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Leslie V. Woodcock

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Leslie V. Woodcock is Emeritus Professor of Chemical Thermodynamics at the University of Manchester. In 2014 he gained notoriety for asserting levels of carbon dioxide have not risen in the past hundred years and for denying that global warming is a result of human activity.

Early life and career

Woodcock took his PhD in London in 1970 and has published over 70 peer-reviewed papers.[1][2] He has held appointments at the University of Cambridge, the University of Amsterdam, and the University of Bradford, and has worked with simulations for the U.S. Air Force.[3][4]

Opinion on global warming

Speaking with a writer from the Yorkshire Evening Post, Woodcock asserted, "There is no reproducible scientific evidence CO2 has significantly increased in the last 100 years."

In the same interview, Woodcock referenced Noah’s Ark in giving an example of catastrophic weather in the past and made the following statements:[5]

"If you talk to real scientists who have no political interest, they will tell you there is nothing in global warming. It’s an industry which creates vast amounts of money for some people.
"Even the term ‘global warming’ does not mean anything unless you give it a time scale. The temperature of the earth has been going up and down for millions of years, if there are extremes, it’s nothing to do with carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, it’s not permanent and it’s not caused by us. Global warming is nonsense."

Reception

Reports of the Yorkshire Evening Post interview proliferated in contrarian online blogs and news sites.[6][7]

Woodcock's opinion contradicts "reams of peer-reviewed scientific research that overwhelmingly states man has had a hand in climate change in our lifetime." Scientists do not believe it is probable that the 1°C. rise in global temperatures is due to natural fluctuations.[8]

Carbon dioxide measurements are straightforward and have been shown to have increased significantly over the last thirty years. A writer for The Week commented about Woodcock, "So some doddering chemist emeritus doesn't believe in climate change. So what, right? But Woodcock's assertions are noteworthy for just how magnificently bogus they are."[9]

Responding to Woodcock's claim that carbon dioxide levels have not risen in the last century, Kevin Drum offered the following opinion in Mother Jones: "Now, it's fair to ask why you should care about the fact that some random elderly former professor is badly confused about a simple and uncontroversial measurement. Answer: because there are plenty of people who don't care about evidence one way or another and are willing to glom onto anyone who tells their audience what it wants to hear."[10]

See also

References

  1. ^ Biography, National University of Singapore, 9 Sept. 2011. Retrieved 19 Sept. 2015.
  2. ^ Presenter's blurb on program of the Faculty of Chemical Engineering, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Selangor, Malaysia, June 10-13, 2013. Retrieved 19 Sept. 2015.
  3. ^ Presenter's blurb on program of the Faculty of Chemical Engineering, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Selangor, Malaysia, June 10-13, 2013. Retrieved 19 Sept. 2015.
  4. ^ "Visiting Seminar Series 2002-2003," Department of Chemistry, McMicken College of Arts and Sciences. Retrieved 19 Sept. 2015.
  5. ^ Neil Hudson, "'Global warming' is rubbish says top professor," Yorkshire Evening Post, 3 April 2015. Retrieved 19 Sept. 2015.
  6. ^ Marc Morano, "Another Prominent Scientist Dissents! Fmr. NASA Scientist Dr. Les Woodcock ‘Laughs’ at Global Warming – ‘Global warming is nonsense’ Top Prof. Declares," Climate Depot, 3 April 2015. Retrieved 20 Sept. 2015.
  7. ^ Jerome R. Corsi, "Climate scientist ridicules U.N. report as junk," WND.com, 4 April 2015. Retrieved 20 Sept. 2015.
  8. ^ Jenna Iacurci, "Former NASA Scientist Says Climate Change is 'Nonsense'," Nature World News, 29 April 2015. Retrieved 20 Sept. 2015.
  9. ^ Ryan Cooper, "This is a perfect example of why scientists don't vote Republican," The Week, 30 April 2015. Retrieved 19 Sept. 2015.
  10. ^ Kevin Drum, "Quote of the Day: CO2? What CO2?" Mother Jones, 30 April 2015. Retrieved 19 Sept. 2015.


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