$330 Million Global Warming Ad Campaign
Introduction
Scott Armstrong discusses global warming as a forecasting problem as Al Gore appears on the US CBS television network show 60 Minutes on Sunday evening
: : : Posting
Al Gore will be promoting his ideas about global warming on Sixty Minutes at 7 PM EDT March 30. He will announce a new $300 million ad campaign on global warming set to start next week. Mr. Gore is treating this as a marketing problem, I believe that it is a forecasting problem. He will also re-assert his claim that all scientists agree with him. The following information was just posted at
The extended due date for the Global Warming Challenge passed with no word from Mr. Gore. Although he and Professor Armstrong have had a number of communications, Mr. Gore offered no response to the key question:
- "When and under what conditions would you be willing to engage in a scientific test of your forecasts?"
Validation of forecasting methods is a key issue in climate change because, although we know that climate varies, we have been unable to locate a single scientific forecast that supports global warming. If Mr. Gore or anyone else is aware of such a forecast, they should reveal the source to the scientific community. Claims that science supports global warming forecasts have, to date, failed to provide sources.
A history of the Global Warning Challenge is provided at http://theclimatebet.com. It includes all correspondence between Scott Armstrong and Al Gore. The site will post all papers that purport to provide scientific forecasts of global warming. The papers must provide full disclosure on how the forecasts were made, as full disclosure is one of the basic principles of science.
Scott Armstrong’s letter to Al Gore follows:
March 28, 2008
Honorable Albert Gore
2100 West End Avenue,
Suite 620
Nashville, TN 37203
Fax: 615-327-2227
Dear Mr. Gore,
The extended deadline for the Global Warming Challenge has passed on March 26 and, despite the fact that I have responded to all of your concerns to date regarding the challenge, you have not been willing to engage in a scientific test of your forecasts of dangerous global warming.
Despite our literature searches and our appeals both on the Internet and in our published paper on climate change, my colleague and I have been unable to find a single scientific forecast to support global warming. If you are aware of such a study, I appeal to you directly to reveal it to the scientific community so that it can be subject to peer review and so the public can see the scientific basis for your claims.
In addition we need to continue scientific studies. Thus, I pose this question:
"When and under what conditions would you be willing to engage in a scientific test of your global warming forecasts?"
I look forward to your responses. By your own words, the global warming issue remains an important one for the future of the world. Given the enormous expenditures on this issue, I hope that as a concerned and influential citizen, you will take an active role in encouraging the application of science to this issue.
Sincerely,
J. Scott Armstrong