OMICS

---<div></div><div><a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/2018/01/04/exclusive-global-sea-level-data-agency-hits-back-after-attacks-breitbart-and-climate-science-deniers">https://www.desmogblog.com/2018/01/04/exclusive-global-sea-level-data-agency-hits-back-after-attacks-breitbart-and-climate-science-deniers</a></div><div>
</div><div>A British government-backed research project that coordinates data from tide gauges around the world has hit back at climate science deniers who wrongly accused their scientists of faking findings.The <a href="http://www.psmsl.org/" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Permanent Service for Mean Sea Level</a>, based in Liverpool, UK, at the National Oceanography Center, dismissed the claims made by two Australia-based scientists who both reject the well-established links between greenhouse gas emissions from human activity and global warming.The claims gained wider attention after Breitbart’s <a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/james-delingpole" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">James Delingpole</a>, a climate science denier, <a href="https://archive.fo/QM22R" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">screamed</a> it was certain evidence PSMSL had been “caught red-handed tampering with raw data in order to exaggerate sea level rise.”PSMSL said despite the claims, tide gauges and satellites showed that sea levels around the globe were rising and the rate of rise had increased in recent decades. Recent adjustments to the tide gauge data under scrutiny, in Yemen, had actually resulted in a decrease in the rate of sea level change, a spokesperson said.The <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s41748-017-0020-z" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">paper</a> by Albert Parker and <a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/cliff-ollier" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Cliff Ollier</a> appeared in the new “open access” journal Earth Systems and Environment and claimed that data from a tide gauge in Aden, Yemen, did not show that sea levels there had risen.As well as gaining attention from far right outlet Breitbart, the “research” was also covered uncritically by the UK’s <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-5178953/Climate-change-activists-exaggerate-sea-level-rise.html" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">MailOnline</a>, which repeated the claim that PSMSL had made “arbitrary” adjustments to their data.But senior scientists who are experts in sea level, and who spoke to <a href="https://www.snopes.com/scientists-caught-tampering-raw-data-exaggerate-sea-level-rise/" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Snopes</a> and DeSmog, rubbished the claims, saying the study was flawed because the conclusions were unsupported by any methodology.<h3 style="line-height: 1.28205em; margin-top: 1.28205em; margin-bottom: 1.28205em;">Unintelligible Research</h3>Leading sea level scientist Dr. John Hunter told DeSmog the research was “close to being unintelligible.”A spokersperson for PSMSL, at the National Oceanography Center, told DeSmog that MailOnline had approached them for comment, but published the story before scientists had a chance to respond. No other outlets contacted them to check.The spokesperson wrote: “Any adjustment applied is never ‘arbitrary’ but is based on documentation of benchmark heights held by the PSMSL stretching back many years. An ongoing job of the PSMSL is to determine whether the adjustments made are correct, especially when new documentation becomes available or if there is a reanalysis of the existing documentation.”PSMSL said the Aden, Yemen, gauge was assessed in 2008 and again in 2013 and this information was <a href="http://www.psmsl.org/data/obtaining/stations/44.php" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">published on the PSMSL website</a>.“The 2013 reassessment resulted in a decrease (and not an increase) in the estimated 19th-20th century rate of sea level change at Aden,” the spokesperson wrote, adding that PSMSL was submitting a response to the journal.“Global sea level is both rising and accelerating, and the data set compiled by PSMSL provides important input to this. This is detailed in the <a href="https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar5/wg1/" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">IPCC AR5</a> report chapters 3 and 13 … Specifically, PSMSL data inform us that sea level has risen by about 1-2 mm/year during the 20th century, and together with data from satellites, the rate over the last couple of decades has been over 3 mm/yr.”Dr. John Hunter, a renowned expert on global sea level rise from the University of Tasmania, has analysed the Parker paper. He told DeSmog it was “hard to be sure what [Parker] has done” with the data because the paper, like others by the same author, were “close to being unintelligible.”But he said the PSMSL broadly made two kinds of adjustments to data, which were “not arbitrary” but necessary.One type of adjustment was to take the raw data and convert this to an average sea level height over a particular time period. A second was essentially a calibration exercise that matched the height of the <a href="https://www.ngs.noaa.gov/datums/vertical/" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">zero mark on the tide gauge</a> to a fixed point on the land.Hunter said: “Broadly, PSMSL base the adjustments on whatever trustworthy information they have — if they don't have satisfactory information, then they don't convert that section of record from Metric to [<a href="http://www.psmsl.org/data/obtaining/rlr.php" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Revised Local Reference data</a>*]. They document what they do and why they do it.“On the other hand, Parker's papers are often close to being unintelligible, so it is hard to be sure what he has done.“Parker and Ollier (2017) appear to completely ignore the background information and instead fiddle around with the sea-level records only, matching break-points as best they can, using techniques which tend to yield adjusted records with virtually no trend.”Hunter added that tide gauges and satellites all showed that sea levels were rising, and there was good understanding that this was being caused by thermal expansion of the oceans and the melting of glaciers and ice sheets.<h3 style="line-height: 1.28205em; margin-top: 1.28205em; margin-bottom: 1.28205em;">Who is Albert Parker?