Science and Public Policy Institute

Science and Public Policy Institute (SPPI)

Background

The Science and Public Policy Institute (SPPI) is an advocacy organization with the mission of seeking โ€œsound public policy based on sound science.โ€1 โ€Our Mission,โ€ Science and Public Policy Institute. Archived August 12, 2015.

SPPI was founded in mid-2007 with a strong focus on global warming skepticism, and draws heavily on papers published by climate change science denier Christopher Monckton who was the editor of the SPPI’s โ€œMonthly CO2 Report,โ€ (last published in January of 2011) has had many of his papers published with SPPI, and is also listed as the group’s โ€œChief Policy Advisor.โ€2 โ€œSPPI Monthly CO2 Reportโ€ (PDF), Volume 3, Issue 1 (January 2011). 3 โ€SPPI Personnel 2012,โ€ Science and Public Policy Institute. Archived August 12, 2015.

In addition to publishing original papers on topics like climate change and mercury in the environment, SPPI has profiled the states for observed climate change and the impact or cost of climate change regulations or prevention measures. 4 โ€œState Climate Profiles,โ€ Science & Public Policy Institute. Archived May 5, 2016. WebCite URL: http://www.webcitation.org/6hGeGjI5e SPPI regularly co-publishes paper with the Center for the Study of Carbon Dioxide and Global Change (CSCDGC), and SPPI has been described as a โ€œfrontโ€ for CSCDGC.5 John Mashey. โ€œFred Singer Recalls Silly Attack On Consensus And Naomi Oreskes By Klaus-Martin Schulte, Lord Monckton’s Endocrinologist Front Man,โ€ DeSmog, March 30, 2015.

Robert Ferguson, President of the SPPI, previously served as the Executive Director of the Center for Science and Public Policy (CSPP) before founding SPPI at some time in 2007. In turn, CSPP was a project of the corporate-funded Frontiers of Freedom Institute. The SPPI is now run by the Center for the Study of Carbon Dioxide and Global Change (CSCDGC). According to John Mashey’s report, โ€œFake science, fakexperts, funny finances, free of taxโ€ (PDF), the Science and Public Policy Institute is โ€œactually not much more than Ferguson, a PO box in a UPS store and a website, plus ‘advisors.’ No casual reader would guess SPPI is a CSCDGC front.โ€6 John R. Mashey. โ€œFake science, fakexperts, funny finances, free of taxโ€ (PDF), DeSmog, February 14, 2012.

The SPPI’s website (scienceandpublicpolicy.org) is run by Joe Marshall of SIRE Studios and was created on June 19, 2007.7 โ€œJoseph Marshall Sire Studies owned domains,โ€ Who.pho.to. Archived August 12, 2015.

Stance on Climate Change

2015

โ€œFurthermore, contrary to the blatantly false contention of the United States Environmental Protection Agency and others, CO2 is not a pollutant; it is a pollution fighter that reduces the negative effects of true pollutants, such as ozone, and replaces them with positive effects that are of great worth to man and nature alike.โ€ โ€” Joint CO2 Science & SPPI Study titled โ€œThe Response of Peanut Plants to Changes in Climate and Atmospheric CO2โ€8 โ€œThe Response of Peanut Plants to Changes in Climate and Atmospheric CO2โ€ (PDF). Center for the Study of Carbon Dioxide and Global Change, September 2, 2015.

2009

โ€œFrom the oceans via the surface and the upper atmosphere to outer space, real-world measurements prove beyond reasonable doubt that there was not, is not, and will not be any ‘climate crisis’. All of the results we publish here are of direct relevance to the debate about ‘global warming’. Yet none of these results will likely be published in any mainstream news medium. The facts are not fitting the theory nor backing the scare, so the media simply suppress them.โ€9 โ€œThe Science is in: Global Warming Will Not be Catastrophic Says SPPI,โ€ The Science and Public Policy Institute, August 17, 2009. Archived August 12, 2015.

Nonprofit Status

As of November, 2010, the SPPI still described itself โ€œa nonprofit institute of research and education dedicated to sound public policy.โ€ According to SourceWatch, In early 2011, Executive Director Robert Ferguson said SPPI had not been granted nonprofit status from the IRS for more than 3 years after it was formed.10 โ€œOur Mission,โ€ Science and Public Policy Institute. Archived November 29, 2010. 11 โ€œScience and Public Policy Institute,โ€ SourceWatch.

