James A. Peden

James A. Peden

Credentials

  • M.S., Experimental Physics of the upper atmosphere, University of Pittsburgh (1967).1James Peden,” LinkedIn. Accessed October 10, 2019. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.
  • B.S., Physics, Math, Texas Christian University (1965).2James Peden,” LinkedIn. Accessed October 10, 2019. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.

Background

James A. Peden is the webmaster and editor of Middlebury Networks/Middlebury Community Network where he offers web design and hosting services.3ABOUT JIM AND HIS WORK,” Middlebury Networks, February 23, 2004. Archived October 11, 2019. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.fo/YmIQL

In his profile at Middlebury, Jim writes he “started adult life as a research Physicist and Mathematician.” His other occupations have included “ski instructing, crop dusting, flight instructing, graphic arts… and even a short hitch as a law clerk” and more recently real estate.4ABOUT JIM AND HIS WORK,” Middlebury Networks, February 23, 2004. Archived October 11, 2019. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.fo/YmIQL

Peden has listed himself as a retired atmospheric physicist at the Space Research and Coordination Center in Pittsburgh and as having worked with Extranuclear Laboratories in Blawnox, Pennsylvania while “studying ion-molecule reactions in the upper atmosphere.” The Space Research and Coordination Center was a center for students studying numerous disciplines related to the aerospace field at the University of Pittsburgh.5The So-Called ‘Greenhouse Effect’ is a Myth,” ICECAP, July 14, 2008. Archived October 10, 2019.

In an article posted at Middlebury, Peden describes global warming as a “hoax” and claims “the science [is] far from settled” regarding climate change.6The Tim Ball Nominees,” Rabett Run, December 11, 2008. Archived October 10, 2019. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.fo/bZVjm

Stance on Climate Change

May 6, 2019

Peden claimed on Twitter:

January 13, 2019

Peden replied to fellow climate change denial blogger Tony Heller (AKA Steven Goddard) on Twitter:

Steve, I'm an atmospheric physicist and the great global warming hoax is the greatest scientific hoax ever perpetrated on a generally science illiterate public.

September 24, 2018

Peden posted on Twitter:7The great global warming hoax is based on the notion that the foolish half of civilization can be brought to believe that heat can naturally flow from cold to hot,” Twitter post by @jimpeden, September 24, 2018.

May 2018

Via Twitter:

February 17, 2012

On Twitter, Peden said he was a “climate ‘denier’”:

April 5, 2011

Peden described increasing CO2 Levels as responsible for greening of the planet and called CO2 is “good stuff”:

November 21, 2010

Via Twitter, Peden describes ocean acidification as “pretty dumb”:

May 2008

“CO2 is a useful trace gas in the atmosphere, and the planet would actually benefit by having more, not less of it, because it is not a driver for Global Warming and would enrich our vegetation, yielding better crops to feed the expanding population,” Peden claimed in an editorial posted on his website.8Editorial: The Great Global Warming Hoax,” The Middlebury Community Network. Archived April 19, 2008. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.fo/lGBtX

“If we’re right, then nature will take its course as it always has, and normal life will go on by adapting to climate change, rather than freaking out over a pending climate catastrophe.”9Editorial: The Great Global Warming Hoax,” The Middlebury Community Network. Archived April 19, 2008. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.fo/lGBtX

Key Quotes

September 30, 2019

Posting on Facebook, Peden made reference to “The next civil war” and that he was just waiting of a “call to arms” by President Trump:

Peden Call to Arms

September 15, 2019

Peden has tweeted in support of fracking:

August 6, 2017

Via Twitter:

April 25, 2017

Peden went to Twitter to voice his views on illegal immigration:

February 2017

Peden made several tweets directed to Donald Trump suggesting “Don’t give in to the Great Global Warming Hoax”:

November 8, 2011

On Twitter, Peden claimed Liberalism was a “mental illness”:

November 15, 2009

July 2008

Peden appears to have written a short introduction to his editorial that was shared on a variety of climate change denial websites including ICECAP in the summer of 2008:10The So-Called ‘Greenhouse Effect’ is a Myth,” ICECAP, July 14, 2008. Archived October 10, 2019.