</h3>Dr. Albert Parker is a mechanical engineer and former Fiat motor company researcher who, <a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/2013/04/28/ufos-sea-level-rise-and-magnetism-climate-science-denial" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">as reported by DeSmog</a>, has also published papers under the name Alberto Boretti. He appears to have begun using the name Parker in about 2013 — around the time he <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130513114954/http://rmit.net.au/browse;ID=ppow3hhbc1eh" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">took a role at RMIT University</a>, which he has since left.Boretti has refused to say why he uses two different names. Boretti and his sometime research partner Cliff Ollier, of University of Western Australia, are <a href="https://principia-scientific.org/why-psi-is-proposed-as-a-cic/" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">both listed as members</a> of <a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/principia-scientific-international" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Principia Scientific International</a>.PSI is a fringe climate science denial group that publishes materials that deny that carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas.Parker is prolific with his research and tends to target little-known and poorly regarded journals.In early 2017, <a href="https://www.degruyter.com/downloadpdf/j/quageo.2017.36.issue-1/quageo-2017-0006/quageo-2017-0006.pdf" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Parker and Ollier claimed</a> that Australia had not warmed since the end of the 1800s, even though all temperature data shows a clear warming. The pair again argued that data, this time temperature readings, was being nefariously altered.<h3 style="line-height: 1.28205em; margin-top: 1.28205em; margin-bottom: 1.28205em;">Journals Under Investigation</h3>Parker and Ollier have <a href="https://www.socrates.uwa.edu.au/Staff/StaffProfile.aspx?Person=CliffordOllier&tab=publications" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">co-authored several papers</a> in a separate journal, Environmental Science: An Indian Journal, where the pair have also argued against human-caused climate change.The publication Environmental Science: An Indian Journal is run by an organization called Trade Science Inc, which is owned by Indian “open access” publisher, OMICS.OMICS is currently under investigation by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission for alleged deceptive practices. The <a href="https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/press-releases/2017/11/ftc-halts-deceptive-practices-academic-journal-publishers" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">FTC is questioning OMICS claims</a> that its journals are properly peer-reviewed, and the agency alleges deceptive marketing practices. OMICS denies the allegations.A <a href="https://www.conferenceseries.com/conferencebrochure.pdf" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">brochure advertising the network of OMICS</a> trading names includes Trade Science Inc, and a <a href="http://www.tsijournals.com/contactus.html" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">contact address for Trade Science Inc</a> is the same as <a href="https://www.omicsonline.org/contact.php" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">OMICS International’s headquarters in Hyderabad</a>.Parker has had several university affiliations in recent years, including RMIT, the now defunct University of Ballarat, and James Cook University.  In his latest research he listed no academic affiliation.In 2013, Parker wrote a paper with a fellow Australian, Thomas Watson, again arguing that sea levels were not rising. Watson also thinks global warming is not caused by rising greenhouse gas emissions, but instead says the <a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/2013/04/28/ufos-sea-level-rise-and-magnetism-climate-science-denial" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Earth’s climate is controlled by “magnetism.”</a></div><div>=</div><div style="font-size: small; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden" style="min-height: 280px;"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">The title alone of the scientific paper could have suggested one of two things — either the author deserved a Nobel prize in science, or something very odd was going on.Professor Steve Sherwood knew it was not the former.The paper’s title was grandiose but sincere — “<a href="https://www.omicsonline.org/open-access/the-refutation-of-the-climate-greenhouse-theory-and-a-proposal-for-ahopeful-alternative.php?aid=88698" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none;">The Refutation of the Climate Greenhouse Theory and a Proposal for a Hopeful Alternative</a>” — and appeared in a publication with a name that sounded like a legitimate scientific journal. But appearances don't always stack up, and neither did this paper.“The paper is laughable,” Sherwood told DeSmog.“It is so riddled with unsupported, fantastic and … or … unintelligible claims, arranged in a disorderly fashion and sprinkled liberally with innuendo,” said the director of the Climate Change Research Center at the University of New South Wales in Australia.DeSmog has found the journal which that paper appeared in, “<a href="https://www.omicsonline.org/environment-pollution-climate-change.php" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none;">Environment Pollution and Climate Change</a>,” is being led by a climate science denier who is advising notorious think tank the <a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/heartland-institute" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none;">Heartland Institute</a>.The journal's editor-in-chief, Arthur Viterito, has signed several open letters dismissing the science linking greenhouse gas emissions to dangerous climate change.Climate scientists have told DeSmog that anyone considering publishing in the “pseudo journal” should steer clear or risk damaging their reputation.After just two issues, the journal has published six papers claiming to refute the science linking human activity to dangerous climate change — claims that run counter to the conclusions of all the world’s major science academies.Climate scientists have described the papers as “garbage” and “ridiculous.”Since being contacted by DeSmog, two academics have asked for their names to be removed from the journal’s “editorial board.”OMICS defended its journal and choice of editor, saying: “For critics grapes will always be sour.”