Princeton Professor emeritus William Happer is a fellow of the American Physical Society, the American Association for the Advancement of Science and several other prestigious organizations. He was the chair of Princeton University Research Board for ten years, has won awards for his scientific contributions and worked as the Energy Department director of energy research when George H.W. Bush was president.
Obviously, this is a fantastic resume already. However, the fact that Professor Harper won’t embrace climate change hysteria, coupled with his recent appointment to President Trump’s Presidential Committee on Climate Security, has raised the ire of mainstream media pundits.
Professor Happer’s attackers note that he has no formal training in climate science. However, they fail to mention that no one really has formal training in climate science — it’s not an academic discipline. In fact, most scientists who are considered to also be climatologists hold degrees in related fields such as geology, atmospheric sciences, meteorology and physics.
Professor Happer is an expert in infrared radiation spectra, which is relevant to climate science. The professor has extensive experience working with the government to provide expert advice on a range of topics. For more than forty years, Professor Happer has been a member of JASON, a team of scientists and engineers that provides advice to the federal government on matters pertaining to intelligence, energy problems and defense. It is worth noting that during this time, Professor Happer was not only advising Republican presidents but also Democrat presidents such as Bill Clinton and Barack Obama.
Unfortunately, Professor Happer’s distinguished career means nothing to far-left liberals for the simple reason that Professor Happer has had the audacity to mention the fact that intelligence reports stating that climate change is a national security threat have not undergone a rigorous independent and adversarial scientific peer review. What is more, Professor Happer has also questioned how much influence CO2 has on the climate while at the same time noting that CO2 does have its benefits.
Ironically, those who are claiming that Professor Happer isn’t qualified to lead a panel addressing climate change fail to note the inconvenient fact that he has far more experience and expertise on the subject than many lawmakers who are making outlandish proposals to address climate change through massive government involvement in the everyday lives of every single person living in the United States. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and the many Democratic politicians who are running for president have no experience in climate sciences but somehow, according to left-leaning activists, have every right to ram the Green New Deal proposals down everyone’s throats.
Those who are truly concerned about the climate and want to take the best course of action to improve it should be happy to listen to any expert on the topic. Unfortunately, there is a common misconception that all credible scientists believe that climate change is solely caused by mankind and poses an imminent threat to mankind. Those who question the narrative for any reason are now labeled “climate deniers”.
The move to shut down debate over climate change is a dangerous one as it would not only exclude expert opinions that would enable lawmakers to make wise decisions, but also result in Green New Deal-style laws that could wreak havoc on the country and its economy.
One can only hope that the Presidential Committee on Climate Security will be able to not only address the misinformation found in the recent United Nation’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, report but also provide well-informed solutions to problems that are often attributed to climate change.
~ Patriotic Freedom Fighter
