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Schmitt, H Sen

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astronaut physics engr proto-wacko?

https://www.congress.gov/bill/95th-congress/house-bill/6669

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the-national-climate-program-act-1978

Two minutes in the life of a President. Excerpted from "The Daily Diary of Jimmy Carter, October 14, 1978," held by the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library.

Have you ever heard of the National Climate Program Act? I’d never heard of the National Climate Program Act. It’s not indexed in my favorite history of American environmental policy, and it doesn’t rate even a stub in Wikipedia. Jimmy Carter signed it so grudgingly that I can’t find any pictures of it happening. The image above shows that the President spent all of two minutes commemorating it with congressional sponsor George Brown before moving on to tape robocalls.

But you need to know about the Act for three reasons.

First, NCPA established a legal foundation for climate services in the US. Key parts of the US economy are more productive because of the interpretative products created by Regional Climate Centers established under the NCPA. As former AMS president Marshall Shepard wrote recently, “If you eat food, consume energy, use transportation systems, or generally ‘live,’ RCCs indirectly touch your life.” Climate services help farmers to plan, electrical generators to manage the power grid, fire fighters to control wildfires, and all kinds of people to deal with drought, floods, and severe storms. (Naturally, the Trump Administration is targeting the RCCs for near-elimination. Sign this petition, then call your representatives!)

Second, NCPA offers a model for thinking about how to promote climate resiliency. NCPA aims to reduce our society’s vulnerability to climate by encouraging cooperation between many actors, including state governments, industrial and individual users of climate information, university researchers, and federal agencies like NOAA. In today's language, it recognizes that building a climate-ready nation requires involving many stakeholders. Good solutions come from diverse places, and the law establishes a framework for developing and sharing those solutions. While global weirding obviously makes climate resiliency more important than ever, you don’t have to believe anything about climate change to see why this is a good idea.

Third, NCPA highlights an historical moment when the politics of climate were quite different. Climate policy was not yet polarizing and divided along partisan lines as it later became. During the mid 1970s, a climate policy oriented around user-services could bring Democrats and Republicans together. Republican senators James Pearson (KS) and Harrison Schmitt (NM) joined with liberal lion George Brown (D-CA) in the House to sponsor NCPA. In his history of the NCPA, Gabe Henderson argues that in the 1970s,

“Republicans—including staunch conservatives in the American Sunbelt—were not opposed to climate research funding, did not doubt the reality of climatic change or its societal effects, and did not seek to undermine national efforts to adapt to climatic stresses. To the contrary, conservative supporters believed that a user-oriented climate program was itself conservative in that it would strengthen American economic interests while empowering states to manage their own affairs in cooperation with the federal government.” (p. 212)

Today of course, former astronaut Schmitt is notorious for conflating communism and environmentalism and for suggesting that the "CO2 scare" is a stalking horse for National Socialism. A better understanding of history can help us to see more clearly when and how the Republican Party was dragged away from reality.

Learn More:

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not on climate

https://science.house.gov/sites/democrats.science.house.gov/files/documents/Schmitt%20Testimony.pdf

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https://thinkprogress.org/new-mexico-governor-appoints-man-who-believes-environmentalists-are-communists-to-head-state-agency-11535ce21a6/#.7hltta76z

Newly elected New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez (R) has made a series of troubling moves since taking office last month, from proposing the elimination of a crucial state women’s services commission to making her first priority the revocation of illegal immigrants’ driver’s licenses. But theTea Party-backed governor’s selection of Harrison Schmitt to head the state’s Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department, which oversees all environmental matters in New Mexico, is the most disturbing action to date.

Schmitt, a retired astronaut and former U.S. Senator, has said he believes the leaders of the environmental movement are communists, and that when these communist environmentalists are appointed to government positions, citizens need to “wake up” and “take control of their government again.” The New Mexico Independent has flagged thisinterview Schmitt gave to crank radio host Alex Jones in 2009:

SCHMITT: Number one we’ve been concerned with the misuse of science, but I think more fundamentally,this misuse of science has lead to politicians and ideologues to try to gain control of the American economy, and indeed the global economy, by scaring people….I think that there are individuals, [Obama science czar John] Holdren apparently among them, a very large number who have taken — shall we say captured the environmental movement and turned it into what was previously considered the communist movement. And that’s just something that people of common sense are going to continue to have to counter and wake up enough so that they can take control of their government again.[…]

I think the whole trend really began with the fall of the Soviet Union. Because the great champion of the opponents of liberty, namely communism, had to find some other place to go and they basically went into the environmental movement. That’s not to say there aren’t some major and significant environmental issues, particularly at the local level, but they converted environmental activism to a political movement and some would say a religious movement.

[vid]

Schmitt also engaged in extensive denials of climate change science, and claimed that there has been steady warming of the Earth every year since 1660. Presenting his evidence, Schmitt said, “If you want to read some of the history of the American Revolutionary War, you will realize how damn cold it was back then. And we were just moving out of the little ice age very slowly, and it was very cold.”