<h3 style="line-height: 1.28205em; margin-top: 1.28205em; margin-bottom: 1.28205em;">OMICS Journals</h3>The journal’s owner, OMICS International, says it publishes more than 700 “leading edge, peer reviewed” journals.But OMICS is currently facing deception charges in the United States in a case <a href="https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/press-releases/2016/08/ftc-charges-academic-journal-publisher-omics-group-deceived" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none;">brought by the Federal Trade Commission</a> (FTC).The FTC alleges the company has been engaging in deceptive marketing practices by claiming their journals were following rigorous peer review standards and had high “impact factors” — a measure of how often published papers are cited by other scientists.OMICS also organizes hundreds of “conferences.” DeSmog has revealed that its so-called “4th World Conference on Climate Change” scheduled for Rome this coming October was being <a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/2017/05/31/wmo-eu-reject-omics-conference-hijacked-climate-science-deniers" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none;">hijacked by a group of climate science deniers</a> who claim to be investigating climate scientists for “fraud.”After being contacted by DeSmog, both the World Meteorological Organization and the European Environment Agency said they were not involved in the meeting, despite the names of staff members being used on the conference website.OMICS journals operate on an “open access” system where articles are publicly available but academics have to pay for their work to appear in them.<h3 style="line-height: 1.28205em; margin-top: 1.28205em; margin-bottom: 1.28205em;">Acceptance Letter a 'Complete Fraud'</h3>Two scientists listed as editorial board members at Environment Pollution and Climate Change told DeSmog they had not been aware of the nature of the climate articles being published at the journal.One scientist, Manolis Tyllianakis, an environmental economist working at a UK government agency, had accepted an email invitation to be on the editorial board before the first issue had been published. He told DeSmog he had not read, written, or reviewed any articles.He said he was “very sorry I was included in such a journal” and said his own research showed he was “completely against” the views being expressed.OMICS had also published on the journal’s website what appeared to be an auto-generated “<a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/sites/beta.desmogblog.com/files/editor-emmanouil-tyllianakis-environment-pollution-and-climate-change-22885.pdf" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none;">acceptance letter</a>,” purporting to be from Tyllianakis saying he accepted the offer to be on the editorial board of the “prestigious journal.”The letter, which Tyllianakis was unaware of but described as a “complete fraud,” claimed he was “happy to render my continuous support and suggestion(s) for the betterment of journal [sic] in favoring the dissemination of scientific knowledge for the respective research community.”Tyllianakis has asked the journal to remove his name from its website. Another academic, who asked not to be identified, made the same request after being contacted for comment by DeSmog.<h3 style="line-height: 1.28205em; margin-top: 1.28205em; margin-bottom: 1.28205em;">'Denialist Garbage'</h3>Viterito, a geography professor at the College of Southern Maryland, has published <a href="https://www.omicsonline.org/open-access/the-correlation-of-seismic-activity-and-recent-global-warming-2157-7617-1000345.php?aid=72728" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none;">his research in another OMICS journal</a> suggesting that global warming might not be caused by increasing greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, but rather by heat from undersea volcanoes changing ocean circulation patterns.Sherwood said while “in science we do not try to stifle views that contradict prevailing expectations,” if he had been sent that paper for review, he would have recommended any journal reject it.He said: “The peer-review process is meant to ensure that contributions to the literature explain clearly, do not violate known physical laws, and only make claims that are proportionate with the evidence presented.”“The paper does not explain how a tiny heat flux at the bottom of the ocean could drive global warming while CO2, which traps hundreds of times more energy in the system, cannot.”“Even worse, the overturning time of the deep ocean is over a thousand years, so it would take a thousand years for the heat to arrive at the surface making the alleged detailed relationship over the last few decades impossible.”Professor Michael Mann, a climate scientist at Penn State University and a vocal opponent of climate science denial, told DeSmog: “This isn’t science. It’s politically motivated denialist garbage.”He added: “Such sham journals make a mockery of the scientific process and must be exposed for what they are. Associating in any way with this pseudo-journal would endanger one’s scientific reputation. Keep your distance from this toxic mess.”<h3 style="line-height: 1.28205em; margin-top: 1.28205em; margin-bottom: 1.28205em;">Skeptics Taking Advantage</h3>Climate scientist Professor Andrew Dessler of Texas A&M University explained that in traditional scientific publishing, “journals made money by subscriptions and the incentive for the journal was to publish really good papers because nobody would subscribe to crappy journals.”He said while there were several good open-access publishers, the incentive for some was to “publish a lot of papers, since you make money from each paper you publish regardless of whether anyone actually reads the paper.”He added: “From this market failure arose the predatory open-access publication, where marginal academics can get stuff published that would never get published in legitimate journals.“Climate skeptics have simply taken advantage of this to get their particular brand of bullshit published. Ultimately, though, most people know a fourth-rate journal when they see it and I don't think these faux peer-reviewed papers are taken seriously by anyone. At least I hope not.”Viterito <a href="https://lexleader.net/viterito-named-journal-editorial-board/" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none;">took the role as editor-in-chief </a> three months after the FTC announced its court action against India-based OMICS International.Viterito said he was “concerned” about the FTC case, but said the “main claim made against OMICS is that they do not disclose publication fees with prospective authors” — an issue he said did not apply to his journal, which clearly stated the US$519 publication fee in its “instructions for authors.”A lawyer at FTC dealing with the case has <a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/2017/05/31/wmo-eu-reject-omics-conference-hijacked-climate-science-deniers" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none;">told DeSmog</a> the <a href="https://www.ftc.gov/system/files/documents/cases/160826omicscmpt.pdf" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none;">allegations center on the way OMICS journals and conferences are marketed</a>, and claims made about academic rigor.OMICS has dismissed the allegations and has filed a court motion to dismiss the charges.