According to GuideStar, โ€œThis organization’s exempt status was automatically revoked by the IRS for failure to file a Form 990, 990-EZ, 990-N, or 990-PF for 3 consecutive years. Further investigation and due diligence are warranted.โ€ See the screenshot below:12 โ€œOur Mission,โ€ SPPI. Archived November 29, 2010. 13 โ€œSCIENCE AND PUBLIC POLICY INSTITUTE,โ€ GuideStar Report (EIN: 62-1694476). Archived August 12, 2015.

SPPI Guidestar Status

The SPPI’s current Mission Statement has been changed to the following, with no reference to it being a โ€œnonprofit instituteโ€:14 โ€Our Mission,โ€ Science and Public Policy Institute. Archived August 12, 2015.

โ€œThe Science and Public Policy Institute (SPPI) provides research and educational materials dedicated to sound public policy based on sound science. We support the advancement of sensible public policies rooted in rational science and economics. Only through science and factual information, separating reality from rhetoric, can legislators develop beneficial policies without unintended consequences that might threaten the life, liberty, and prosperity of the citizenry.

Proposals demanding prodigious economic or political sacrifices for the sake of negligible benefits should be rejected in favor of policies to address graver, more immediate concerns.

SPPI meets its educational objectives through timely online publication of white papers, reprints, briefings, blog entries, news stories and other educational materials.โ€

Funding

SPPI does not detail the sources of its funding or outline its approach to disclosure. Conservative Transparency has one donation on record ($25,000 in 2011) originating from the conservative Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation.15 โ€œScience and Public Policy Institute,โ€ Conservative Transparency. Accessed May 5, 2016.

According to John Mashey’s report, โ€œFake science, fakexperts, funny finances, free of taxโ€ (PDF) the Science and Public Policy Institute, SPPI also received a total of $158,800 from Donors Capital Fund (DCF) between 2008 and 2009, funneled through the Center for the Study of Carbon Dioxide and Global Change (CSCDGC). Of that total, $129,400 went to the โ€œsurface station reportโ€ and the rest for general support.16 John R. Mashey. โ€œFake science, fakexperts, funny finances, free of taxโ€ (PDF), DeSmog, February 14, 2012.

SPPI Contact & Location

As of July, 2015, the contact address for the Science and Public Policy Institute was a PO box in a UPS store:17 โ€œContact Address,โ€ Science and Public Policy Institute. Archived August 12, 2015.

Robert Ferguson

Science and Public Policy Institute

5501 Merchants View Square # 209
Haymarket, VA 20169
Email Address: bferguson[at]sppinstitute.org
Phone: (202) 288-5699

* As of May, 2016, since updating their website, SPPI no longer listed a physical address on its contact page:18 โ€œContact,โ€ Science & Public Policy Institute. Archived May 5, 2016. WebCite URL: http://www.webcitation.org/6hGhjSss1

Robert Ferguson
Science and Public Policy Institute
Email Address: bferguson[at]sppinstitute.org
Phone: (202) 288-5699

Key People

SPPI Personnel

200719 โ€œPersonnel,โ€ Science and Public Policy Institute. Archived October 24, 2007. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog. 200820 โ€œPersonnel,โ€ Science and Public Policy Institute. Archived October 24, 2007 . Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog. 201021 โ€œPersonnel,โ€ Science and Public Policy Institute. Archived March 18, 2010. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog. 201222 โ€œPersonnel,โ€ Science and Public Policy Institute. Archived August 12, 2015. 201623 โ€œPersonnel,โ€ Science and Public Policy Institute. Archived May 5, 2016. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog. Title
Craig IdsoYYYYYScience Adviser
David LegatesY YYY
James J. O’BrienYYY Science Adviser
Joe D’AleoYYYYYMeteorology Adviser
Lord Christopher MoncktonYYYYYChief Policy Advisor
Robert FergusonYYYYYPresident
Robert M. CarterYYYY Science Adviser
William KininmonthYYYYYScience Adviser
Willie SoonYYY Chief Science Advisor

Actions

June 13, 2016

The Science & Public Policy Institute was listed as a creditor in Peabody Energy’s 2016 bankruptcy filings, reports the Center for Media and Democracy (CMD/PRWatch).24 Nick Surgey. โ€œPeabody Coal Bankruptcy Reveals Climate Denial Network Funding,โ€ PRWatch, June 13, 2016. Archived June 20, 2016. WebCite URL: http://www.webcitation.org/6iPmXjc4W

While the available bankruptcy documents do not list the scale or dates of funding, they outline Peabody Energy’s financial ties to a large network of groups promoting climate change denial.25 โ€œIn re: Peabody Energy Corporation, et al. Debtors,โ€ United States Bankruptcy Court Eastern District of Missouri Eastern Division, Case 16-42529, May 27, 2016. Retrieved from DocumentCloud.

