Georgia Tech professor Judith Curry and geologist Dr. Sebastian Lüning.
First Prof. Curry’s comment:
I am astonished by the naiveté of these scientists, who are damaging their reputation by their naive meddling in a complex policy debate. They seem not to realize that the tables could easily be turned on them if the political winds change (say with the election of a Republican U.S. President), and the heat would then be turned on green advocacy groups and the scientists that engage with them. The science is sufficiently uncertain to allow several rational narratives for what has caused 20th century warming and how the 21st century climate will evolve. These 20 scientists damage not only their own reputations, but they also damage the public perception of scientists as trustworthy sources of information. Most seriously, the coercion of scientists implied by this letter will discourage objectivity in scientific research and will discourage scientists from entering/staying in the field of climate research.”
“Undemocratic and unprofessional”
Sebastian Lüning also finds the whole affair a bit odd and “unprofessional”. He wrote:
Rather than criminal lawsuits, we urgently need an objective “scientific court” where arguments of both IPCC and skeptic sides are technically and open-mindedly discussed. It is undemocratic and unprofessional to silence scientists by legally threatening them if they do not subscribe to the official interpretation / party line. There are many historic examples where science pioneers such as Galileo Galilee or Alfred Wegener would have ended up in prison.”
Finally Prof. Nicola Scafetta of Duke University also provided a short comment:
Let us hope that this evident politicization of science ends soon.”
– See more at: http://notrickszone.com/2015/09/23/leading-climate-scientists-blast-letter-by-20-academics-as-naive-implied-coercion-damages-field-of-science/#sthash.vSONzLwD.dpuf
