Art Robinson

Arthur (Art) B. Robinson

Credentials

Background

Art Robinson is the founder of the Oregon Institute of Science and Medicine (OISM), which markets, among other things, a home-schooling kit for โ€œparents concerned about socialism in the public schoolsโ€ and books on how to survive nuclear war.4โ€œArthur B. Robinson: Professor of Chemistry,โ€ Oregon Institute of Science and Medicine. Archved March 5, 2020. Archive.ph URL: https://archive.ph/wip/v5nPA 5โ€œSuperb Educational Resultsโ€ฆ with Far Less Teacher Time,โ€ The Robinson Self-Teaching Curriculum. Archived March 5, 2020. Archive.ph URL: https://archive.ph/wip/uJZKx

Robinson was a Republican candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives from Oregon’s 4th congressional district. In 2016, Robinson joined the Board of Directors of The Heartland Institute. In 2015, the Heartland Institute named its environmental center the โ€œArthur B. Robinson Center on Climate and Environmental Policyโ€ in honor of Dr. Robinson.โ€6โ€œAbout Art Robinson,โ€ Art Robinson for U.S. Congress. Archived February 4, 2012. Archive.ph URL: https://archive.ph/wip/bX5x3 7Jim Lakely. โ€œARTHUR B. ROBINSON JOINS BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF THE HEARTLAND INSTITUTE,โ€ The Heartland Institute, December 27, 2016. Archived January 31, 2017. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/cbGNw 8mnh18-feb4-petitionletter (PDF – Untitled). Retrieved from Watts Up With That.

Robinson appeared on Senator James Inhofe’s list of โ€œprominent scientistsโ€ who dispute the existence of man-made global warming. In one debunking of the list, Robinson was found to be one of 70 so-called โ€œscientistsโ€ who have no background in climate science.9โ€œ70 of Inhofe’s Global Warming Deniers Have No Climate Science Background,โ€ TheDailyGreen, January 10, 2008. Archived January 19, 2012. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/Wrzl8

Robinson has described environmentalists as โ€œwarmed over college radicals who have found a way to make radicalism payโ€ who โ€œdon’t have much for brains.โ€10โ€œA Scientist Finds Independence,โ€ The American Spectator, February 2001. Republished by Independentscientist.com. Archived March 5, 2020. Archive.ph URL: https://archive.ph/330ku

The Oregon Petition

Robinson is best known for organizing the Oregon Petition that disputes the scientific evidence for man-made global warming. The infamous and debunked โ€œOregon Petitionโ€ claimed to have collected 17,000 signatories to a document arguing against the realities of global warming.11Kevin Grandia. โ€œThe 30,000 Global Warming Petition Is Easily-Debunked Propaganda,โ€ The Huffington Post, August 22, 2009. Archived January 12, 2017. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/ULbSv

In April 1998, Robinsonโ€™s Oregon Institute, along with the Exxon-backed George C. Marshall Institute, claimed to have collected 17,000 signatories to a document arguing against the realities of global warming.12(Press Release). โ€œINHOFE QUESTIONS SCIENCE BEHIND ARCTIC REPORT,โ€ U.S. Senate Committee on Environment & Public Works. Archived March 7, 2010. Archive.ph URL: https://archive.ph/wip/I4iiZ 13โ€œSEPP News Release: More Than 15,000 Scientists Protest Kyoto Accord; Speak Out Against Global Warming Myth,โ€ Science and Environmental Policy Project, April 20, 1998. Archived August 4, 2010. Archive.ph URL: https://archive.ph/wip/S47tb

According to the May 1998 Associated Press article, the Oregon Petition included names that were intentionally placed to prove the invalid methodology with which the names of scientists were collected. For example, the petition included the names of โ€œDrs. ‘Frank Burns’ ‘Honeycutt’ and ‘Pierce’ from the hit-show M*A*S*H and Spice Girls, a.k.a. Geraldine Halliwell, who was on the petition as ‘Dr. Geri Halliwel’ and again as simply ‘Dr. Halliwell.’โ€14H. Josef Hebert. โ€œJokers Add Fake Names To Warming Petition,โ€ The Seattle Times, May 1, 1998. Archived October 24, 2016. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/eQIGW