Prominent individuals appearing in the documents include climate deniers Willie Soon, Richard Lindzen, Roy Spencer and Richard Berman. The long list of organizations also includes groups such as Americans for Prosperity, American Legislative Exchange Council, CFACT, Institute for Energy Research, State Policy Network, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and dozens more.26 Farron Cousins. โ€œCourt Documents Show Coal Giant Peabody Energy Funded Dozens Of Climate Denial Groups,โ€ DeSmog, June 13, 2016.

The Guardian also analysed and reported on the Peabody bankruptcy findings:27 Suzanne Goldenberg and Helena Bengtsson. โ€œBiggest US coal company funded dozens of groups questioning climate change,โ€ The Guardian, June 13, 2016. Archived June 20, 2016. WebCite URL: http://www.webcitation.org/6iPnEUG1o

โ€œThese groups collectively are the heart and soul of climate denial,โ€ said Kert Davies, founder of the Climate Investigation Center, who has spent 20 years tracking funding for climate denial. โ€œItโ€™s the broadest list I have seen of one company funding so many nodes in the denial machine.โ€

The companyโ€™s filings reveal funding for a range of organisations which have fought Barack Obamaโ€™s plans to cut greenhouse gas emissions, and denied the very existence of climate change. [โ€ฆ]

Among Peabodyโ€™s beneficiaries, the Center for the Study of Carbon Dioxide and Global Change has insisted โ€“ wrongly โ€“ that carbon emissions are not a threat but โ€œthe elixir of lifeโ€ while the American Legislative Exchange Council is trying to overturn Environmental Protection Agency rules cutting emissions from power plants. Meanwhile, Americans for Prosperity campaigns against carbon pricing. The Oklahoma chapter was on the list. [โ€ฆ]

โ€œThe breadth of the groups with financial ties to Peabody is extraordinary. Thinktanks, litigation groups, climate scientists, political organisations, dozens of organisations blocking action on climate all receiving funding from the coal industry,โ€ said Nick Surgey, director of research for the Center for Media and Democracy.

โ€œWe expected to see some denial money, but it looks like Peabody is the treasury for a very substantial part of the climate denial movement.โ€

Notable organizations listed in the initial documents include:

Notable individuals named in the initial documents include the following:

December 13, 2015

Writing as a guest blogger on Watts Up With That, CFACT’s executive director Craig Rucker denounced the latest UN climate change agreement:28 Adam Ramsay. โ€œClimate deniers agree their key messages for journalists (with a journalist in the room),โ€ openDemocracyUK, December 3, 2015. Archived May 5, 2016. WebCite URL: http://www.webcitation.org/6hHdF30Bj

โ€œThis agreement will not meaningfully alter the temperature of the Earth, even under the U.N.โ€™s own computer models.

โ€œThe bad news is that it plants the seeds of a new UN climate regime that left unchecked will swell into a bureaucratic behemoth.โ€

January 25, 2016

Lord Christopher Monckton of SPPI was among signatories to a letter addressed to the U.S. House Science Committee Chairman Lamar Smith (R-TX) claiming that data used by the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) for its June, 2015 report showing there was no pause in rising global temperatures during the past two decades failed to comply with the Data Quality Act (DQA).29 H. Sterling Burnett. โ€œScientists Question Governmentโ€™s Climate Data Quality,โ€ Heartland Institute, February 26, 2016. Archived May 5, 2016. WebCite URL: http://www.webcitation.org/6hHmkJ76X

โ€œWe wrote our letter as a reminder that the climate science community is as much subject to the law of the land as the rest of us,โ€ Monckton wrote. โ€œTampering with data at taxpayersโ€™ expense in pursuit of a nakedly political objective that would have horrified the Founding Fathers of the United States is contrary to the law and may even be fraudulent. Be that as it may, the Data Quality Act must in the future be complied with.โ€30 H. Sterling Burnett. โ€œScientists Question Governmentโ€™s Climate Data Quality,โ€ Heartland Institute, February 26, 2016. Archived May 5, 2016. WebCite URL: http://www.webcitation.org/6hHmkJ76X

