Trimming the Astroturf: Physics Society Rejects Anti-Science Petition

The American Physical Society (APS), an organization of professional physicists, announced Tuesday that it had rejected a petition attempting to repeal the group's 2007 statement on climate change:

The Council of the American Physical Society has overwhelmingly rejected a proposal to replace the Society’s 2007 Statement on Climate Change with a version that raised doubts about global warming. The Council’s vote came after it received a report from a committee of eminent scientists who reviewed the existing statement in response to a petition submitted by a group of APS members.

The petition had requested that APS remove and replace the Society’s current statement. The committee recommended that the Council reject the petition. The committee also recommended that the current APS statement be allowed to stand, but it requested that the Society’s Panel on Public Affairs (POPA) examine the statement for possible improvements in clarity and tone. POPA regularly reviews all APS statements to ensure that they are relevant and up-to-date regarding new scientific findings.

DeSmogBlog has a link to an analysis [2MB pdf] by John Mashey exhaustively deconstructing the petition and its signers.

The Wascally Wabbit comments:
The American Physical Society Stays Real.

PhysicsWorld says:
APS rejects plea to alter stance on climate change.

Science Magazine's ScienceInsider blog has a brief report:
APS Council Rejects Bid to Soften Society Statement on Global Warming