In response to the issue of the fake names, Robinson said, โ€œWhen we’re getting thousands of signatures there’s no way of filtering out a fake.โ€15H. Josef Hebert. โ€œJokers Add Fake Names To Warming Petition,โ€ The Seattle Times, May 1, 1998. Archived October 24, 2016. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/eQIGW

Stance on Climate Change

January 30, 2020

The following is excerpted from Art Robinson’s congressional campaign website, on the issue of climate change:16โ€œAll the Non-science About ‘Human-caused Climate Change’ That Money Can Buy,โ€ Art Robinson for U.S. Congress, January 30, 2020. Archived March 5, 2020. Archive.ph URL: https://archive.ph/0Yg0t

โ€œCarbon dioxide from hydrocarbon use โ€“ is increasing in the atmosphere. It will continue to increase so long as the rate of emissions from human activity exceeds the rate of removal โ€“ the half-time for removal being seven years โ€“ an experimental fact often misrepresented. There is no โ€œexistential climate environmental crisis.โ€

[โ€ฆ]

โ€œPlants grow faster and are more numerous as atmospheric carbon dioxide increases, which also increases the amount of animal life. From North American forests to Amazon forests, growth has accelerated. All life is carbon based. The more carbon, the more life.โ€

[โ€ฆ]

โ€œThere has been no increase in violent hurricanes or their wind speeds in past 50 years.โ€

[โ€ฆ]

โ€œCarbon dioxide is a very weak greenhouse gas. The flawed climate computer models assume that a very small increase in temperature from carbon dioxide causes the evaporation of more water, which is a strong greenhouse gas.โ€

[โ€ฆ]

โ€œThe climate is always changing. The geological record shows that Earthโ€™s climate has been relatively stable for the past several thousand years and is currently unusually benign. The colder periods during the past 3,000 years caused a great amount of suffering because, during most of that time, human civilization lacked technology and was based upon relatively primitive agriculture.

โ€œCold periods will come again. When they do, modern technology can mitigate the effects, if there is a very plentiful supply of extra energy. Unwarranted and unwise suppression of hydrocarbon energy and nuclear-electric energy that leaves humanity without plentiful energy when natural changes in climate occur is now a significant danger.โ€

October 7, 2010

Robinson appeared on the Rachel Maddow show on MSNBC where he outlined his views on global warming. View the full transcript at MSNBC, and video on YouTube.17โ€œ(R-OR) Art Robinson Throws Hissy Fit On Rachel Maddow!!! – Pt. One,โ€ YouTube video uploaded by user โ€œSuchIsLifeVideos,โ€ October 8, 2010. Archived .mp4 on file at DeSmog.

โ€œWe have – there are thousands of physical scientists in this country who, on the basis of scientific information alone, reject the idea of human-caused global warming.

You wish to portray each of those people as a nut. Iโ€˜ll tell you, madam, there are thousands and thousands of them, far more than there are at the U.N., pushing this bogus claim of human-caused global warming.โ€18โ€œThe Rachel Maddow Show, Transcript 10/07/10,โ€ MSNBC. Archived March 4, 2020. Archive.ph URL:https://archive.ph/wip/rII2Z

Abortion

January 31, 2020

Via Robinson’s congressional campaign website:19โ€œRight to Life,โ€ Art Robinson for U.S. Congress, January 31, 2020. Archive.ph URL: https://archive.ph/wip/h533y

โ€œLife begins at conception.

โ€œNo one has the right to kill an innocent child.

โ€œThe opportunity to live a human life upon the Earth is the greatest secular gift that we can comprehend. There is no value or objective that can rise above or even equal this.

โ€œAn estimated 60 million American children have been brutally (and ‘legally’) murdered by abortion.โ€

January 23, 2019

Speaking at a March for Life event in Grants Pass, Oregon, Robinson said:20โ€œMarch for Life w/Dr. Art Robinson in Grants Pass, Oregonโ€ Facebook videup uploaded by user Art Robinson, January 23, 2019. Archived .mp4 on file at DeSmog.