January 7, 2016

A study published in the journal Global Environmental Change examined communications from conservative think tanks between 1998 and 2013, and listed the Science and Public Policy Institute as the second-highest (next to the Heartland Institute) in the volume of outpout related to the denial of man-made climate change. The Center for the Study of Carbon Dioxide and Global Change (CO2Science) appeared next on the list.31 Constantine Boussalis and Travis G. Coan. โ€œText-mining the signals of climate change doubt,โ€ Global Environmental Change Volume 36, January 2016, Pages 89โ€“100. 32 Alex Pashley. โ€œClimate denial is alive and kicking say scientists,โ€ Climatechangenews.com, January 7, 2016. Archived May 5, 2016. WebCite URL: http://www.webcitation.org/6hHmM1wUX

December 7, 2015

Christopher Monckton, SPPI’s Chief Policy Advisor, appeared at the United Nationโ€™s Conference on Climate Change, COP21, in Paris, France with the Heartland Institute, the Committee for a Constructive Tomorrow (CFACT), and the Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) to โ€œhold a โ€˜counter-conferenceโ€™ [โ€ฆ] called the Day of Examining the Data.โ€33 โ€œBringing Climate Realism to Paris at COP-21,โ€ Heartland Institute, December 7, 2015. Archived May 5, 2016. WebCite URL: http://www.webcitation.org/6hHktGG6x

Others in attendance at the โ€œcounter-conferenceโ€ included: Robert Carter, S. Fred Singer, Christopher Essex, James Taylor, Patrick Moore, Wolfgang Mรผller, James Inhofe, and Willie Soon.34 โ€œBackground on Key Scientists Appearing in Climate Hustle,โ€ Climate Hustle. Archived January 11, 2016. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.

Watch Christopher Monckton’s presentation with the Heartland Institute below (begins at 5:54:40):

December 2015

The SPPI’s Chief Policy Advisor, Lord Christopher Monckton, commented at a meeting of climate change deniers at Rue de la Rochefoucauld in Paris held by Roger Helmer MEP and Piers Corbyn. The event was titled PCC15 (โ€œThe Paris Climate Challengeโ€).35 Brendan Montague. โ€œObama’s Secret Plot to Launch Communist World State at Paris Climate Conference*โ€ DeSmog, December 3, 2015.

With reference to the COP21 climate conference, โ€œThey are trying to establish a single world government,โ€ Monckston said. โ€œYou can argue whether it is communist or fascist depending on whether you think the people concerned are crony capitalists, in which case itโ€™s fascist, or whether they are collectivists, in which case itโ€™s communist.โ€36 Brendan Montague. โ€œObama’s Secret Plot to Launch Communist World State at Paris Climate Conference*โ€ DeSmog, December 3, 2015.

The session was chaired by Tom Harris. Some of Monckton’s talking points included that CO2 is beneficial and a โ€œlife-giving gas on the planet,โ€ that ocean acidification โ€œis not a threat,โ€ that climate change is solar-driven, and that we should be increasing fossil fuel use otherwise we are โ€œdepriving the poor of inexpensive fuel.โ€37 Adam Ramsay. โ€œClimate deniers agree their key messages for journalists (with a journalist in the room),โ€ openDemocracyUK, December 3, 2015. Archived May 5, 2016. WebCite URL: http://www.webcitation.org/6hHdF30Bj

December 7, 2015

The SPPI’s Christopher Monckton appears as a โ€œKey Scientistโ€ in Marc Moranoโ€™s documentary film, Climate Hustle, which debuted on December 7, 2015, in Paris, France during the COP21 United Nations summit on climate change.38 โ€œBackground on Key Scientists Appearing in Climate Hustle,โ€ Climate Hustle. Archived January 11, 2016.

April 28, 2015

Lord Christopher Monckton, Chief Policy Advisor to SPPI, traveled to Vatican City, Italy, with Marc Morano of the Committee for a Constructive Tomorrow (CFACT), and Calvin Beisner of the Cornwall Alliance, for a press event hosted by the Heartland Institute in order to โ€œdissuade Pope Francis from lending his moral authority to the politicized and unscientific climate agenda of the United Nations,โ€ according to a Heartland Institute press release.39 โ€œWorldโ€™s Leading Scientific โ€˜Skepticsโ€™ of Man-Caused Global Warming Invite Public and Press to Lunch Event April 28 Just Outside the Vatican,โ€ Heartland Institute. April 27, 2015. Archived May 29, 2015.