<h3 style="line-height: 1.28205em; margin-top: 1.28205em; margin-bottom: 1.28205em;">Viterito Defends Journal</h3>Viterito is listed as an “expert” on the website of the Heartland Institute — a “think tank” which is among the most enthusiastic pushers of climate science denial and which has received funding from <a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/exxonmobil-funding-climate-science-denial" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none;">ExxonMobil</a>, the <a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/koch-family-foundations" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none;">Koch family foundations</a>, and the <a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/mercer-family-foundation" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none;">Mercer Family Foundation</a> (<a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/2017/01/12/trump-kingmaker-billionaires-robert-rebekah-mercer-pouring-millions-climate-science-denial" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none;">a major financer of Trump's campaign</a>).Viterito said he was not paid by Heartland. He said his affiliation with the organization was “limited to attending a few of their conferences, presenting some of my research findings for their podcast, and corresponding with their editors and analysts.”He added: “I have also been invited [by Heartland] to comment on questions of concern in the areas of climate research, and have been quoted in their newsletter.”Viterito said all papers sent to his journal had “three reviewers” and the peer review process was “fair and straightforward.”But commenting on a paper in Viterito's journal — the one <a href="http://www.omicsonline.org/open-access/the-refutation-of-the-climate-greenhouse-theory-and-a-proposal-for-ahopeful-alternative.php?aid=88698" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none;">claiming to refute the greenhouse gas theory</a> — Professor Sherwood said: “Among its claims is that the ‘greenhouse theory’ cannot be correct because real greenhouses have glass roofs and the atmosphere does not. Enough said. The fact that this paper was accepted demonstrates a total lack of any meaningful review procedure at the journal.”Viterito added: “As for those who are critical of papers we have published, again, I say, that this is how science works. It is a marketplace of ideas, and some of those ideas will not be popular and many will ultimately prove to be false. Others, however, will stand up to their critics and become accepted.“So, if some readers think that certain ideas questioning the nature of the greenhouse effect are wrong, then by all means they should debunk those ideas using the best science possible. At that point, those ideas will become part of the immense dustbin of discredited science. This, in turn, represents new knowledge in the sense that we now know what is not true.”Many climate scientists argue the claims made by deniers have been explored and debunked many times over in the scientific literature, to the point where some scientists call them “<a href="http://www.poynter.org/2016/despite-fact-checking-zombie-myths-about-climate-change-persist/443460/" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none;">zombie myths</a>” because of their refusal to die.Viterito is also a member of a group known as “<a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/clexit" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none;">Clexit</a>” which claims that “global warming has occurred naturally many times in the past and is not to be feared — it is not controlled by carbon dioxide or humans.”The group's statement adds: “This vicious and relentless war on carbon dioxide will be seen by future generations as the most misguided mass delusion that the world has ever seen.”Viterito also signed <a href="http://www.webcitation.org/6r3i2qZuS" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none;">an open letter to President Donald Trump</a>, urging him to withdraw from the United Nation’s Paris climate agreement. The letter claimed that carbon dioxide was “not a pollutant but a major benefit to agriculture and other life on Earth” and that any warming from increased CO2 would be “benign.”The FTC has published <a href="https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/blog/academics-and-scientists-beware-predatory-journal-publishers" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none;">a guide for academics and scientists</a>, warning them to “beware of predatory journal publishers.”<h3 style="line-height: 1.28205em; margin-top: 1.28205em; margin-bottom: 1.28205em;">Sour Grapes?</h3>In response to questions, DeSmog was sent<a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/sites/beta.desmogblog.com/files/OMICS%20journal%20response.pdf" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none;"> a long and idiosyncratic email</a> from “OMICS Journal of Environment Pollution and Climate Change co-ordinator Rachel Martin” which said: “With our journal we are acting like a bridge between the science and the world. Please don’t create havoc/fake publicity by defaming our publisher or journal. Now last but not the least, raising question is very easy but acknowledging the hard work behind the publication is never considered by critics. For critics grapes will always be sour.”The email added: “All the articles published in our journal have gone through a thorough peer review process. All assigned editors and reviewers thoroughly study the manuscripts and they provide their views/comments, which are forwarded to handling editor/editor in chief for final decision. We have even rejected several manuscripts which were not worthy to get published.”Only one academic had requested their name be removed from the journal's editorial board, the email said.The email also sought to confirm Viterito's suitability for the role, stating: “We would like to clearly verify that our esteemed Editor-in-Chief Dr. Arthur Viterito was invited from our side on basis of his research and contributions towards environment science.”The journal co-ordinator provided DeSmog a list of Viterito's affiliations to scientific associations and also a list 14 articles written or co-written by Viterito — 13 of which were at least 24 years old. The exception was Viterito's research published in a different OMICS journal.</div></div></div><div class="icopyright-article-tools-horizontal icopyright-article-tools-left"><div class="icx-toolbar" style="max-width: 264px;"><div class="icx-toolbar-inner" static.icopyright.net="static.icopyright.net" rights="rights" images="images" toolbar="toolbar" wrapper_bg_right_end_classic.gif="wrapper_bg_right_end_CLASSIC.gif" background-position="background-position" right="right" bottom="bottom" background-size="background-size" initial="initial" background-repeat="background-repeat" no-repeat="no-repeat" background-attachment="background-attachment" background-origin="background-origin" background-clip="background-clip" height="height" px="px" margin="margin" display="display" inline-block="inline-block" padding-right="padding-right" style="background-image: url(">