As the Wonk Room noted earlier this month when reporting on Schmitt, Martinez has taken other steps to eliminate science-based government from her state, like nominating global warming denier Jon Barela to head the Department of Economic Development.

Martinez’s appointment of Schmitt to oversee New Mexico’s environmental matters is nothing short of shocking. The Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department is charged with “mak[ing] our state a leader in developing reliable supplies of energy, and energy efficient technologies and practices, with a balanced approach toward conserving our renewable and non-renewable resources” and aims to “protect the environment and ensure responsible reclamation of land and resources affected by mineral extraction.” Martinez said she wants Schmitt’s first order of business to be reviewing regulations on oil companies put in place by her predecessor, former Gov. Bill Richardson (D).

Update:

Gov. Martinez was asked about Schmitt’s views by the Santa Fe New Mexican, and said she hadn’t heard the Jones interview: “What’s important here is that (Schmitt) is a NASA scientist,” the governor said. “He is agraduate from Harvard,and what is important is that he is going to perform the agenda of my administration. We are going to ensure that we keep the environment safe, that we provide common sense for decisions that are being made, that we don’t make decisions based on politics and ideology.” She added that she does not believe environmentalists are communists.

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https://www.inverse.com/article/27842-climate-change-denier-nasa-congressional-hearing-harrison-schmitt

2017 no lnx

in 2008, Schmitt resigned from space exploration nonprofit The Planetary Society, as a result of the group saying that climate change is a result of human activity. In 2013, he co-wrote a commentary piece in the Wall Street Journal saying carbon dioxide has little to do with climate change ...and other greenhouse gases have caused the increase in Earth’s temperature in the past 50 years, Schmitt wrote, “There isn’t the slightest evidence that more carbon dioxide has caused more extreme weather.”

He’s also presented incorrect facts about Earth’s climate trends. In a paper he sent to NASA, he wrote, “How long this cooling trend will persist remains to be seen,” saying that Greenland glaciers and Arctic sea ice have been increasing. This piece’s assertions have since been debunked by many academics, as Earth is actually in a warming trend, and both Greenland and the Arctic are losing — not gaining — ice.

Schmitt’s credentials as a NASA astronaut are impressive, but he has significantly less experience in energy and climate science. He’s advocated mining Helium-3 on the moon and using it to fuel fusion reactors — a costly source of energy.

Schmitt has not only repeatedly denied climate change, he’s disparaged leaders of the environmental movement as well. In an interview with right-wing radio host and conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, Schmitt said, “I think the whole trend really began with the fall of the Soviet Union. Because the great champion of the opponents of liberty, namely communism, had to find some other place to go and they basically went into the environmental movement.” As evidence against climate change being impacted by human activities, he said, “If you want to read some of the history of the American Revolutionary War, you will realize how damn cold it was back then.”

Trump himself has repeatedly denied climate change, calling it a Chinese hoax. And Texas Republican Lamar S. Smith is a top pick for NASA administrator. Smith isn’t a climate change denier, but he’s skeptical about the consensus that human activities have led to climate change.

If NASA’s programs on climate change and earth science are defunded, the U.S. will see the elimination of research on global temperatures, ice, and other climate phenomena. This likely won’t be the only move to downplay climate change in the upcoming years.

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Climate Change-Denying Astronaut to Testify in Front of Congress

Schmitt Next to Big Boulder

By Rosalie Chan on February 14, 2017

Filed Under Science, Earth Science, NASA & Space Policy

NASA plays a crucial role in observing and tracking the global effects of climate change — employing a myriad of satellites to study atmospheric changes, melting ice, and ocean patterns. The first congressional committee hearing on NASA’s future will be held on Thursday this week, and it’s set to feature Harrison Schmitt — a former astronaut who walked on the moon as part of the Apollo 17 mission, a former U.S. senator from New Mexico, and a long-time denier of climate change.

Although Thursday’s hearing may focus more on space exploration, President Donald Trump is poised to eliminate NASA’s climate change research efforts and defund NASA’s earth science division. If Schmitt is asked to give his thoughts on what the future of NASA’s Earth science research ought to be, he will likely use his influence and status to voice a negative assessment. If Trump is serious about downsizing research on climate change, having Schmitt speak at the upcoming NASA hearing is likely an optical move to show people affiliated with NASA that don’t see the need for Earth science research programs.

NASA has accrued a vast plethora of evidence, which shows that the planet has warmed at an unprecedented rate in the past 1,300 years. Over 97 percent of actively publishing climate scientists agree that this is extremely likely due to human activities.

In the past, rather than acknowledging the scientific consensus based on evidence, Schmitt has called it a “political tool.”

Harrison Schmitt, an Apollo astronaut who walked on the moon and a former senator, has repeatedly denied climate change.