Video below:

โ€œThe main reason, Your Holiness, of why we are here today, is it is not the business of the church to stray from the field of faith and morals and wander into the playground that is scienceโ€ฆ it is not the business of the church to pronounce on science.

โ€œOf course, it doesn’t very much matter to the rest of the world what view the church takes now on this – very nearly all governments around the world have already already made up their minds on this.

โ€œSome ‘me too’ statement from someone who is not a physicist but a chemist is not likely to carry very much weight in the councils of the world. The damage that would be done by a statement straying into the science of this question – on either side – would be to the church herself. For yet again, she would have gone beyond what she was founded to doโ€ฆ and yet again got the science 100 percent plumb wrong.โ€

January 2015

The Telegraph’s Christopher Booker cites a SPPI paper written by Joseph D’Aleo and Anthony Watts, titled โ€œSurface Temperature Records: Policy-Driven Deception?โ€ as โ€œthe most comprehensive account of this wholesale corruption of proper science,โ€ referencing temperature data used by many climate scientists.40 Christopher Booker. โ€œClimategate, the sequel: How we are STILL being tricked with flawed data on global warming,โ€ The Telegraph, January 24, 2015. Archived August 12, 2015.

The paper being referenced was originally published on August 27, 2010 on the SPPI website and does not appear to have been submitted to any peer-reviewed journals.

July 7โ€“9, 2014

SPPI was a co-sponsor of the Heartland Institute’s Ninth International Conference on Climate Change (ICCC9) in Las Vegas, Nevada.41 โ€œICCC9 CoSponsors,โ€ International Conferences on Climate Change (The Heartland Institute). Archived July 27, 2015.

August 2011

As reported by Sourcewatch, SPPI President Robert Ferguson spoke on โ€œBenefit Analysis of CO2โ€ (previously known as โ€œWarming Up to Climate Change: The Many Benefits of Increased Atmospheric CO2โ€) at the Energy, Environment and Agriculture Task Force meeting at the 2011 American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) Annual Meeting.42 โ€œScience and Public Policy Institute,โ€ SourceWatch.

Other speakers included Craig Idso of the Study of Carbon Dioxide and Global Change and MEP Roger Helmer, a Member of the European Parliament for the East Midlands of Great Britain who represents the Conservative Party.

June 30โ€“July 1, 2011

SPPI was a co-sponsor (PDF) of the Heartland Institute’s Sixth International Conference on Climate Change (ICCC6) in Washington, DC.43 Sixth International Conference on Climate Change Conference Program (PDF), the Heartland Institute. Archived July 25, 2015.

DeSmog concluded that 17 of the 43 sponsors of the Heartland Institute’s Sixth International Conference on Climate Change, including the Heartland Institute itself, had collectively received over $46 million from either Scaife Foundations, Koch Foundations, or ExxonMobil.44 Brendan DeMelle. โ€œDenial-a-Palooza 6: Heartland’s Sixth International Conference on Climate Change, Courtesy of Koch, Scaife & Exxon,โ€ DeSmog, June 30, 2011.

January 2011

The SPPI’s Monthly CO2 Report for January, 2011 โ€” Edited by Christopher Monckton โ€” came to the conclusion that โ€œSea level continues to rise more slowly than the UN predicts.โ€ According to SkepticalScience, who reviewed the document, these conclusions were not true.45 โ€œSPPI Monthly CO2 Reportโ€ (PDF), Volume 3, Issue 1 (January 2011).

Skeptical Science also notes that the graph on page 33 of the SPPI document has taken a sea level graph from the University of Colorado at Boulder which shows a 3.2 millimeter per year sea level rise trend, and literally rotated to make the trend look flat.

โ€œIt boggles the mind that Monckton and the SPPI think they can convince people that sea level has dropped since 1950 based on nothing more than their own unsubstantiated claims and blatantly doctored graphs which are completely contradicted by the actual observational data,โ€ SkepticalScience said.46 โ€œMonckton Myth #16: Bizarro World Sea Level,โ€ Skeptical Science, April 14, 2011.

May 16โ€“18, 2010

SPPI was a co-sponsor (PDF) of the Heartland Institute’s Fourth International Conference on Climate Change (ICCC4) in Chicago, IL.47 4th International Conference on Climate Change Conference Program (PDF), The Heartland Institute.

