Archived Newsletters

July 2008 Newsletter

Volume 37, Number 3

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The Forum on Physics and Society is a place for discussion and disagreement on scientific and policy matters. Our newsletter publishes a combination of non- peer- reviewed technical articles, policy analyses, and opinion. All articles and editorials published in the newsletter solely represent the views of their authors  and do not necessarily represent the views of the Forum Executive Committee.

The FPS Executive Committee strongly endorses the position of the APS Council that "Emissions of greenhouse gases from human activities are changing the atmosphere in ways that affect the Earth's climate." The statement in the July 2008 edition of our newsletter, Physics and Society that, "There is considerable presence within the scientific community of people who do not agree with the IPCC conclusion that anthropogenic CO2 emissions are very probably likely to be primarily responsible for the global warming that has occurred since the Industrial Revolution" does not represent the views of the Executive Committee of the Forum on Physics and Society.

In This Issue

  • Editor's Comments, Jeffrey Marque, Alvin Saperstein
  • News of the Forum, Message from the New Chair, Message from the Former Chair, Future Meetings

News

  • DOE Files Yucca Mountain Nuclear Waste Repository Application, Audrey T. Leath

Articles

  • A Tutorial on the Basic Physics of Climate Change, By David Hafemeister & Peter Schwartz
  • Climate Sensitivity Reconsidered, By Christopher Monckton

Reviews

  • Science, Evolution, and Creationism, By National Academy of Sciences Institute of Medicine, Reviewed by Richard Wiener
  • The Science of Evolution and the Myth of Creationism, Knowing What's Real and Why it Matters, By Ardea Skybreak Reviewed by Don Lichtenberg
  • The Essential Exponential! For the Future of Our Planet, By Albert A. Bartlett with Robert G. Fuller, Vicki L. Plano Clark, and John A. Rogers Reviewed by Manish Gupta

Physics and Society is the non-peer-reviewed quarterly newsletter of the Forum on Physics and Society, a division of the American Physical Society. It presents letters, commentary, book reviews and articles on the relations of physics and the physics community to government and society. It also carries news of the Forum and provides a medium for Forum members to exchange ideas. Opinions expressed are those of the authors alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of the APS or of the Forum. Contributed articles (up to 2500 words), letters (500 words), commentary (1000 words), reviews (1000 words) and brief news articles are welcome. Send them to the relevant editor by e-mail (preferred) or regular mail.

Editor: Andrew Zwicker. Assistant Editor: Laura Berzak Hopkins. Reviews Editor: Art Hobson. Electronic Media Editor: Matthew Parsons. Editorial Board: Maury Goodman; Richard Wiener, Jeremiah Williams, Jeremiah Williams. Layout at APS: Leanne Poteet. Website for APS: webmaster@aps.org.