In 2008, Schmitt resigned from space exploration nonprofit The Planetary Society, as a result of the group saying that climate change is a result of human activity. In 2013, he co-wrote a commentary piece in the Wall Street Journal saying carbon dioxide has little to do with climate change.

Although scientific experts from all over the world have concluded that there’s over a 95 percent probability that carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases have caused the increase in Earth’s temperature in the past 50 years, Schmitt wrote, “There isn’t the slightest evidence that more carbon dioxide has caused more extreme weather.”

He’s also presented incorrect facts about Earth’s climate trends. In a paper he sent to NASA, he wrote, “How long this cooling trend will persist remains to be seen,” saying that Greenland glaciers and Arctic sea ice have been increasing. This piece’s assertions have since been debunked by many academics, as Earth is actually in a warming trend, and both Greenland and the Arctic are losing — not gaining — ice.

Schmitt’s credentials as a NASA astronaut are impressive, but he has significantly less experience in energy and climate science. He’s advocated mining Helium-3 on the moon and using it to fuel fusion reactors — a costly source of energy.

Schmitt has not only repeatedly denied climate change, he’s disparaged leaders of the environmental movement as well. In an interview with right-wing radio host and conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, Schmitt said, “I think the whole trend really began with the fall of the Soviet Union. Because the great champion of the opponents of liberty, namely communism, had to find some other place to go and they basically went into the environmental movement.” As evidence against climate change being impacted by human activities, he said, “If you want to read some of the history of the American Revolutionary War, you will realize how damn cold it was back then.”

Trump himself has repeatedly denied climate change, calling it a Chinese hoax. And Texas Republican Lamar S. Smith is a top pick for NASA administrator. Smith isn’t a climate change denier, but he’s skeptical about the consensus that human activities have led to climate change.

If NASA’s programs on climate change and earth science are defunded, the U.S. will see the elimination of research on global temperatures, ice, and other climate phenomena. This likely won’t be the only move to downplay climate change in the upcoming years.

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In January, 2011, he was appointed as Secretary of the New Mexico Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department in the cabinet of Governor Susana Martinez,[15] but was forced to give up the appointment the following month after refusing to submit to a required background investigation.[16]

silv city (his home) elem school on lockdown 2 days in a row

but ok b/c swat/SART team had armored vehicle.  http://www.scsun-news.com/silver_city-news/ci_26539163?source=pkg

ufo cattle mutilation 1979 fbi  http://www.noufors.com/Senator_Harrison_Schmitt.html

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harrison_Schmitt

Harrison Hagan "Jack" Schmitt (born July 3, 1935) is an American geologist, retired NASA astronaut, university professor and former U.S. senator from New Mexico.

In December 1972, as one of the crew on board Apollo 17, Schmitt became the first member of NASA's first scientist-astronaut group to fly in space. As Apollo 17 was the last of the Apollo missions, he also became the twelfth person to set foot on the Moon, and as of 2014, the second-to-last person to step off of the Moon (he boarded theLunar Module shortly before commander Eugene Cernan). Schmitt also remains the first and only professional scientist to have flown beyond low Earth orbit and to have visited the Moon.[1] He was influential within the community of geologists supporting the Apollo program and, before starting his own preparations for an Apollo mission, had been one of the scientists training those Apollo astronauts chosen to visit the lunar surface.

Schmitt resigned from NASA in August 1975 in order to run for election to the United States Senate as a member from New Mexico. As the Republican candidate in the 1976 election, he defeated the two-term Democrat incumbent Joseph Montoya, but, running for re-election in 1982, was himself defeated, by Democrat Jeff Bingaman.

Contents

Post-NASA career

In August 1975, Schmitt resigned from NASA to seek election as a Republican to the United States Senate representing New Mexico in the 1976 election. Schmitt faced two-term Democratic incumbent, Joseph Montoya, whom he defeated 57% to 42%. He served one term and, notably, was the ranking Republican member of the Science, Technology, and Space Subcommittee. He sought a second term in the 1982, but due to a deep recession and concerns that he wasn't paying attention to local matters, he was defeated in a re-election bid by the state Attorney General Jeff Bingaman by a 54% to 46% margin. Bingaman's campaign slogan asked, "What on Earth has he done for you lately?"[8] Following his Senate term, Schmitt has been a consultant in business, geology, space, and public policy.

During his term in the Senate, Schmitt sat at the chamber's candy desk.