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margin-right: 0.5em;"><a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/topics/arthur-viterito" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none;">arthur viterito</a></div><div class="field-item odd" style="display: inline-block; margin-right: 0.5em;"><a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/directory/vocabulary/821" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none;">Heartland Institute</a></div><div class="field-item even" style="display: inline-block; margin-right: 0.5em;"><a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/topics/omics" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none;">omics</a></div><div class="field-item odd" style="display: inline-block; margin-right: 0.5em;"><a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/topics/environment-pollution-and-climate-change" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none;">Environment Pollution and Climate Change</a></div><div class="field-item even" style="display: inline-block; margin-right: 0.5em;"><a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/topics/predatory-journal" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none;">predatory journal</a></div><div class="field-item odd" style="display: inline-block; margin-right: 0.5em;"><a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/topics/ftc" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none;">FTC</a></div><div class="field-item even" style="display: inline-block; margin-right: 0.5em;"><a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/topics/federal-trade-commission" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none;">federal trade commission</a></div><div class="field-item odd" style="display: inline-block; margin-right: 0.5em;"><a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/tags/michael-mann" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none;">michael mann</a></div><div class="field-item even" style="display: inline-block; margin-right: 0.5em;"><a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/directory/vocabulary/11408" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); outline: none;">steve sherwood</a></div></div></div></div><div style="font-size: small; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"></div><a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/2017/05/31/wmo-eu-reject-omics-conference-hijacked-climate-science-deniers">https://www.desmogblog.com/2017/05/31/wmo-eu-reject-omics-conference-hijacked-climate-science-deniers</a>On the face of it, the climate science conference scheduled for the romantic Italian city of Rome looks like any other.The organizers, India-based ConferenceSeries, promise their “4th World Conference on Climate Change” will attract “world class experts” from across the planet.Anticipating “<a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/312280317_Member_of_Organizing_Committee_for_the_Climate_Change_2017_conference_in_Rome_October_19-21_2017" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">more than 500 participants</a>,” the event claimed to have an organizing committee with representatives from the UN’s World Meteorological Organization (WMO), the European Space Agency, and the European Environment Agency (EEA).But a DeSmog investigation reveals the event is being hijacked by a group of climate science deniers who have previously claimed they want to investigate climate scientists for fraud and have dismissed human-caused climate change as a hoax.Since being contacted by DeSmog, both the WMO and the EEA have issued statements distancing themselves from the three-day conference, scheduled to start on October 19.ConferenceSeries, also known as OMICS, promotes hundreds of meetings around the world and is behind the logistics and promotion for the Italy conference. In August 2016 the U.S. government’s <a href="https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/press-releases/2016/08/ftc-charges-academic-journal-publisher-omics-group-deceived" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Federal Trade Commission launched court action</a> against the company, alleging deceptive marketing practices. The case is ongoing.Two members of the Italy conference “<a href="http://www.webcitation.org/6qi7dRt0D" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">organizing committee</a>” — <a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/nils-axel-morner" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Nils-Axel Mörner</a> and Franco Maranzana — were also organizers of a <a href="http://www.webcitation.org/6f1wmo7o7" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">meeting for climate science deniers in London in September 2016</a>.Both are also founding members of a self-styled <a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/independent-committee-geoethics" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Independent Committee on Geoethics</a> (ICG) — a group that, according to another founder <a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/christopher-monckton" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Lord Christopher Monckton</a>, was <a href="http://www.webcitation.org/6f1wmo7o7" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">established to investigate climate scientists</a> for fraud.  