Spring Break
Changes on the way
Department unanimously endorses climate report
By: Kristin Leveille
Issue date: 7/10/07 Section: News
"I think it is significant because as far as I know, we are the first department to release a statement," Orville said.
Gerald North, distinguished professor in atmospheric sciences, said one reason for the release of the statement was because he kept getting questions about the validity of global warming.
"I had a number of well-educated people in the Texas Legislature and from different boards and committees who would doubt global warming," North said. "It's not because they are stupid, it is because they don't know what to believe."
North said this should be a strong statement to people outside the scientific community and said there is absolutely no debate within the geosciences community about the realities of global warming.
Because the atmospheric sciences department does research, which is paid for by the federal and state government, Andrew Dessler, an associate professor of climate science, said they have an obligation to return their expert opinions to the public.
"Since climate change is something that is in the news so much and because many of the arguments revolve around science we felt it was our obligation to provide the A&M community and state with our expert opinion about what the scientific facts are."
In the past decade, the global warming debate has taken center stage as a mainstream issue both within the scientific community and the politics of Washington, D.C. Global warming is a controversial topic for many, with moral and economic arguments on both sides of the partisan divide.
Dessler said this issue is simply politically controversial and that the attacks on the science behind global warming misrepresent the state of science.
"Our goal with this statement was to remove the argument that there is no scientific consensus," Dessler said. "The debate should be moved to where it needs to be now, which is: there is a risk out there and what should be done about it. The risk clearly exists."
Gerald North, distinguished professor in atmospheric sciences, said one reason for the release of the statement was because he kept getting questions about the validity of global warming.
"I had a number of well-educated people in the Texas Legislature and from different boards and committees who would doubt global warming," North said. "It's not because they are stupid, it is because they don't know what to believe."
North said this should be a strong statement to people outside the scientific community and said there is absolutely no debate within the geosciences community about the realities of global warming.
Because the atmospheric sciences department does research, which is paid for by the federal and state government, Andrew Dessler, an associate professor of climate science, said they have an obligation to return their expert opinions to the public.
"Since climate change is something that is in the news so much and because many of the arguments revolve around science we felt it was our obligation to provide the A&M community and state with our expert opinion about what the scientific facts are."
In the past decade, the global warming debate has taken center stage as a mainstream issue both within the scientific community and the politics of Washington, D.C. Global warming is a controversial topic for many, with moral and economic arguments on both sides of the partisan divide.
Dessler said this issue is simply politically controversial and that the attacks on the science behind global warming misrepresent the state of science.
"Our goal with this statement was to remove the argument that there is no scientific consensus," Dessler said. "The debate should be moved to where it needs to be now, which is: there is a risk out there and what should be done about it. The risk clearly exists."
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