Schmitt is an adjunct professor of engineering physics at the University of Wisconsin–Madison,[9] and has long been a proponent of lunar resource utilization.[10][11] In 1997 he proposed the Interlune InterMars Initiative, listing among its goals the advancement of private sector acquisition and use of lunar resources, particularly lunar helium-3 as a fuel for notional nuclear fusion reactors.[12]

Schmitt was chair of the NASA Advisory Council, whose mandate is to provide technical advice to the NASA Administrator, from November 2005 until his abrupt resignation on October 16, 2008.[13] In November 2008, he quit the Planetary Society over policy advocacy differences, citing the organization's statements on "focusing on Mars as the driving goal of human spaceflight" (Schmitt said that going back to the Moon would speed progress toward a manned Mars mission), on "accelerating research into global climate change through more comprehensive Earth observations" (Schmitt voiced objections to the notion of a present "scientific consensus" on climate change as any policy guide), and on international cooperation (which he felt would retard rather than accelerate progress), among other points of divergence.[14]

In January, 2011, he was appointed as Secretary of the New Mexico Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department in the cabinet of Governor Susana Martinez,[15] but was forced to give up the appointment the following month after refusing to submit to a required background investigation.[16]

Schmitt wrote a book entitled "Return to the Moon: Exploration, Enterprise, and Energy in the Human Settlement of Space" in 2006.[17]

He lives in Silver City, New Mexico, and spends some of his summer at his northern Minnesota lake cabin.

Senator Schmitt is also involved in several civic projects, including the improvement of the Senator Harrison H. Schmitt Big Sky Hang Glider Park in Albuquerque, NM.[18]

Global warming

Schmitt's view on climate change diverges from the prevailing scientific opinion on climate change as he emphasizes natural over human factors as driving climate. The prevailing scientific opinion links global warming to human activity and Schmitt is therefore considered by Mitchell Anderson from the DeSmogBlog to "deny climate".[19] In repeated comments, Schmitt has expressed his view that the risks posed by climate change are overrated, and suggest instead that climate change is a tool for people who are trying to increase the size of government.[20] He resigned his membership in the Planetary Society because of its stance on the subject, writing in his resignation letter that the "global warming scare is being used as a political tool to increase government control over American lives, incomes and decision-making." He spoke at the March 2009 International Conference on Climate Change sponsored by the Heartland Institute.[21] He appeared in December that year on the Fox Business Network, saying "[t]he CO~2~ scare is a red herring".[22]

In a 2009 interview with libertarian talk-radio host Alex Jones, Schmitt asserted a link between Soviet Communism and the American environmental movement: "I think the whole trend really began with the fall of the Soviet Union. Because the great champion of the opponents of liberty, namely communism, had to find some other place to go and they basically went into the environmental movement."[23] At the Heartland Institute's sixth International Conference on Climate Change Schmitt said that climate change was a stalking horse for National Socialism.[24]

Schmitt co-authored a May 8, 2013 Wall Street Journal opinion column with William Happer, contending that increasing levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere are not significantly correlated with global warming, attributing the "single-minded demonization of this natural and essential atmospheric gas" to advocates of government control of energy production. Noting a positive relationship between crop resistance to drought and increasing carbon dioxide levels, the authors argued, "Contrary to what some would have us believe, increased carbon dioxide in the atmosphere will benefit the increasing population on the planet by increasing agricultural productivity.".[25] The progressive organization Media Matters for America responded to the column with criticism based on information from a July 1, 2010 Skeptical Science blog.[26]

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http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Harrison_Schmitt

Harrison Schmitt is a former NASA astronaut and engineer and is currently an Adjunct Professor of Engineering at the University of Wisconsin at Madison. Schmitt was also the Chairman and President of the Annapolis Center for Science-Based Public Policy between 1994 and 1998, and remains "Chairman Emeritus."[1] He was formerly listed as a member of theBoard of Directors of the Heartland Institute.[2] He was reportedly the next-to-last person to walk on the moon and is credited with taking the iconic "Blue Marble" photograph of the earth from space.[3]

Contents

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Climate Change Skeptic

Schmitt is a climate change skeptic who does not believe that "the human effect [of climate change] is significant compared to the natural effect." He also contends that climate change skeptics "are being intimidated" if they disagree with the idea that burning fossil fuels has increased carbon dioxide levels, temperatures and sea levels.[4] Schmitt spoke at the International Conference on Climate Change (2009), hosted by the conservative think tank, the Heartland Institute. His critics point out that his affiliation with the Annapolis Center for Science-Based Public Policy, an organization that received more than $860,000 in funding from oil giant ExxonMobil in 1998, somewhat discredits his statements about climate change. ^[1] He is also a member of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists[5], one of the last scientific organizations to accept the tenets of global warming.

