptemberNoon to 1:30 pmCannon Caucus Room345 Cannon House Office Building
Lunch will be provided.Reservations are required.
To RSVP, Please email your name, affiliation, phone number, and email address to Megan McLaughlin at [email protected] or call her (202) 331-1010.
Biography of Richard S. Lindzen
Richard S. Lindzen has been the Alfred P. Sloan Professor of Meteorology at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology since 1983. He is the author of over 200 books and papers in the scientific literature. He was a lead author on chapter 7 (on physical processes) of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s Third Assessment Report (2001). One of the world’s foremost atmospheric scientists, Dr. Lindzen was elected in 1977 to both the National Academy of Sciences and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He has received the Macelwane Medal of the American Geophysical Union and the Meisinger and Charney Awards as well as the Haurwitz Lectureship of the American Meteorological Society. He previously worked at the National Center for Atmospheric Research and taught at the University of Chicago and at Harvard University, where he held the Burden Chair in dynamic meteorology. His A.B., S.M., and Ph.D. degrees are from Harvard University.
“On the Meaning of Global Warming Claims”
Despite the claim that global warming is scientifically contentious issue, there really is relatively little disagreement among scientists on a number of basic aspects of the issue. The real problem in public communication is that simple facts about climate are often presented, and/or perceived, as having ominous implications — even when they don’t. Although there is certainly room for skepticism, scientists who note the profound disconnect between the scientific meaning of common statements and the public interpretation, are not being skeptical. They are nonetheless designated as skeptics in order to marginalize their views.
Over 40 years ago, C.P. Snow popularized the notion of ‘Two Cultures’ — essentially science and non-science — whose ability to communicate with each other was minimal. Snow, as a scientist, novelist and government advisor, argued the importance of bridging the two cultures. He naively failed to realize that it would be easier to exploit the problem than to solve it. Led by environmental advocacy groups and politicians, scientists have become pretty adept at such exploitation. The issue of global climate change provides a good, but by no means unique, example.