The conference’s theme was โ€œReconsidering the Science and Economics,โ€ and its purpose was โ€œthe same as it was for the first three events: to build momentum and public awareness of the global warming ‘realism’ movement.โ€

June 2, 2009

The Science and Public Policy Institute (SPPI) was a co-sponsor of the Heartland Institute’s Third International Conference on Climate Change (ICCC3) in Washington, DC.48 โ€œCo-Sponsors,โ€ Third International Conference on Climate Change. Archived July 14, 2010.

March 8โ€“10, 2009

The Science and Public Policy Institute (SPPI) was a co-sponsor of the Heartland Institute’s Second International Conference on Climate Change (ICCC2).49 โ€œCo-Sponsors,โ€ The 2009 International Conference on Climate Change. Archived April 28, 2011.

DeSmog researched the funding behind Heartland’s Second International Conference on Climate Change and found that sponsor organizations had received over $47 million in funding from energy companies and right-wing foundations.50 โ€œHeartland Institute’s 2009 Climate Conference in New York: funding history of the sponsors,โ€ DeSmog.

December 7, 2009

The SPPI released a 43-page paper titled โ€œClimategate: Caught Green-Handed!: Cold facts about the hot topic of global temperature change after the Climategate scandalโ€ (PDF) regarding the Climatic Research Unit email controversy.

The paper concluded that โ€œthe entire ‘global warming’ theory [is] nothing more than a scam,โ€ and described the individual who committed criminal activities to hack personal emails as a โ€œgallantโ€ and a โ€œunnamed hero.โ€51 Christopher Monckton of Brenchley. โ€CLIMATEGATE: CAUGHT GREEN-HANDED!โ€ (PDF), Science and Public Policy Institute, December 7, 2009. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.

December 22, 2009

The SPPI published an โ€œoriginal paperโ€ (PDF) by climate science denialist Christopher Monckton titled โ€œA Non-Problem Spun Up Into A Global Crisisโ€ (PDF) which responds to a piece titled โ€œClimate QaAโ€ by Andrew Glikson, Earth and paleoclimate scientist, communicated on behalf of a member of the Australian Parliament.52 The Viscount Monckton of Brenchley.โ€A Non-Problem Spun Up Into A Global Crisisโ€ (PDF), Science and Public Policy Institute, December 22, 2009. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.

Andrew Glikson took the time to rebut Monckton’s arguments and accusations, and his response is available here.53 Dr Andrew Glikson. โ€œResponses to Monckton of Brenchley’s article ‘A Non-Problem Spun into a Global Crisis’โ€ (PDF), January 10, 2010.

March 2โ€“4, 2008

The Science and Public Policy Institute (SPPI) was a co-sponsor of the Heartland Institute’s First International Conference on Climate Change (ICCC1). The conference, titled โ€œGlobal Warming: Truth or Swindle,โ€ was described as a โ€œgathering of skeptics.โ€54 โ€œSponsorships,โ€ The 2008 International Conference on climate Change. Archived June 10, 2011.

July 2007

DeSmog reports how Lord Christopher Monckton, Robert Fergusun and Klaus-Martin Schulte ran a well-coordinated PR campaign to harass Naomi Oreskes using plagiarized papers originally published by Schulte at SPPI.55 John Mashey. โ€œFred Singer Recalls Silly Attack On Consensus And Naomi Oreskes By Klaus-Martin Schulte, Lord Monckton’s Endocrinologist Front Man,โ€ DeSmog, March 30, 2015. 56 Richard Littlemore. โ€œSkeptics’ Journal Publishes Plagiarist’s Paper,โ€ DeSmog, March 24, 2008.

June 2007

The first-known SPPI press release was issued, supporting the statements made by the then NASA Administrator Michael Griffin questioning global warming. The Heartland Institute’s Harriette Johnson was listed as media contact.57 โ€œScientists Rally Around NASA Chief After Global Warming Comments,โ€ Ewire.com. Archived July 6, 2007.

The article cites a number of prominent climate change skeptics including Tim Ball, Robert Carter, Ross McKitrick, and Patrick Michaels.

October 2007

The Science and Public Policy Institute funded a film โ€œApocalypse? No!โ€ intended to show errors in the Al Gore documentary, An Inconvenient Truth. It shows Monckton giving a presentation to the Cambridge University Union.

According to The Sunday Times, โ€œ[Christopher] Monckton has obtained funding from a right-wing Washington think tank, the Science and Public Policy Institute (SPPI), to create a second film [following The Great Global Warming Swindle] that will also be sent to schools. Entitled Apocalypse No, it parodies Gore, showing Monckton presenting a slide show in a vitriolic attack on climate change science.58 Jonathan Leake. โ€œPlease, sir – Gore’s got warming wrong,โ€ The Times Online, October 14, 2007. Archived May 24, 2011.