In 2009 Harrison Schmitt submitted a paper to NASA which claimed the Earth was cooling. It included the claim that Arctic sea ice had returned to 1989 levels of coverage. It has been widely debunked as evidential cherry picking.[6] ^[7]

"In Defense of Carbon Dioxide"

In a two author op-ed piece featured in the Wall Street Journal entitled "In Defense of Carbon Dioxide", Harrison Schmitt and William Happer make the case that excess carbon dioxide is not bringing about detrimental climate change but is in fact necessary and beneficial. The authors criticize global warming theories as they relate to carbon dioxide, stating, "Thanks to the single-minded demonization of this natural and essential atmospheric gas by advocates of government control of energy production, the conventional wisdom about carbon dioxide is that it is a dangerous pollutant." The authors follow with their take on how to interpret scientific evidence on the matter, concluding, "There isn't the slightest evidence that more carbon dioxide has caused more extreme weather."[8]

As a direct response to the claims made and scientific evidence used in this piece, Media Matters for America, a progressive nonprofit watchdog group, published a specific response addressing several points posited in the op-ed. Beginning with a reference to Schmitt and Happer as "authors with no peer-reviewed papers on the topic and ties to groups funded by the oil industry," Media Matters presents contrary evidence to the information in the op-ed, citing work by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, NASA, the World Bank, the National Research Council, Smithsonian Magazine, the New York Times, Skeptical Science, and several other scientists and academics.[9] This response goes on to expose the authors' history, illustrating their lack of peer-reviewed research on the topic and their ties to the oil industry. Media Matters' profile on Schmitt highlights his former position as Director at the oil industry-funded Heartland Institute. Happer's profile identifies his status as current chairman of the George C. Marshall Institute, a recipient of funding from the oil industry as well as the Koch brothers.

Jack Williams, the director of the Nelson Institute Center for Climatic Research and geography professor from the University of Wisconsin - Madison, where Schmitt serves as an adjunct professor, also responded critically to the piece. "I think they're ignoring the scientific evidence," Williams posits, "...it's a bit of a one-sided perspective on the effects of CO2."[10]

"Artic (sic) sea ice has returned to 1989 levels of coverage,"[11]Quotations

"Natural warming is clearly happening but there is absolutely no evidence, no observational evidence whatsoever that the increase in carbon dioxide that has been measured in the last fifty years has had anything to do with that"[12]

Related SourceWatch articles

References

  1. ↑ ^Jump ^up ^to:1.0^ ^1.1 Mitchell Anderson, Former Astronaut in Bed with Big Oil?, Desmogblog.com, February 17, 2009.
  2. Jump up↑ Heartland Institute, Board of Directors, organizational website, accessed April 2011.
  3. Jump up↑ Lee Roop, Harrison Schmitt remembers standing on the moon, a story he'll tell in Huntsville next month, Alabama.com, November 30, 2012.
  4. Jump up↑ Fox News Online, Ex-Astronaut: Global Warming is Bunk, February 16, 2009.
  5. Jump up↑ NASA, Biographical Data, organizational website, Accessed May 16, 2013.
  6. Jump up↑ John Cook, Articgate: perpetuating the myth that Arctic sea ice has recovered, Skeptical Science, February 7, 2011.
  7. Jump up↑ Richard Littlemore,"ArticGate" - Heartland Backs Schmitt in Climate Misinformation: Incompetent or Dishonest - Either Way They're Wrong, Desmog Blog, February 7, 2011.
  8. Jump up↑ Harrison H. Schmitt and William Happer, In Defense of Carbon Dioxide, Wall Street Journal - Opinion, May 8, 2013.
  9. Jump up↑ Shauna Theel, Wall Street Journal's Idiocracy: CO2 Is What Plants Crave, Media Matters for America, May 9, 2013.
  10. Jump up↑ Steven Elbow, UW Adjunct Prof Pens an Op-ed Denying Effects of Carbon Dioxide, Cap Times, May 15, 2013.
  11. Jump up↑ Harrison Schmitt, Observations Necessary for Useful Global Climate Models, NASA Technical Documents, Page 5, 2009.
  12. Jump up↑ Alex Jones TV,NASA Astronaut Harrison Schmitt on Alex Jones Tv 1/4:Man-Made Global Warming Hoax!, 1 min 44 sec, Interview, August 31, 2009.

External resources

"ArticGate" - Heartland Backs Schmitt in Climate Misinformation http://www.desmogblog.com/articgate-heartland-backs-schmitt-climate-misinformation

External articles

http://www.searchanddiscovery.net/documents/2004/schmitt/index.htm

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/peter-h-gleick/misrepresenting-climate-s_b_819367.html

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wsj 16

The Latest Denialist Plea for Climate Change Inaction

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Posted on 31 January 2012 by dana1981

As they tend to do from time to time in an effort to distract from the climate science consensus, a group of scientists who are also climate "skeptics" have published an opinion-editorial (op-ed), trying to make the case against taking action to address climate change.  As usual, the article is little more than a regurgitation of a number of climate myths we have debunked at Skeptical Science.

