Astronauts against man made global warming theory
From a segment on Fox News in which Apollo 7 astronaut Walter Cunningham spoke about a letter he and other astronauts and engineers wrote to the NASA adminstrator criticizing NASA's position on man made global warming. Here is the full text of that letter.
HOUSTON, TX – April 10, 2012.
49 former NASA scientists and astronauts sent a letter to NASA Administrator Charles Bolden last week admonishing the agency for it’s role in advocating a high degree of certainty that man-made CO2 is a major cause of climate change while neglecting empirical evidence that calls the theory into question.
The group, which includes seven Apollo astronauts and two former directors of NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, are dismayed over the failure of NASA, and specifically the Goddard Institute For Space Studies (GISS), to make an objective assessment of all available scientific data on climate change. They charge that NASA is relying too heavily on complex climate models that have proven scientifically inadequate in predicting climate only one or two decades in advance.
H. Leighton Steward, chairman of the non-profit Plants Need CO2, noted that many of the former NASA scientists harbored doubts about the significance of the C02-climate change theory and have concerns over NASA’s advocacy on the issue. While making presentations in late 2011 to many of the signatories of the letter, Steward realized that the NASA scientists should make their concerns known to NASA and the GISS.
“These American heroes – the astronauts that took to space and the scientists and engineers that put them there – are simply stating their concern over NASA’s extreme advocacy for an unproven theory,” said Leighton Steward. “There’s a concern that if it turns out that CO2 is not a major cause of climate change, NASA will have put the reputation of NASA, NASA’s current and former employees, and even the very reputation of science itself at risk of public ridicule and distrust.”
March 28, 2012
The Honorable Charles Bolden, Jr.
NASA Administrator
NASA Headquarters
Washington, D.C. 20546-0001
Dear Charlie,
We, the undersigned, respectfully request that NASA and the Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS) refrain from including unproven remarks in public releases and websites. We believe the claims by NASA and GISS, that man-made carbon dioxide is having a catastrophic impact on global climate change are not substantiated, especially when considering thousands of years of empirical data. With hundreds of well-known climate scientists and tens of thousands of other scientists publicly declaring their disbelief in the catastrophic forecasts, coming particularly from the GISS leadership, it is clear that the science is NOT settled.
The unbridled advocacy of CO2 being the major cause of climate change is unbecoming of NASA’s history of making an objective assessment of all available scientific data prior to making decisions or public statements.
As former NASA employees, we feel that NASA’s advocacy of an extreme position, prior to a thorough study of the possible overwhelming impact of natural climate drivers is inappropriate. We request that NASA refrain from including unproven and unsupported remarks in its future releases and websites on this subject. At risk is damage to the exemplary reputation of NASA, NASA’s current or former scientists and employees, and even the reputation of science itself.
For additional information regarding the science behind our concern, we recommend that you contact Harrison Schmitt or Walter Cunningham, or others they can recommend to you.
Thank you for considering this request.
Sincerely,
(Attached signatures)
CC: Mr. John Grunsfeld, Associate Administrator for Science
CC: Ass Mr. Chris Scolese, Director, Goddard Space Flight Center
Ref: Letter to NASA Administrator Charles Bolden, dated 3-26-12, regarding a request for NASA to refrain from making unsubstantiated claims that human produced CO2 is having a catastrophic impact on climate change.