Publications

The SPPI publishes ongoing commentary, press releases, reports, and โ€œoriginal papers.โ€ SPPI co-publishes many of its โ€œoriginal papersโ€ with the Center for the Study of Carbon Dioxide and Global Change/C02 Science. These joint reports do not appear to be peer-reviewed, often do not list author information, and only seem to be available on the SPPI and C02 Science websites.59 โ€œCategory Archives: Science Papers,โ€ Science and Public Policy Institute. Archived May 5, 2016. WebCite URL: http://www.webcitation.org/6hHauKeu9

SPPI and CSCDGC have historically published multiple papers per month on topics like the supposed benefits of CO2 on crop growth, the supposed exaggeration of sea level rise, and that species are more adaptive to climate change than mainstream science has suggested.60 โ€œCategory Archives: Science Papers,โ€ Science and Public Policy Institute. Archived May 5, 2016. WebCite URL: http://www.webcitation.org/6hHauKeu9

Many of the arguments presented in the SPPI papers appear at SkepticalScience’s review of common โ€œglobal warming and climate change myths.โ€ Sample SPPI papers are listed below.

TitleDateAuthor(s)Description/Conclusion
Benefits of Atmospheric CO2 Enrichment on Maize2015-12-29Not Listed

โ€œIn summary, it seems fairly clear that as the airโ€™s CO2 content continues to rise, and even if the climate of the world changes in the ways suggested by GCM calculations, maize plants will likely display greater rates of photosynthesis and biomass production, as well as reduced transpirational water losses and increased water-use efficiencies; and to top it all off, more areas of the world will likely become suitable for growing this important crop.โ€

Benefits of Atmospheric CO2 Enrichment on Tomato2015-12-22Not Listed

โ€œClearly, the evidence reveals that as the CO2 content of the air increases, tomato plants will likely display greater rates of photosynthesis and biomass production, which should consequently lead to greater fruit yields, even under stressful conditions of fungal infection and high soil salinity.โ€

Response of Marine Macroalgae to Ocean

p>

Acidification

2015-11-17Not Listed

โ€œAs demonstrated here, for many species, ocean acidification will be a non-problem โ€ฆ and maybe even a blessing!โ€

Benefits of Atmospheric CO2 Enrichment on Sunflower2015-11-04Not Listed

โ€œThus, commercial growers of sunflower crops will likely experience enhanced yields as the atmospheric CO2 content continues to rise. โ€œ

Interactive Effects of Elevated CO2 and Air Pollution on Wheat 2015-10-21Not Listed โ€[โ€ฆ] wheat growers can anticipate greater yields in the future, due to this beneficial effect of the rising atmospheric CO2 concentration.โ€
Response of Corals to Ocean Acidification: What Can Be Learned from Field Studies? 2015-10-14Not Listed โ€[โ€ฆ] marine life affairs pretty much deflates the catastrophic prognostications put forth by the IPCC with regard to the future of the planetโ€™s coralsโ€
Deserts: Are They Expanding or Shrinking?2015-10-07Not Listed โ€œAs with most of the rest of the world, therefore, as global temperatures go, so also goes the greening of the Earth โ€ฆ driven directly by the ongoing rise in the airโ€™s CO2 content, and possibly indirectly by warming-induced alterations in global precipitation patterns.โ€
The Response of Echinoderms to Ocean Acidification2015-09-09Not Listedโ€[โ€ฆ] the impacts of ocean acidification on echinoderms may not be as bad as many initially thought. Indeed, for many echinoderm species, the impacts will likely be minimal, if not altogether positive.โ€
The Response of Peanut Plants to

Changes in Climate and Atmospheric CO2

p>
2015-09-02Not Listedโ€[โ€ฆ] even if the climate changes that are typically predicted to result from anticipated increases in the air’s CO2 content were to materialize (which we very strongly doubt will happen), the concurrent rise in the air’s CO2 concentration should more than compensate for any deleterious effects those changes in climate might otherwise have had on the growth and yield of peanuts. [โ€ฆ] CO2 is not a pollutant; it is a pollution fighter that reduces the negative effects of true pollutants, such as ozone, and replaces them with positive effects that are of great worth to man and nature alike.โ€

Effects of Ocean Acidification on Marine

Coccolithophores

2015-08-26Not Listed

โ€[โ€ฆ] Earth’s coccolithophores are well equipped to deal with whatever

degree of ocean acidification may yet be experienced by the worldโ€™s great water bodies.โ€