The signatories of this newest letter are also worth noting for their lack of noteworthiness.  Although the climate denialist blogs have labeled them "luminaries" and "prominent scientists", the list is actually quite underwhelming.  In fact, it only includes four scientists who have actually published climate research in peer-reviewed journals, and only two who have published climate research in the past three decades.  Nearly half of the list (at least 7 of 16) have received fossil fuel industry funding, and the list also includes an economist, a physician, a chemist, an aerospace engineer, and an astronaut/politician.  These are apparently the best and brightest the climate denialists can come up with these days?

red - no climate science publications, member of at least one climate denialist group - GWPF (advisory board), George C. Marshall Institute (board of directors or roundtable speakers), Australian Climate Science Coalition (advisory panel), Heartland Institute (board of directors), and/or ExxonMobil

blue - published climate science research

orange - both a member of a climate denialist group and has published climatescience research

black - no climate science publications or climate denialist group membership

Shaviv has published some research on galactic cosmic rays, and Kininmonth and Tennekes published a couple of climate-related papers in the 1970s (although most of Tennekes' research as been in aeronautics). Lindzen is the only climate scientist of note on the entire list, and is mainly noteworthy for his history of being wrong on climate issues.

The lack of expertise and numerous conflicts of interest aside, let's evaluate their arguments on their own merits (or more accurately, lack thereof).

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Harrison Schmitt was the Chairman Emeritus of the Annapolis Center for Science-Based Public Policy,which was funded by oil refiners and electric utilities in the 1990s, according to a Wall Street Journal report (via Nexis).

Research and Background

Dr. Harrison Schmitt is a geologist who received his bachelor's degree in science from the California Institute of Technology in 1957, and his Ph.D. in geology from Harvard University in 1964.  Dr. Schmitt worked as a scientist-astronaut with NASA from 1965 to 1975. 

After resigning from NASA, Schmitt was elected to serve as a senator forNew Mexico.He served one term from 1977 to 1982.  From 1994 to 1998, Harrison Schmitt served as chairman and president of the Annapolis Center for Science-Based Public Policy.  Currently, he serves as achairman emeritus.

Harrison Schmitt is a self-proclaimed climate skeptic.  According to GoogleScholar, Schmitt has not published any peer-reviewed articles on climate change.

Harrison Schmitt and the Annapolis Center for Science-Based Public Policy

The Annapolis Center is a non-profit educational organization whose mission is to promote responsible energy, environmental, health and safety policies through the use of sound science.  The centre is committed to "ensuring public policy decisions are based on scientific facts and reasoning."  To this end, the Annapolis Center contends global warming is not the result of burning fossil fuels.

Apart from denying the existence of man-made global warming, the Annapolis Center has also spent considerable effort calling into question the link between air pollution and asthma, the impacts of mercury pollution, and the dangers of pesticide residue on food.

Since 1998, ExxonMobil has given $973,500 to the Annapolis Center.  In 2004, at the centre's annual dinner, it honoured Senator James Inhofe for his work in "promoting science-based public policy." 

Senator Inhofe is not only a fervent climate change skeptic, but also one of the leading public figures fighting to stop the federal government from accepting the claims of a scientific consensus.  According to ExxonMobil's 2003 Worldwide Giving Report, the corporation provided funds to the Annapolis Center in direct support of its annual dinner.

The Annapolis Center's ties to big oil and tobacco run deeper.  For example, in 1998 the Annapolis Center Strategic Planning Committee was co-chaired by William O'Keefe from the American Petroleum Institute.  And attendance at the Committee's October 1998 meeting included individuals employed by Philip Morris, Pfizer Inc., Exxon Corporation, and the American Petroleum Institute.

Harrison Schmitt and Global Warming Science

Dr. Schmitt does not agree with the theory that human activity is responsible for global warming. He states that "human experience, geological data and history, and current cooling argue otherwise."  Schmitt is so ardent in this belief that in 2009 he resigned from the Planetary Society. 

In his letter of resignation, Schmitt told the Planetary society that "'consensus,' as many have said, merely represents the absence of definitive science.  You know as well as I, the 'global warming scare' is being used as a political tool to increase government control over American lives, incomes and decision making. It has no place in the Society's activities."

Harrison Schmitt and Sallie Baliunas

While Harrison Schmitt served as chairman and president of the Annapolis Center, he was affiliated with Sallie Baliunas. Baliunas was a member of the Annapolis Center's Science and Economic Advisory Council. 

According to ExxonSecrets, Baliunas is the "central scientist in the fight against action on climate change.  She is used by virtually all of the Exxon-funded front groups as their scientific expert."  Baliunas has also been affiliated with the Heritage Foundation, the Heartland Institute, the George C. Marshall Institute, and the Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI).

Harrison Schmitt and the Heartland Institute

Harrison Schmitt was a keynote speaker at both the Heartland Institute's 2009 and 2010International Conference on Climate Change. Heartland describes the conference as "a platform for scientists and policy analysts from around the world who question the theory that global warming is a crisis." 

DeSmogBlog found that the sponsors for the 2009 conference received over $47 million from oil companies and right-wing foundations.

The Heartland Institute is known for its continuous attacks on the scientific evidence for man-made climate change.  The Heartland Institute has received $240,000from Philip Morris since 1993 and over $670,000 from ExxonMobil since 1998.