Jack Barneburg, Jack – JSC, Space Shuttle Structures, Engineering Directorate, 34 years
Larry Bell – JSC, Mgr. Crew Systems Div., Engineering Directorate, 32 years
Dr. Donald Bogard – JSC, Principal Investigator, Science Directorate, 41 years
Jerry C. Bostick – JSC, Principal Investigator, Science Directorate, 23 years
Dr. Phillip K. Chapman – JSC, Scientist – astronaut, 5 years
Michael F. Collins, JSC, Chief, Flight Design and Dynamics Division, MOD, 41 years
Dr. Kenneth Cox – JSC, Chief Flight Dynamics Div., Engr. Directorate, 40 years
Walter Cunningham – JSC, Astronaut, Apollo 7, 8 years
Dr. Donald M. Curry – JSC, Mgr. Shuttle Leading Edge, Thermal Protection Sys., Engr. Dir., 44 years
Leroy Day – Hdq. Deputy Director, Space Shuttle Program, 19 years
Dr. Henry P. Decell, Jr. – JSC, Chief, Theory & Analysis Office, 5 years
Charles F. Deiterich – JSC, Mgr., Flight Operations Integration, MOD, 30 years
Dr. Harold Doiron – JSC, Chairman, Shuttle Pogo Prevention Panel, 16 years
Charles Duke – JSC, Astronaut, Apollo 16, 10 years
Anita Gale
Grace Germany – JSC, Program Analyst, 35 years
Ed Gibson – JSC, Astronaut Skylab 4, 14 years
Richard Gordon – JSC, Astronaut, Gemini Xi, Apollo 12, 9 years
Gerald C. Griffin – JSC, Apollo Flight Director, and Director of Johnson Space Center, 22 years
Thomas M. Grubbs – JSC, Chief, Aircraft Maintenance and Engineering Branch, 31 years
Thomas J. Harmon
David W. Heath – JSC, Reentry Specialist, MOD, 30 years
Miguel A. Hernandez, Jr. – JSC, Flight crew training and operations, 3 years
James R. Roundtree – JSC Branch Chief, 26 years
Enoch Jones – JSC, Mgr. SE&I, Shuttle Program Office, 26 years
Dr. Joseph Kerwin – JSC, Astronaut, Skylab 2, Director of Space and Life Sciences, 22 years
Jack Knight – JSC, Chief, Advanced Operations and Development Division, MOD, 40 years
Dr. Christopher C. Kraft – JSC, Apollo Flight Director and Director of Johnson Space Center, 24 years
Paul C. Kramer – JSC, Ass.t for Planning Aeroscience and Flight Mechanics Div., Egr. Dir., 34 years
Alex (Skip) Larsen
Dr. Lubert Leger – JSC, Ass’t. Chief Materials Division, Engr. Directorate, 30 years
Dr. Humbolt C. Mandell – JSC, Mgr. Shuttle Program Control and Advance Programs, 40 years
Donald K. McCutchen – JSC, Project Engineer – Space Shuttle and ISS Program Offices, 33 years
Thomas L. (Tom) Moser – Hdq. Dep. Assoc. Admin. & Director, Space Station Program, 28 years
Dr. George Mueller – Hdq., Assoc. Adm., Office of Space Flight, 6 years
Tom Ohesorge
James Peacock – JSC, Apollo and Shuttle Program Office, 21 years
Richard McFarland – JSC, Mgr. Motion Simulators, 28 years
Joseph E. Rogers – JSC, Chief, Structures and Dynamics Branch, Engr. Directorate,40 years
Bernard J. Rosenbaum – JSC, Chief Engineer, Propulsion and Power Division, Engr. Dir., 48 years
Dr. Harrison (Jack) Schmitt – JSC, Astronaut Apollo 17, 10 years
Gerard C. Shows – JSC, Asst. Manager, Quality Assurance, 30 years
Kenneth Suit – JSC, Ass’t Mgr., Systems Integration, Space Shuttle, 37 years
Robert F. Thompson – JSC, Program Manager, Space Shuttle, 44 years/s/ Frank Van Renesselaer – Hdq., Mgr. Shuttle Solid Rocket Boosters, 15 years
Dr. James Visentine – JSC Materials Branch, Engineering Directorate, 30 years
Manfred (Dutch) von Ehrenfried – JSC, Flight Controller; Mercury, Gemini & Apollo, MOD, 10 years
George Weisskopf – JSC, Avionics Systems Division, Engineering Dir., 40 years
Al Worden – JSC, Astronaut, Apollo 15, 9 years
Thomas (Tom) Wysmuller – JSC, Meteorologist, 5 years