Seven presenters, including Monckton and Mörner, and one organizer of <a href="https://www.desmog.uk/2016/09/17/i-went-obscure-climate-science-denier-conference-and-what-i-learned" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">that London meeting</a>, Maranzana, are also scheduled to speak at the Rome event. Some scientists listed as attending — or even organizing — the Italy conference have told DeSmog their names “should not be on the program.”After being contacted by DeSmog, OMICS said it would “investigate” the line-up for its conference and if it found “unnecessary science,” it would contact attendees to inform them “about the real faces of those who are looking to make a platform for spreading the nonsense through our forum.”In 2016, Australia Nobel science winner <a href="http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/nobel-winner-pulls-out-of-melb-conference-run-by-controversial-indian-company-20160105-glzkof.html" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Professor Peter Doherty pulled out of a conference after discovering OMICS </a>was the organizer, saying: “I will not speak at this, or any future meeting that you organize.”<h3 style="line-height: 1.28205em; margin-top: 1.28205em; margin-bottom: 1.28205em;">Dawn of Truth?</h3>Mörner and Maranzana's London meeting of deniers, subtitled the “Dawn of Truth,” was forced to move venues when <a href="https://www.desmog.uk/2016/07/22/monckton-s-independent-committee-geoethics-climate-science-denial-conference-will-not-take-place-ucl" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">University College London canceled the booking</a> after discovering who was behind the event.ICG’s founding statement declares that “personal attacks have no place in science.”  Yet <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mHrZu0HYeNo&t=1494s" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">outside the London conference</a>, Lord Monckton, who has called young climate change campaigners “the Hitler youth,” described British physicist Professor Brian Cox as a “sad and contemptible figure,” “incompetent,” and a “fashionable pseudo-scientist.”At the London conference, Mörner gave a presentation claiming a one meter (roughly one yard) rise in sea levels by the end of this century was “impossible” and that sea levels may only rise by 15 centimeters (5.9 inches). However, many scientists now fear that a one meter rise in global sea level, which would put trillions of dollars of coastal infrastructure at risk, could be an underestimate.On multiple occasions on the <a href="http://climatechange.conferenceseries.com/organizing-committee.php" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">ConferenceSeries</a> website, Mörner’s affiliation is given as Stockholm University, and he is <a href="http://www.webcitation.org/6qi7dRt0D" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">described as an Emeritus Professor</a>.But a spokesperson for Stockholm University told DeSmog that Mörner had “no affiliation of Emeritus Professor” and that Mörner had retired from the university in March 2005.Mörner is known for dismissing the science linking rising sea levels to greenhouse gas emissions, but his methods and claims have been debunked. Dr. John Church of the University of New South Wales Climate Change Research Center told DeSmog Mörner’s work was “totally discredited” and that he had no record “of publishing high quality papers.”Church is a world-leading expert on sea level rise, with his research appearing in the globe's top scientific journals. He has been a co-convening lead author on chapters covering sea level rise in two UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reports.Maranzana’s affiliation is given as “Stratex Djibouti” — a mining company based in the UK.<h3 style="line-height: 1.28205em; margin-top: 1.28205em; margin-bottom: 1.28205em;">NASA Speaker?</h3>Also a speaker at the London event and scheduled to appear in Italy is <a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/thomas-wysmuller" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Thomas Wysmuller</a>, a member of the ICGadvisory committee. On the Italy conference program, Wysmuller’s affiliation is listed as “NASA TRCS Climate Group,” which could be easily mistaken as a legitimate group at the U.S. space agency.In fact, the letters “TRCS” stand for <a href="http://www.therightclimatestuff.com/home.html" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">The Real Climate Stuff</a> and is a group of retired NASA employees who reject the risk of human-caused climate change.Other speakers linked to 2016's London conference and also listed to appear in Rome are <a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/nicola-scafetta" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Nicola Scafetta</a> of Italy, Albrecht Glatzle of Paraguay, Jan-Erik Solheim of Norway, and Fabio Pistella of Italy.Mörner, Solheim, and Glatzle also attended the 2016 UN climate talks in Marrakech as a group. One <a href="http://www.climatedepot.com/2016/11/19/skeptical-scientists-crash-un-climate-summit-praise-trump-for-bringing-science-back-again/" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">climate science denial website quoted Glatzle</a> as supporting President Donald Trump’s plans to withdraw from the UN Paris climate agreement. That trio, plus Monckton, are also founders of a group known as <a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/clexit" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Clexit</a>, which claims: “The world must abandon this suicidal Global Warming crusade. Man does not and cannot control the climate.”WMO “Not Involved”Some participants listed for the Italy event this fall and contacted by DeSmog said they never confirmed their attendance despite their names and photographs being used on the conference website.Other participants were unaware of the Federal Trade Commission case against OMICS, the conference managers.Several people listed as participants and contacted by DeSmog were also unaware they would be sharing a platform with climate science deniers.Dr. Alexander Baklanov is a scientific officer at the WMO and, for at least a year, was listed as a member of the upcoming Italy conference's organizing committee as well as that of the previous “3rd World Conference on Climate Change,” held in Valencia, Spain.After being contacted by DeSmog, WMO issued a statement saying it “is not involved in any way with the so-called Fourth World Conference on Climate Change and wishes to disassociate itself from the conference organizers.”The statement said Dr. Baklanov had once been contacted by the conference organizers and “in good faith, suggested some possible topics for it to outline.”