NOTE: The content of this post was originally going to appear with the AMS list, but, in order to make the resources shorter and more uniform, I have included the following as a blog post instead of as part of the list.
To clear up any confusion that may exist about Dr. Jastrow as regards to the AMS, I will show, for the record, that the Robert Jastrow who founded the Goddard Institute For Space Studies (GISS) was also was the editor of Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences and who was given a Special Award for his work. This is proven by the articles he wrote in the previously mentioned journal, one of which lists his affiliation as GISS, so they are one and the same.
Though Dr. Joanne Simpson (one of the scientists on the list) recommended that we
act on the recommendations of Gore and the IPCC because if we do not reduce emissions of greenhouse gases and the climate models are right, the planet as we know it will in this century become unsustainable.
and she only has one skeptic link (and therefore she wouldn’t have been on the list if she hadn’t stated what follows)
she also added (in other parts of her statement):
There is no doubt that atmospheric greenhouse gases are rising rapidly and little doubt that some warming and bad ecological events are occurring. However, the main basis of the claim that man’s release of greenhouse gases is the cause of the warming is based almost entirely upon climate models. We all know the frailty of models concerning the air-surface system.
But as a scientist I remain skeptical.
Few of these people seem to have any skeptical self-criticism left, although virtually all of the claims are derived from either flawed data sets or imperfect models or both. The term “global warming” itself is very vague. Where and what scales of response are measurable? One distinguished scientist has shown that many aspects of climate change are regional, some of the most harmful caused by changes in human land use. No one seems to have properly factored in population growth and land use, particularly in tropical and coastal areas.
You may judge for yourself, but I chose to include her as a skeptical scientist because she is “skeptical” and supports several skeptical arguments, such as that land use changes have not been properly “factored in”. As a side note, I would say her arguments align well with the climate realist view.
On the aforementioned list, for several scientists who we still may regard as skeptical I was unable to find a skeptic declaration which they signed, or a peer-reviewed paper supporting skeptical arguments, or an article or presentation supporting skeptic arguments by the scientists in question.
These scientists who, while still having two skeptic links, have two of Skeptic Link 1 or another case where they have two skeptic links of the same kind, are, since they have two skeptic links, I believe it is still safe to say, skeptics.
Unfortunately, as a careful observer may have noticed, the AMS does not keep a complete list of the recipients of each of their awards, at least on this page, which is the tool they recommend using. A few examples of this is the incomplete record for both the Leroy Meisinger Award and Sverdrup Gold Medal databases, which is why I linked to Dr. Lindzen and Dr. Pielke’s curriculum vitaes and the Scripps Institution of Oceanography instead of to the AMS’ website.
The following 14 scientists were originally going to be on the AMS list, but since their only claim to being skeptical that was verifiable was that they signed one “skeptic declaration” (as Jim Prall puts it, which, in his opinion, merits their being on another list of skeptics), I decided to not put them on the list (since keeping them would lower the quality of it, because there isn’t enough evidence, in my opinion, to prove that they in fact were skeptical) but also decided to put their names and links here, as well as the notable honors they received (if any). If anyone would like to give me evidence to the contrary I will consider re-adding them.
1. Dr. Michael Garstang
2. Dr. Earle R. Williams
3. Dr. Melvyn A. Shapiro
4. Dr. Heinz H. Lettau
5. Dr. Steven R. Hanna
6. Dr. Werner A. Baum
7. Dr. Kenneth V. Beard
8. Dr. Austin W. Hogan
9. Thomas J. Lockhart
10. Robert D. Elliot
11. Leslie R. Lemon
12. Dr. Earl G. Droessler
13. Dr. Robert M. Cunningham
14. Roy Leep
15. Dr. George E. McVehil
Here are the awards from the AMS or other prominent organizations’ awards that the scientists who didn’t make it on the list were recipients of.
Dr. Baum is a recipient of the AMS’ Special Award, which is given to individuals
who have made important contributions to the science or practice of meteorology or related aspects of oceanography or hydrology, or to the Society.
Dr. Hanna and Dr. McVehil are recipients of the AMS’ Award for Outstanding Contribution to the Advance of Applied Meteorology, which is
granted to an individual for contributions to the direct application of meteorological or climatological knowledge to the fulfillment of industrial or agricultural needs or in research and development of scientific knowledge, which can meet such needs.
Dr. Lettau was a recipient of the AMS’ Carl-Gustaf Rossby Research Medal, which
is presented to individuals on the basis of outstanding contributions to the understanding of the structure or behavior of the atmosphere. It represents the highest honor that the Society can bestow upon an atmospheric scientist.
Dr. Baum and Dr. McVehil are recipients of the AMS’ Charles Franklin Brooks Award, which
is presented to an individual who has made important contributions to the Society, usually over a period of years.
Dr. Hanna is a recipient of the AMS’ Helmut E. Landsberg Award, which
recognizes an individual or team for exemplary contributions to the fields of urban meteorology, climatology, or hydrology, including, but not restricted to, achievements through measurements or modeling that provide an improved understanding of atmospheric processes in urban environments, enhanced urban meteorological or air quality forecasting capabilities, advances in identifying and quantifying beneficial and adverse impacts in urban areas, or in recognition of service or applications in the field. Contributions may either be for a singular achievement or in recognition of sustained contributions over a period of many years.
Dr. Hanna is a recipient of the AMS’ Henry T. Harrison Award for Outstanding Contributions by a Consulting Meteorologist, which recognizes
a consulting meteorologist for outstanding contributions to the profession, clients, and society. Nominees should demonstrate expertise in weather or climate and their applications, adherence to ethical behavior, and a high level of service to clients and/or the weather and climate enterprise.
Dr. Baum is a recipient of the AMS’ Cleveland Abbe Award For Distinguished Service to Atmospheric Science, which
is presented on the basis of activities that have materially contributed to the progress of the atmospheric or related sciences or to the application of the atmospheric or related sciences to general, social, economic, or humanitarian welfare.
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