The Heartland Institute website lists Harrison Schmitt as a "global warming expert."  Schmitt is also on Heartland Institute's Board of Directors.

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Democracy is utterly dependent upon an electorate that is accurately informed. In promoting climate change denial (and often denying their responsibility for doing so) industry has done more than endanger the environment. It has undermined democracy.

There is a vast difference between putting forth a point of view, honestly held, and intentionally sowing the seeds of confusion. Free speech does not include the right to deceive. Deception is not a point of view. And the right to disagree does not include a right to intentionally subvert the public awareness.

read more

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Articgate: perpetuating the myth that Arctic sea ice has recovered

In 2009, former astronautHarrison Schmitt submitted a white paper to NASA, Observations Necessary for Useful Global Climate Models. In this paper, Schmitt crams in an impressive number of skeptic arguments - including the argument that we're currently experiencing cooling:

"How long this cooling trend will persist remains to be seen; however, Greenland glaciers have been advancing since 2006, Artic [sic] sea ice has returned to 1989 levels of coverage, and snowy, cold winters and cool summers have dominated northern North America and Europe"

I'm having trouble getting past the brazenness of using Greenland as evidence of cooling, considering over the last few years, Greenland has been losing over 200 billion tonnes of ice per year. But for now, let's look at Schmitt's argument that Arctic (we'll spell it correctly) sea ice had recovered in 2009. Over 1989, the average sea ice extent was 12.14 million square kilometres. In 2009, the average sea ice extent had fallen to 11.18 million square kilometres. Sea ice coverage was nearly 1 million square kilometres greater in 1989 compared to 2009. How can Schmitt claim sea ice returned to 1989 levels? The Heartland Institute leapt to his defence:

"In fact, National Snow and Ice Data Center records show conclusively that in April 2009, Arctic sea ice extent had indeed returned to and surpassed 1989 levels."

So they're comparing one month in 1989 to another month in 2009. Of all the measurements and data available, what they're looking at is this:

Figure 1: Arctic sea ice extent in April 1989 and April 2009 (NSIDC).

Is this giving you the full picture? There's a lot more to the story than two cherry-picked months. Over the last few decades, Arctic sea ice has shown a steady decline, particularly in summer months when sea ice extent is at a minimum.

Figure 2: Arctic sea ice extent (light blue is monthly and dark blue is the yearly average) from 1978 to 2010 (NSIDC).

Of course sea ice extent only tells you what's happening on the surface. More importantly, Arctic sea ice has been steadily thinning over the last few decades so the total amount of sea ice is declining. Satellites find that Arctic sea ice was thinning, even in 2008 and 2009 when sea ice extent showed a slight recovery from the 2007 minimum (Giles 2008, Kwok 2009). The total volume of Arctic Sea ice through 2008 and 2009 were the lowest on record (Maslowski 2010, Tschudi 2010).

Figure 3: Continuously updated Arctic Sea Ice Volume Anomaly (Polar Ice Center).

To claim Arctic sea ice has recovered in recent years is false. It fails to take into account the overall declining trend in Arctic sea ice extent and more importantly, the fact that the total amount of Arctic sea ice in recent years have been the lowest on record.

UPDATE: A must-read article on this subject is Peter Gleick's Misrepresenting Climate Science: Cherry-Picking Data to Hide the Disappearance of Arctic Ice including a graph that best illustrates the cherry-picking of the Heartland Institute (h/t to Sphaerica):

 

For more takes on this subject, see Scott Mandia, Phil Plait, Chris Mooney, Charlie Petit from Knight Science Journalism Tracker, Lou Grinzo, Richard Littlemore and a newClimate Crocks video by Peter Sinclair. If you want to get it from the horse's mouth, Walt Meier and Mark Serreze from the National Snow and Ice Data Center have submitted an opinion piece to the Santa Fe New Mexican, Arctic sea ice is not recovering.

http://www.skepticalscience.com/Articgate-perpetuating-myth-Arctic-sea-ice-recovered.html

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nasa ltr:

Heartland Institute propaganda outfit ties

Former Apollo astronauts Walter Cunningham and Harrison "Jack" Schmitt are listed as the main contacts for the letter, and both of them have a public history of advocacy against climate change science. This casts doubt on the scientific validity of any of their statements.

[

Climate change alarmists ignore scientific methods

WALTER CUNNINGHAM

, HOUSTON CHRONICLE

Published 05:30 a.m., Sunday, August 15, 2010  ]

For example, in 2009 Schmitt appeared on the talk show of 9/11 conspiracy theorist Alex Jones and said that he believed that the environmental movement was a front for Communism.

*"I think the whole trend really began with the fall of the Soviet Union. Because the great champion of the opponents of liberty, namely communism, had to find some other place to go and they basically went into the environmental movement."

Sadly, Schmitt's got it backwards -- he's the evidence-denying authoritarian, akin to the communists of the old Soviet Union, not the climate scientists he's complaining about.