โ€œIf you have people who cannot even understand that it is wrong to murder a child running your country, you have a bad problem. And we’re very lucky today that we have a President and Vice President who understand different.โ€

Key Quotes

August 27, 2018

Speaking at the annual meeting of Doctors for Disaster Preparedness (DDP), Robinson declared:21โ€œVaccine Adjuvants – Art Robinson, PhD,โ€ YouTube video uploaded by user โ€œDDPmeetings,โ€ May 5, 2019. Archived .mp4 on file at DeSmog.

โ€œI don’t know, I don’t know whether anyone knows whether the vaccines are causing autism. But with these adjuvants in there, I think the best policy is to vaccinate children, if you have to, as late as possible. โ€ฆโ€ [10:50]

He added, responding to an audience question: [21:33]

โ€œThis business of mandatory vaccinations in schools is just one more reason not to go to the public school. โ€œ

October 7, 2010

Art Robinson on the Rachel Maddow Show part 1:22โ€œ(R-OR) Art Robinson Throws Hissy Fit On Rachel Maddow!!! – Pt. One,โ€ YouTube video uploaded by user โ€œSuchIsLifeVideos,โ€ October 8, 2010. Archived .mp4 on file at DeSmog.

Art Robinson on the Rachel Maddow Show part 2:

Some notable excerpts from the full transcript below:23โ€œThe Rachel Maddow Show, Transcript 10/07/10,โ€ MSNBC. Archived March 4, 2020. Archive.ph URL:https://archive.ph/wip/rII2Z

MADDOW: Now, you are well-known for your belief that global warming is made up.

ROBINSON: About beliefs, letโ€˜s do that. All right.

MADDOW: You donโ€˜t want to talk about your beliefs?

ROBINSON: Yes, go ahead.

MADDOW: Youโ€˜re well known for your belief that global warming is made up, that that is not true. Thatโ€˜s sort of a source of your national reputation, to the extent that you have one. Your opponent, Mr. DeFazio is also –

ROBINSON: Thatโ€˜s not a belief. Thatโ€˜s a conclusion I reached as a physical scientist. I have a degree from Cal Tech. Many others who have degrees from Cal Tech have agreed with me on this.

MADDOW: OK.

ROBINSON: We have – there are thousands of physical scientists in this country who, on the basis of scientific information alone, reject the idea of human-caused global warming.

You wish to portray each of those people as a nut. Iโ€˜ll tell you, madam, there are thousands and thousands of them, far more than there are at the U.N., pushing this bogus claim of human-caused global warming. You like it (UNINTELLIGIBLE).

(CROSS TALK)

MADDOW: Do you mind if I ask you a question about your beliefs?

ROBINSON: Itโ€˜s a dead scientific issue, Madam.

MADDOW: Do you mind if I ask about your beliefs on this?

ROBINSON: Itโ€˜s not a belief. Itโ€˜s a scientifically proven –

MADDOW: Right. Your scientifically proven fact that itโ€˜s not true – may I ask you about your scientifically-held, scientifically-proven, absolutely true beliefs that anybody who questions is attacking you about? OK. You have advocated that radio –

ROBINSON: You can go right ahead. Youโ€˜ve already put a big pejorative statement before the statement. But go ahead. You can anything you like.

MADDOW: You have advocated that radioactive waste should be dissolved in water and, quote, โ€œwidely dispersed in the oceans.โ€ Quote, โ€œAll we need to do with nuclear waste is dilute it to a low radiation level and sprinkle it over the ocean or even over America after hormesis(ph) is better stood and verified with respect to more diseases.โ€

Now, hormesis is your belief that low-level radiation is good for us to a certain extent? Is that right?

ROBINSON: The statements that you have just made are untrue.

MADDOW: Wait. I was quoting you.

ROBINSON: What you have done is take tiny excerpts from a vast amount of writing I have done on this scientific subject. I have not advocated any of this.

MADDOW: I – all we need to – did you not say this?

ROBINSON: As a scientist, I have written about this and many other possibilities.

MADDOW: Wait, wait, wait. Are you saying that your own –

ROBINSON: You are not telling the truth.

MADDOW: Are you saying –

ROBINSON: If youโ€˜d like to tell the truth, thatโ€˜s fine. Iโ€˜m not going to answer to your lie. That is more mud.