“The WMO scientist is not on the organizing committee of the conference as is implied by the organizers. No representative of WMO will attend the conference,” the statement added.Dr. Baklanov’s name was removed from the conference website late last week at the request of the WMO, after DeSmog had made contact.The Italy conference website also <a href="http://www.webcitation.org/6qi7dRt0D" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">named an official from the European Environment Agency</a> (EEA), Annemarie Bastrup-Birk, as a member of the organizing committee.But Katja Rosenbohm, EEA head of communications, told DeSmog: “The EEA has no affiliation or role whatsoever with OMICSor the conference they are organizing in Rome. One of our experts' names was incorrectly posted on their <a href="http://www.webcitation.org/6qi7dRt0D" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">organizing website</a> and it has now been removed.“Conference organizers did contact an EEA expert last year about potentially participating in a conference on climate change, however, the expert’s participation was never confirmed and there was never any follow-up.”<h3 style="line-height: 1.28205em; margin-top: 1.28205em; margin-bottom: 1.28205em;">“My Name Should Not Be on the Program”</h3>One of the highest profile individuals, still <a href="http://www.webcitation.org/6qi9r7uf5" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">listed as a speaker</a> for the Italy conference, is veteran climate scientist Professor Michael Schlesinger of the University of Illinois.Schlesinger told DeSmog he had received an email invitation and had initially offered only to give a lecture by video, but he had heard nothing from the conference organizers since. He had never agreed to appear.“My name should not be on the program,” he said.[docs] more on OMICS<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden" style="min-height: 280px;"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Referring to Lord Monckton and others, Schlesinger said: “When I was invited, it did not occur to me that there was going to be these kinds of people on the program.”The <a href="http://climatechange.conferenceseries.com/scientific-program.php?day=3&sid=3138&date=2017-10-21" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">list of conference speakers</a> suggests people will be spending money on flights from China, Canada, U.S., Japan, and Russia. Researchers are also listed as attending from Cameroon, Kenya, Azerbaijan, and Bangladesh.Scientist Paulina Cetina Heredia of the University of New South Wales in Australia told DeSmog she had sent a scientific abstract to the conference, but had never registered and would not be attending. Despite this, her name has appeared on several versions of the conference program, and remains there as DeSmog publishes this story.Don Elzer, founder of the <a href="http://www.wildcraftforest.com/News/E-Tea/4-April2017-1.html" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Wildcraft Forest School </a>in British Columbia, Canada, said he had not formally registered, but had sent a conference abstract that had been accepted. His name appears on the conference program as a speaker.He told DeSmog: “If in fact climate change deniers are hijacking this conference then a serious imbalance will occur with regards to genuine inquiry and problem solving. We are there to contribute solutions that will help to transition and restore ecosystems and we are seeking partnerships and working collaborations in the field. If there is no audience for collaboration we will not be involved with this conference. If this conference becomes a political platform for a Trump-style denial of climate change, not only will we not attend but also we will actively boycott and criticize such negligent behavior.”In an <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/312280317_Member_of_Organizing_Committee_for_the_Climate_Change_2017_conference_in_Rome_October_19-21_2017" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">information brochure shared on a research page</a> of one member of the organizing committee, a promotional blurb written in broken English states the conference “anticipates more than 500 participants around the globe.”An email invitation to the conference sent to one climate scientist, seen by DeSmog, also contains oddly strained language.The email reads: “Climate Change 2017 is specifically premeditated with a unifying axiom providing pulpit to widen the imminent scientific creations.”<h3 style="line-height: 1.28205em; margin-top: 1.28205em; margin-bottom: 1.28205em;">FTC Case Against OMICS</h3>In August 2016, the U.S. <a href="https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/press-releases/2016/08/ftc-charges-academic-journal-publisher-omics-group-deceived" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Federal Trade Commission launched legal action</a> against ConferenceSeries alleging the company was carrying out deceptive practices related to the way they promoted their conferences.While OMICS and ConferenceSeries are physically located at an address in Hyderabad, India, the company has trading addresses in the United States, including in Nevada.ConferenceSeries is owned by Srinubabu Gedela, who also owns the related OMICS journal publishing company that is part of the same FTC investigation.The FTC alleges OMICS’s “open access” journals have falsely claimed to offer robust peer-review of scientific papers, that their journals were part of key scientific benchmarking tools, and their journals included particular scientists as editors. Gregory Ashe, a senior staff attorney at the FTC’s bureau of consumer protection, told DeSmog the case against OMICScentered on alleged deceptive marketing practices.“This case is not about the content, but is about how they are marketing their services. We are neutral on what the conferences are about,” he said.FTC alleges that OMICS claimed scientists were involved in organizing or attending particular conferences, “when those organizers or participants did not agree to be an organizer or participant.”On the back of the OMICS case, the FTC<a href="https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/blog/academics-and-scientists-beware-predatory-journal-publishers" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;"> issued an advisory to scientists and researchers</a> to “beware” of so-called “predatory publishers.”Lawyers representing OMICS have <a href="https://assets.documentcloud.org/documents/3115807/OMICS-response-to-FTA-lawsuit.pdf" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">filed a motion to dismiss the charges</a>, brought in the district court of Nevada, and have rejected the allegations. <h3 style="line-height: 1.28205em; margin-top: 1.28205em; margin-bottom: 1.28205em;">OMICS to “Investigate”</h3>A spokesperson for OMICS wrote a <a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/sites/beta.desmogblog.com/files/OMICS%20response%20to%20DeSmog.pdf" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">long response to DeSmog</a>, claiming “no one can hijack our congress” and that the organizing committee had 20 members “from the best institutions in the world.”But the spokesperson said they were “completely unaware” of the discredited views on climate change pushed by several of the speakers.