Friends of Science

Friends of Science

Founded	2002
Type	Climate change skepticism
Focus	Canadian public policy
Location	Calgary, Alberta
Website	http://www.friendsofscience.org

Friends of Science is a Canadian non-profit organization of mainly retired geologists and atmospheric scientists founded in 2002 and based in Calgary, Alberta. The group claims to be highly suspicious of the claims that man-made climate change will be a catastrophic threat. The group looks at the scientific merit of the Kyoto Protocol and, more generally, of global warming.

Its advisors are Madhav Khandekar, Chris de Freitas, Tim Patterson and Sallie Baliunas. The current president of Friends of Science is Douglas Leahey.

Claims

Comparison of ground based (blue) and satellite based (red: UAH; green: RSS) records of temperature variations since 1979. Trends plotted since January 1982.

Friends of Science disputes the scientific claims on global warming, stating that the satellite and balloon temperature records indicate no significant global warming has taken place over the last three decades.

Friends of Science states:

Accurate satellite, balloon and mountain top observations made over the last three decades have not shown any significant change in the long term rate of increase in global temperatures. Average ground station readings do show a mild warming of 0.6 to 0.8 C over the last 100 years, which is well within the natural variations recorded in the last millennium. The ground station network suffers from an uneven distribution across the globe; the stations are preferentially located in growing urban and industrial areas ("heat islands"), which show substantially higher readings than adjacent rural areas ("land use effects").

Friends of Science has produced a 23 minute on-line video that claims to contrast the views of politicians and scientists on the question of climate change. The scientists on the video included consultant Tim Ball, Professor of Geology Tim Patterson of Carleton University, and Professor of Political Science Barry F. Cooper of the University of Calgary, all of whom are known for skepticism with regard to the mainstream scientific view on global warming. Scientists representing the mainstream view were not represented.

Funding

Friends of Science claims that they do not receive any direct funding from petroleum or related companies although the now retired CEO of Talisman provided initial funding for the video. Proponents of anthropogenic climate warming have criticized the Friends of Science as an Astroturfing organization with close links to the oil and gas industry. Their funding sources are unclear; Canadian Member of Parliament (MP) John Godfrey, a Liberal who represented the Toronto riding of Don Valley West, had said in 2006, "Financial links between the petroleum industry and climate change skeptic groups in the United States are well documented... We need more transparency about who is behind this campaign in Canada." The Friends of Science say their "efforts to bring balance to the climate change debate are being restricted because of our lack of funding. We have mostly relied upon the good nature of our members, with some contributions from Charitable Foundations. There has also been some funding from “big oil”. But they seldom smile on us. They appear to believe that marketing is more important than historical climate information…Your support is essential for getting things done! Without it, we will probably have to shut down operations within the year."

Funds do not come directly from industry donors but are instead solicited for the Calgary Foundation, a charitable funds administrator which maintains a policy of not disclosing the identity of donors. The donations are then passed on to the Science Education Fund, an account at the University of Calgary set up by Prof. Barry Cooper. In the final step, the Science Education Fund uses those funds to support the activities of the Friends of Science. Friends of Science does not disclose details of their funding sources, though Cooper has stated that their funds are "not exclusively from the oil and gas industry."

See also

• Natural Resources Stewardship Project
• Douglas Leahey

External links

• Friends of Science website
• Charles Montgomery, "Meet Mr. Cool," Globe and Mail, August 12, 2006 – an exposé about FoS and its former head, Tim Ball.
• SourceWatch article about Friends of Science