MADDOW: Iโ€˜m quoting from your own newsletter.

ROBINSON: This is a complicated scientific subject which you are misrepresenting to your viewers.

MADDOW: This is not –

ROBINSON: You are misrepresenting a very –

MADDOW: Did you not write this?

ROBINSON: Complicated scientific subject, and giving me 30 seconds to answer. That canโ€˜t be done. You go ahead and misrepresent the truth.

MADDOW: Did you write this?

ROBINSON: But it wonโ€˜t work for you.

MADDOW: All we need to do with nuclear waste is dilute it – did you write this? This is – Iโ€˜m quoting from your newsletter. Thereโ€˜s no ellipses here, โ€œAll we need to do with nuclear waste is dilute it to a low-radiation level and sprinkle it over the ocean or even over America after hormesis is better understood and verified with respect to more diseases.

ROBINSON: I wrote thousands and thousands of words in this subject. You have picked a few words and twisted them into an untruth.

MADDOW: OK. Let me ask you about some other words about your own –

ROBINSON: Do whatever you want, Madam. Youโ€˜re just throwing mud.

MADDOW: Let me just ask you some other things that I got – Iโ€˜m trying to learn about you, so I read your newsletter. In your newsletter, access to energy – you understand it, right?

ROBINSON: What youโ€˜re trying to do is smear me by – youโ€˜re just trying to smear me with out-of-context quotes.

MADDOW: Iโ€˜m trying to get to know by asking you about stuff youโ€˜ve written that I donโ€˜t understand.

ROBINSON: Everyone knows exactly what youโ€˜re trying to do. Thatโ€˜s your stock and trade.

MADDOW: Can I ask you?

ROBINSON: Itโ€˜s not mine. Iโ€˜m a scientist and a very good one.

MADDOW: Can I ask you about something else that youโ€˜ve written in your newsletter and you can tell me that Iโ€˜m taking it out of context?

ROBINSON: You can ask anything you like. Youโ€˜re running the camera.

MADDOW: In your newsletter, โ€œAccess to Energy,โ€ you wrote approvingly of the idea that AIDS is a myth, right? Sir, Iโ€˜m quoting you. The arguments presented against the –

ROBINSON: About what? Wait a minute. Wait a minute. I didnโ€˜t hear you.

MADDOW: The – Art, Iโ€˜m quoting you here, โ€œThe arguments presented against the HIV hypothesis are sound.โ€ You wrote this, โ€œMedian age at death for homosexual men dying of AIDS is 39 years. The value for homosexual men who did not die of AIDS is 42. By comparison, the value heterosexual married men is 75. This is evidence in support of the hypothesis that AIDS may be little more than a general classification of deaths resulting from exposure to homosexual behavior.โ€ So youโ€˜re writing about the myth that HIV doesnโ€˜t cause AIDS.

ROBINSON: Would you like to tell your viewers the date on that quotation, madam?

MADDOW: This is from 1995.

ROBINSON: Would you like to tell your viewers the date?

MADDOW: Do you no longer believe that?

ROBINSON: Yes, 1995, 15 years ago. There was still a debate over the cause of AIDS and I was writing about that. I wrote about all the other hypotheses, too. Fifteen years ago, the scientific debate was different than it is today.

MADDOW: No, it wasnโ€˜t sir.

ROBINSON: And I wrote approvingly on many of the hypotheses. But you have picked a 15-year-old quote. Youโ€˜ve taken it totally out of context. I wrote a lot about this issue. Trying to make it look bad 15 years later. Why donโ€˜t you do something up to date?

MADDOW: Well, let me – I want to know if you still believe this, โ€œOnly government reclassification of more and more disease types as AIDS cases has kept the numbers of victims at politically necessary levels.โ€

You were a conspiracist that AIDS was a government conspiracy in 1995 at a time when a lot of Americans were dying of AIDS. You were advocating that it was made up you for political purposes. Have you changed your mind about that or do you still believe it?

ROBINSON: No.

MADDOW: No? You havenโ€˜t changed your mind?

ROBINSON: Your statement is – you just strung several lies together in a row, and I donโ€˜t have the time to answer these.

