| December 4, 2009 |  |
Top U.S. Scientists Tell Congress Stolen E-Mails Have No Bearing on Climate Science
WASHINGTON (December 4, 2009) -- Today, 25 leading U.S. scientists sent an open letter (pdf) to Congress to assure lawmakers that the content of the stolen emails from England's University of East Anglia's Climatic Research Unit has no bearing on scientists' overall understanding that human activity is causing global warming.
"The content of the stolen emails has no impact whatsoever on our overall understanding that human activity is driving dangerous levels of global warming," the letter states. "Even without including analyses from the UK research center from which the emails were stolen, the body of evidence that underlies our understanding of human-caused global warming remains robust."
The letter's signatories include eight members of the National Academy of Sciences, including University of California, Berkeley Professor Inez Fung; University of Washington Professor Edward Miles; and the University of California San Diego's Scripps Institution of Oceanography Professor and Nobel Laureate Mario J. Molina.
The letter states that "opponents of taking action on climate change have misrepresented both the contents and the significance of stolen emails to obscure public understanding of climate science and the scientific process."
The letter also underscores the importance of scientific integrity to climate research. "The scientific process," the letter states, "depends on open access to methodology, data, and a rigorous peer-review process."
Additionally, the letter cites an October 21, 2009 letter to Congress from 18 leading U.S. scientific organizations, including the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Geophysical Union and the American Meteorology Society, that stressed that conclusions that human activities are the primary cause of global warming are based on "multiple independent lines of evidence."
The Union of Concerned Scientists puts rigorous, independent science to work to solve our planet's most pressing problems. Joining with citizens across the country, we combine technical analysis and effective advocacy to create innovative, practical solutions for a healthy, safe, and sustainable future.