Walter Cunningham wrote against climate science in a pamphlet (pdf) published by the Heartland Institute, a libertarian think tank fighting climate science.

Schmitt, a former Republican senator from New Mexico, is a current board member of the Heartland Institute, and was a speaker at a conference arranged by the Heartland Institute to deny climate change.

"The Heartland Institute provides the most coherent and consistent articulation of and source of information on basic American approaches to the resolution of major issues of our times,"said Schmitt.

ExxonMobil and the Koch Brothers, who stand to gain hundreds of billions of dollars in profits from the denial of climate science, have been major funders of the Heartland Institute in the past.

Recently leaked documents show Heartland is drafting a national science curriculum created by a non-climate scientist database technician, designed to undermine traditional science education and promote climate change denial by teaching school children that there is a scientific controversy when in fact there is not -- the controversy is political. That's a long way from the kind of science NASA greats used to inspire, when kids gathered in cafeterias to watch moons shots.

Hail to the chief (scientist)

NASA chief scientist Waleed Abdalati handled this propaganda attack with the grace and aplomb of a leader who's come up through the trenches and seen this sort of shameful ploy before. Of course he has -- NASA exists at the intersection of this debate.

"NASA sponsors research into many areas of cutting-edge scientific inquiry, including the relationship between carbon dioxide and climate. As an agency, NASA does not draw conclusions and issue 'claims' about research findings. We support open scientific inquiry and discussion...If the authors of this letter disagree with specific scientific conclusions made public by NASA scientists, we encourage them to join the debate in the scientific literature or public forums rather than restrict any discourse."

nasa leter:

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Heartland Institute propaganda outfit ties

Former Apollo astronauts Walter Cunningham and Harrison "Jack" Schmitt are listed as the main contacts for the letter, and both of them have a publichistory of advocacyagainst climate change science. This casts doubt on the scientific validity of any of their statements.

For example, in 2009 Schmitt appeared on the talk show of 9/11 conspiracy theorist Alex Jones and said that he believed that the environmental movement was a front for Communism.

"I think the whole trend really began with the fall of the Soviet Union. Because the great champion of the opponents of liberty, namely communism, had to find some other place to go and they basically went into the environmental movement."

Sadly, Schmitt's got it backwards -- he's the evidence-denying authoritarian, akin to the communists of the old Soviet Union, not the climate scientists he's complaining about.

Walter Cunningham wrote against climate science in a pamphlet (pdf) published by the Heartland Institute, a libertarian think tank fighting climate science.

Schmitt, a former Republican senator from New Mexico, is a current board member of the Heartland Institute, and was a speaker at a conference arranged by the Heartland Institute to deny climate change.

"The Heartland Institute provides the most coherent and consistent articulation of and source of information on basic American approaches to the resolution of major issues of our times,"said Schmitt.

ExxonMobil and the Koch Brothers, who stand to gain hundreds of billions of dollars in profits from the denial of climate science, have been major funders of the Heartland Institute in the past.

Recently leaked documents show Heartland is drafting a national science curriculum created by a non-climate scientist database technician, designed to undermine traditional science education and promote climate change denial by teaching school children that there is a scientific controversy when in fact there is not -- the controversy is political. That's a long way from the kind of science NASA greats used to inspire, when kids gathered in cafeterias to watch moons shots.

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arrison Schmitt Joins the Team

EIR: When did Harrison Schmitt come on board?

Kulcinski: This is a rather interesting twist. I was at a meeting in Albuquerque at which he was the dinner speaker. Jack [Schmitt] is a very good speaker, and he gave an inspiring talk about Apollo 17, and space travel, and the Moon, and so forth. And after the talk, when people gathered around to talk to the speaker, I had a couple of seconds to describe this to Jack, and he got very, very interested, and he contacted us after that. One thing led to another and we started to collaborate after that speech [Schmitt became a consultant to the Fusion Technology Institute in 1986—ed.]. We published an article inFusion Technology at that time, and that was the kick-off for all of this work.

Jack, of course, brought an enormous amount of knowledge to the team, about the lunar surface and the regolith, and the fact that they had actually taken samples about two meters into the lunar surface and found helium-3 all the way down to about two meters or so. It’s probably deeper than that in the regolith. That then gave us an idea of how we could actually mine the helium-3. We designed several miners which went through NASA review. The bottom line was, the folks from NASA said, “Fine. We can get the helium-3 if you need it, but you’re never going to make fusion work.” Well, if you went down the street and talked to the Department of Energy folks, at that time, they’d say “That’s fine. We can make fusion work, but you’re never going to go back to the Moon.” We could not get NASA and DOE together to work on this project, which was no end of frustration for us. Both thought they could do their part, but the other agency wouldn’t be able to do it. That’s what we’ve been up against for the last 30 years, trying to get NASA and DOE to work together on this.

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