MADDOW: Iโ€˜m quoting from your own newsletter, sir.

ROBINSON: You strung several lies together in a row because you infused vast amounts of editorial comments into this complicated issue.

MADDOW: Did you say only government –

ROBINSON: You are lying about my view, madam. Youโ€˜re just lying about them.

MADDOW: Hereโ€˜s a direct quote. Only government –

ROBINSON: I told you, youโ€˜re about it – youโ€˜re reading out-of-context quotes from 15 years ago, a large body of information that I wrote –

MADDOW: Do you no longer believe –

ROBINSON: And Iโ€˜m not interested in debating what was thought about 15 years ago. Why donโ€˜t you get to the facts?

MADDOW: What you wrote 15 years ago and published. Hereโ€˜s the thing, though –

ROBINSON: Why donโ€˜t you get to the facts? Why donโ€˜t you get to the truth? Why donโ€˜t you stop being so sarcastic and ask a reasonable question.

MADDOW: If you think this is sarcasm, you misunderstand the term. I can show you sarcasm. What Iโ€˜m asking you about is stuff that you have written, sir.

ROBINSON: No, madam, itโ€˜s sarcasm. You know what youโ€˜re doing. I know what youโ€˜re doing.

MADDOW: Is this still your belief?

January 7, 2009

In an interview with Willamette Week, Robinson declared:

โ€œThis is not rocket scienceโ€”climate science is very simple. A 12-year-old could probably understand this subject [of climate change].โ€24โ€œHot Air,โ€ Willamette Week, January 7, 2009. Archived March 5, 2020. Archive.ph URL: https://archive.ph/qc5Hd

May 1, 1998

Robinson spoke about the fake names that were added to the Oregon Petition in an interview with AP:25H. Josef Hebert. โ€œOdd Names Added to Greenhouse Plea,โ€ AP, May 1, 1998. Archive.ph URL: https://archive.ph/CWdT2

โ€œWhen weโ€™re getting thousands of signatures thereโ€™s no way of filtering out a fake,โ€ Robinson said.

February 1, 1995

The following is from an issue of Robinson’s Access to Energy newsletter:26โ€œNuclear Waste,โ€ Access to Energy, Vol. 22, No. 6 (February 1, 1995). Archived March 5, 2020. Archive.ph URL: https://archive.ph/SYo8E

โ€œIf radioactive waste were dissolved as water soluble compounds and then widely dispersed in the oceans, no health or other environmental risks would ever occur.โ€

Key Deeds

August 27, 2018

Robinson spoke at the annual meeting of Doctors for Disaster Preparedness (DDP) to discuss his views on vaccinations.27โ€œVaccine Adjuvants – Art Robinson, PhD,โ€ YouTube video uploaded by user โ€œDDPmeetings,โ€ May 5, 2019. Archived .mp4 on file at DeSmog.

โ€œI don’t know I don’t know whether anyone knows whether the vaccines are causing autism,โ€ Robinson said (see timestamp 10:50). โ€œBut with these adjuvants in there, I think the best policy is to vaccinate children if you have to as late as possible.โ€

He added, responding to an audience question (timestamp 21:33):

โ€œThis business of mandatory vaccinations in schools is just one more reason not to go to the public school. โ€œ

February 4, 2018

In January 2018, more than 200 scientists endorsed an open letter calling on the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) to remove climate change denier Rebekah Mercer from its board and to โ€œend ties to anti-science propagandists and funders of climate science misinformation.โ€ The New York Times reported that those among the AMNH letter calling for Mercer to step down were Michael E. Mann, director of the Earth System Science Center at Pennsylvania State University, and Katharine Hayhoe, director of the Climate Science Center at Texas Tech University.28Robin Pogrebin and Somini Sengupta. โ€œA Science Denier at the Natural History Museum? Scientists Rebel,โ€ The New York Times, January 25, 2018. Archived February 13, 2018. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/tAIv4

Robinson was among a group of climate change deniers who responded with their own open letter, calling for the AMNH โ€œnot to cave in to this pressure.โ€ The letter was signed by numerous individuals with ties to groups funded by the Mercer Family Foundation such as Will Happer of the CO2 CoalitionRichard Lindzen, a fellow at the Cato InstituteCraig Idso, the chairman of the Center for the Study of Carbon Dioxide and Global Change. There are a number of signatories affiliated with the Heartland Institute, which has received over $5.78 million from the Mercer Family Foundation since 2008.29Graham Readfearn. โ€œClimate Science Deniers Defend New Yorkโ€™s American Museum of Natural History From Calls to Drop Trustee Rebekah Mercer,โ€ DeSmog, February 6, 2018.