“We would investigate through our panel into this and also from other websites before we can comment on this. Our congress will never encourage for those who wants to spread the unnecessary science.”DeSmog asked if OMICS would make efforts to inform people already committed to attending about the views of many of the speakers.The spokesperson said: “Yes, if we find from our investigation we would certainly alarm the attendees about the real faces of those who are looking to make a platform for spreading the nonsense through our forum. It is not too late to raise our voice and reach every attendee of our congress about those members through emails and phone calls.”The spokesperson added: “The eligibility criteria to serve in our [scientific committee] board includes they should be at least in the rank of Associate Professor, willing to spend time to screen abstracts submitted, should at least have 10 publications in reputed journals and few others.”Asked if they stood by their claim of attracting “more than 500 participants,” the spokesperson added it was “extending free participations for the local universities around Italy” and “we are sure that we would be reaching the claimed number of attendees.”But the spokesperson added:  “However as you are aware of that events industry is unpredictable, there are many factors that would affect the attendance of conference like disease outbreak, terror threat, natural disaster, flights delay, community riots hence it is too early to speak about the attendees number.”DeSmog did not receive a response from emails sent to Mörner and Maranzana, two members of the Italy conference organizing committee.Main image: A screenshot of Lord Monckton's presentation to a September 2016 London climate meeting, organized by the Independent Committee on Geoethics. Credit: YouTube</div></div></div><div class="icopyright-article-tools-horizontal icopyright-article-tools-left"><div class="icx-toolbar" style="max-width: 264px;"><div class="icx-toolbar-inner" style="background-image: url(" static.icopyright.net="static.icopyright.net" rights="rights" images="images" toolbar="toolbar" wrapper_bg_right_end_classic.gif="wrapper_bg_right_end_CLASSIC.gif" background-position="background-position" right="right" bottom="bottom" background-size="background-size" initial="initial" background-repeat="background-repeat" no-repeat="no-repeat" background-attachment="background-attachment" background-origin="background-origin" background-clip="background-clip" height="height" px="px" margin="margin" display="display" inline-block="inline-block" padding-right="padding-right"><div class="icx-logo" style="background-image: url(" static.icopyright.net="static.icopyright.net" rights="rights" images="images" toolbar="toolbar" ilogo_link_classic.png="ilogo_link_CLASSIC.png" background-position="background-position" left="left" top="top" background-size="background-size" initial="initial" background-repeat="background-repeat" no-repeat="no-repeat" background-attachment="background-attachment" background-origin="background-origin" background-clip="background-clip" float="float" width="width" px="px" height="height" cursor="cursor" pointer="pointer" z-index="z-index" position="position" absolute="absolute"><a href="http://license.icopyright.net/rights/tag.act?tag=3.14813?icx_id=11801" target="blank" title="Main menu of all reuse options" style="width: 30px; 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background-attachment: initial !important; background-origin: initial !important; background-clip: initial !important;">Republish</a></div><div class="icx-tool-end"><div class="field field-name-taxonomy-vocabulary-14 field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above" style="padding: 1.5em 0px; border-top: 1px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); margin-top: 1.5em;"><div class="field-label" style="text-transform: uppercase; display: inline;">TAGS: </div><div class="field-items" style="display: inline;"><div class="field-item even" style="display: inline-block; margin-right: 0.5em;"><a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/topics/omics-international">omics international</a></div><div class="field-item odd" style="display: inline-block; margin-right: 0.5em;"><a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/directory/vocabulary/1139">nils axel-morner</a></div><div class="field-item even" style="display: inline-block; margin-right: 0.5em;"><a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/directory/vocabulary/591">christopher monckton</a></div><div class="field-item odd" style="display: inline-block; margin-right: 0.5em;"><a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/directory/vocabulary/22781">Independent Committee on Geoethics</a></div><div class="field-item even" style="display: inline-block; margin-right: 0.5em;"><a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/topics/world-conference-climate-change">World Conference on Climate Change</a></div><div class="field-item odd" style="display: inline-block; margin-right: 0.5em;"><a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/topics/federal-trade-commission">federal trade commission</a></div><div class="field-item even" style="display: inline-block; margin-right: 0.5em;"><a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/topics/franco-maranzana">franco maranzana</a></div><div class="field-item odd" style="display: inline-block; margin-right: 0.5em;"><a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/directory/vocabulary/9088">Thomas Wysmuller</a></div><div class="field-item even" style="display: inline-block; margin-right: 0.5em;"><a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/topics/jan-erik-solheim">jan-erik solheim</a></div><div class="field-item odd" style="display: inline-block; margin-right: 0.5em;"><a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/directory/vocabulary/6771">Nicola Scafetta</a></div><div class="field-item even" style="display: inline-block; margin-right: 0.5em;"><a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/topics/michael-schlesinger">michael schlesinger</a></div><div class="field-item odd" style="display: inline-block; margin-right: 0.5em;"><a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/topics/conferenceseries">Conferenceseries</a></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>