Alpine Ecosystem Responses to Rising Temperature and Atmospheric CO22015-08-19Not Listedโ€[โ€ฆ] alpine species in many locations are responding in a positive manner to increasing temperature and atmospheric CO2 concentrations.โ€
Historic Trends in Global Sea Level2015-07-29Not Listed

โ€[โ€ฆ] it would appear that real-world sea level rise has been far less

dramatic over the course of the Industrial Revolution than what has typically been claimed to be the case by the world’s climate alarmists.โ€

Antarctic Sea Ice Trends2015-07-22Not Listed โ€[โ€ฆ] for some still-unproven reason, and despite the supposedly unprecedented ncreases in mean global air temperature and atmospheric CO2 concentration that the planet has experienced since the late 1970s, Antarctic sea ice extent has stubbornly refused to do what climate models say it should be doing, as it just keeps on growing.โ€
Effects of Ocean Acidification and Warming on Corals (Laboratory Studies)2015-07-11Not Listedโ€[โ€ฆ] it is clear that many corals will not succumb to the presumed negative impacts of rising temperatures and ocean acidification. [โ€ฆ] In fact, many coral species could well benefit from the warmer ocean temperatures and higher atmospheric CO2 concentrations predicted for the years and decades ahead.โ€
Interactive Effects of C02 and Salinity on Plant Growth2015-07-15Not Listedโ€[โ€ฆ] barley โ€“ and many other crop plants as well โ€“should continue to respond positively to continued increases in the air’s CO2 content, even in situations where significant stresses may be present due to high soil salinity levels.โ€
Atmospheric C02 Enrichment: Boon or Bane of the Biosphere?2015-06-26Not ListedCriticizes Pope Francis’s position on climate change. The paper cites work by Craig Idso and the Center for the Study of Carbon Dioxide and Global Change, and describes how โ€œmany peopleโ€ believe carbon dioxide as providing โ€œaerial fertilizationโ€ and being a boon that would โ€œavert the otherwise near certain food and water crises looming on the horizon.โ€
Climate Model Inadequacies (Sea Ice)2015-06-15Not ListedQuestions models suggesting dramatic reductions in Arctic Sea ice due to global warming.
Mammals in a CO2-Enriched and Warmer World2015-04-27Not ListedSuggests global warming will result in increased biodiversity.
Effects of Ocean Acidification on Marine Crustaceans2015-03-31Not ListedPuts forward a โ€œmuch more optimistic viewpointโ€ on ocean acidification caused by global warming.
Stop Climate Fear Mongering2015-01-21William M. GrayPart of the SPPI โ€œReprint Series.โ€ According to the description, โ€œThe massively funded international global warming movement has grossly exaggerated the threat from CO2 gas increases. This warming scare has been driven by a cabal of international politicians and environmentalist groups using erroneous climate model warming predictions to brainwash an uninformed global public.โ€
Health Effects of Hot vs. Cold Temperatures in Asia2014-12-30Not ListedSuggests that global cooling is more dangerous than global warming.
Coral Reef Responses to Temperature and Stress: Thermal Adaptation2014-12-23Not ListedSuggests that corals can adapt to increased global temperatures.
Onward Marches the Great Pause2014-12-05Lord Christopher MonkctonPart of SPPI’s โ€œReprint Series.โ€ Claims that โ€œSince October 1996 there has been no global warming at all.โ€ Monckton went on to share this finding with the press in an โ€œexclusive report for Climate Depotโ€ on June 3, 2015 where he claimed that โ€œthe predictions on which the entire climate scare was based were extreme exaggerations. 61 โ€œWarren Mass. โ€œClimate Expert Lond Monckton: Global Warming Stopped 18 Years Ago,โ€ The New American, June 5, 2015. Archived August 12, 2015.
Response of Fish to Ocean Warming2014-10-31Not ListedPresents supposed evidenceโ€in opposition to the IPCC’s point of viewโ€ and claims that global warming will not have net harm to marine species.
The Global Medieval Warm Period2014-10-30Not ListedSuggests that the climate has been warmer in the past, and that this warming was โ€œknown to have had a largely beneficial impact on earth’s plant and animal life.โ€
Rewriting Sunspot History2014-08-20Lord Christopher MoncktonCites research by Willie Soon on solar activity, claiming that this โ€œmight be enough to cancel the influence of global warming.โ€

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