The letter reads:30mnh18-feb4-petitionletter (PDF – Untitled). Retrieved from Watts Up With That.

โ€œThe Earth has supported abundant life many times in the geological past when there were much higher levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. It is quite likely that future generations will benefit from the enrichment of Earthโ€™s atmosphere with more carbon dioxide.

โ€œMake no mistake, the agitators are not defending science from quackery โ€” quite the contrary!โ€

December 29, 2016

The Heartland Institute announced that Robinson would join its board of directors. The press release notes that Heartland had also named its Arthur B. Robinson Center on Climate and Environmental Policy in honor of Robinson in 2015.31(Press Release). โ€œArthur B. Robinson Joins Board of Directors of The Heartland Institute,โ€ PRWeb, December 29, 2016. Archived February 22, 2018. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/FM6EE

Heartland Institute President Joseph L. Bast commented, โ€œArt Robinson is as bold and brave a person as I have ever met. Having him join Heartlandโ€™s Board of Directors honors us and sends a signal to the world that we will continue to โ€˜speak truth to powerโ€™ on the important issue of climate change as well as the need for educational choice, repealing Obamacare, and other issues as well.โ€32(Press Release). โ€œArthur B. Robinson Joins Board of Directors of The Heartland Institute,โ€ PRWeb, December 29, 2016. Archived February 22, 2018. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/FM6EE

July 8 โ€“ 10, 2016

Art Robinson was a speaker at 34th Annual Meeting of Doctors for Disaster Preparedness, co-sponsored by Access to Energy, the Oregon Institute of Science and Medicine, and Physicians for Civil Defense.33โ€œDDP 34th Annual Meeting โ€“ July 2016,โ€ Doctors for Disaster Preparedness. Archived July 22, 2016. Backup archive url: http://archive.is/oRn3j

Robinson’s talk was titled โ€œA Nuclear Power Supply for a Deep-Space Probe.โ€34โ€œDDP 34th Annual Meeting โ€“ July 2016,โ€ Doctors for Disaster Preparedness. Archived July 22, 2016. Backup archive url: http://archive.is/oRn3j

DDP listed the following speakers at their event:35โ€œDDP 34th Annual Meeting โ€“ July 2016,โ€ Doctors for Disaster Preparedness. Archived July 22, 2016. Backup archive url: http://archive.is/oRn3j

August 10, 2013

Art Robinson, was elected as the Oregon Republican Party’s new chairman, the Huffington Post reported.36โ€œArt Robinson, Global Warming Skeptic, Elected Oregon GOP Chairman,โ€ Huffington Post, August 11, 2013.

May 2010

Robinson was a speaker at the Heartland Institute’s 2010 International Conference on Climate Change. The annual conference gathers climate change skeptics from across the globe to voice their views.37โ€œ4th International Conference on Climate Changeโ€ (PDF), May 2010, The Heartland Institute. Archived via University of Hartford server.

March 2009

Arthur Robinson was a speaker at the Heartland Institute’s Second International Conference on Climate Change (ICCC2) in New York. His Speech was titled โ€œNobel Prize for Death.โ€38โ€œArthur Robinson, ICCC2,โ€ International Conferences on Climate Change. Archived .mp4 on file at DeSmog. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/mgW3I

DeSmog researched the funding behind Heartland’s Second International Conference on Climate Change (ICCC2) and found sponsor organizations had received over $47 million in funding from energy companies and right-wing foundations, with 78% of that total coming from Scaife Family Foundations.39โ€œHeartland Institute’s 2009 Climate Conference in New York: funding history of the sponsors,โ€ DeSmog.

April 1998

Robinson organized and authored the infamous Oregon Petition which collected a supposed 31,000 signatories that denied the existence of man-made global warming.

The Oregon Petition has been used by climate change deniers as proof that there is no scientific consensus, however they fail to note the controversy surrounding the petition itself. In April 1998, Robinsonโ€™s Oregon Institute, along with the Exxon-backed George C. Marshall Institute, co-published the infamous โ€œOregon Petition,โ€ claiming to have collected 17,000 signatories to a document arguing against the realities of global warming.40(Press Release). โ€œINHOFE QUESTIONS SCIENCE BEHIND ARCTIC REPORT,โ€ U.S. Senate Committee on Environment & Public Works. Archived March 7, 2010. Archive.ph URL: https://archive.ph/wip/I4iiZ 41โ€œSEPP News Release: More Than 15,000 Scientists Protest Kyoto Accord; Speak Out Against Global Warming Myth,โ€ Science and Environmental Policy Project, April 20, 1998. Archived August 4, 2010. Archive.ph URL: https://archive.ph/wip/S47tb

Along with the petition there was a cover letter from Dr. Fred Seitz a notorious climate change denier (and big tobacco scientist), who over 30 years ago was the president of the National Academy of Science. Also attached to the petition was an apparent โ€œresearch paperโ€ titled โ€œEnvironmental Effects of Increased Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide.โ€42โ€œLetter from Frederick Seitz,โ€ Petition Project. Archived March , 2020. Archive.ph URL: https://archive.ph/wip/laRHi 43โ€œEnvironmental Effects of Increased Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide,โ€ Petition Project. Archived March 5, 2020. Archive.ph URL: https://archive.ph/wip/H7pWy

The petition and the documents included were all made to look like official papers from the prestigious National Academy of Science. They werenโ€™t, and this attempt to mislead has been well-documented.44Kevin Grandia. โ€œThe 30,000 Global Warming Petition Is Easily-Debunked Propaganda,โ€ The Huffington Post, August 22, 2009. Archived January 12, 2017. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/ULbSv

The paper mimicked what a research paper would look like in the National Academyโ€™s prestigious Proceedings of the National Academy journal. The authors of the paper were Robinson, Sallie Baliunas, Willie Soon (both oil-backed scientists) and Robinsonโ€™s son Zachary.45Kevin Grandia. โ€œThe 30,000 Global Warming Petition Is Easily-Debunked Propaganda,โ€ The Huffington Post, August 22, 2009. Archived January 12, 2017. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/ULbSv

With the signature of a former NAS president and a research paper that appeared to be published in one of the most prestigious science journals in the world, many scientists were duped into signing a petition based on a false impression.46Kevin Grandia. โ€œThe 30,000 Global Warming Petition Is Easily-Debunked Propaganda,โ€ The Huffington Post, August 22, 2009. Archived January 12, 2017. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/ULbSv

The petition was so misleading that the National Academy issued a statement that โ€œthis petition has nothing to do with the National Academy of Sciences and that the manuscript was not published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences or in any other peer-reviewed journal.โ€ The statement added that โ€œ[t]he petition does not reflect the conclusions of expert reports of the Academy.โ€47Joe Brown. โ€œ700 Club anchor touted global warming skeptics’ petition reportedly signed by non-scientists, fictitious characters,โ€ Media Transparency, February 14, 2006. 48โ€œSTATEMENT BY THE COUNCIL OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES REGARDING GLOBAL CHANGE PETITION,โ€ The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, Medicine, April 20, 1998. Archived March 5, 2020. Archive.ph URL: https://archive.ph/wip/5WnVM

See a video and commentary debunking the Oregon Petition here.49โ€œAstounding Interview with ‘Oregon Petition’ Nutjob โ€“ Art Robinson,โ€ Climate Denial Crock of the Week, October 13, 2010. Archived March 5, 2020. Archive.ph URL: https://archive.ph/wip/sht2k

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Of his own admission Robinson acknowledgee โ€œhe has done no direct research into global warming.โ€ An ISI database search of publications confirms that Robinson has never published any research in the area of human-induced climate change.53H. Josef Hebert. โ€œJokers Add Fake Names To Warming Petition,โ€ The Seattle Times, May 1, 1998. Archived October 24, 2016. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/eQIGW

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