“As a dissenting physicist, I simply can no longer buy the notion that CO2 produces any significant warming of the atmosphere at any rate. I’ve studied the atomic absorption physics to death, from John Nicol’s extensive development to the much longer winded dissertation by Gerlich & Tscheuschner and everything in between, it simply doesn’t add up. Even if every single IR photon absorbed by a CO2 molecule were magically transformed into purely thermal translational modes , the pitifully small quantity of CO2 in the atmosphere doesn’t add up to much additional heat. And if the aforementioned magical 100% transformation from radiation into “heat” were true, then all arguments concerning re-emission ( source of all the wonderful “greenhouse effect” cartoons with their arrows flying in all directions ) are out the window.

“More and more, I am becoming convinced that atmospheric heating is primarily by thermal conduction from the surface, whose temperature is determined primarily by solar absorption. I get a lot of email from laymen seeking simple answers. My simple reply goes like this:

1. The sun heats the earth.
2. The earth heats the atmosphere
3. After the sun sets, the atmosphere cools back down

“With a parting comment: If we were to have 96 continuous hours without sunlight, temperatures would likely be below freezing over all the world’s land masses. The warmest place you could find would be to take a swim in the nearest ocean. There is no physical process in the atmosphere which ‘traps’ heat. The so-called ‘greenhouse effect’ is a myth.”

Key Deeds

July 14, 2008

Jim Peden, listed as a retired atmospheric physicist, was signatory to an open letter to United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon calling for the UN to “lead the UN into abandoning the CO2-based theory of global warming and nullifying its former recommendations.”11“The UN Climate Change Panel must be called to account and cease its deceptive practices- Policies based on false science must be ended” (PDF), July 14, 2008. Retrieved from ilovemycarbondioxide.com. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.

“The assertion that the recent rapid rise of CO2 is unique and dangerous is both deceptive and irrelevant because CO2 does not drive the world’s climate,” the letter claimed, adding “ there is clearly no evidence for the CO2-based theory of global warming. Indeed, there is only evidence against it.”12“The UN Climate Change Panel must be called to account and cease its deceptive practices- Policies based on false science must be ended” (PDF), July 14, 2008. Retrieved from ilovemycarbondioxide.com. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.

The letter was signed by many notable climate change deniers, including but not limited to:13“The UN Climate Change Panel must be called to account and cease its deceptive practices- Policies based on false science must be ended” (PDF), July 14, 2008. Retrieved from ilovemycarbondioxide.com. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.

June 24, 2008

Peden critiqued RealClimate.org, describing it as a “staged and contracted production, which wasn’t created by ‘scientists,’ it was actually created by Environmental Media Services, a company which specializes in spreading environmental junk science on behalf of numerous clients who stand to financially benefit from scare tactics through environmental fear mongering.”14Marc Morano. “Climatologist slams RealClimate.org for ‘erroneously communicating the reality of the how climate system is actually behaving’,” Climate Depot, June 30, 2009. Archived October 7, 2019. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.fo/TwueH

January 17, 2009

Peden’s primary contribution to the skeptical science community is his lengthy editorial titled “The Great Global Warming Hoax.” After local newspapers were reticent to publish the attack on man-made global warming arguments, he decided to publish it himself on his Middlebury Community Network—a site he personally maintains.

Read one debunking of Peden’s editorial here.15Dan Moutal. “Jim Peden, Atmospheric Physicist, makes some very dubious claims [UPDATED],” Mind of Dan, July 28, 2008. Archived October 11, 2019. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.fo/pZJkm

During the article which attempts to “teach” a layman the basic science that disproves climate change, Peden also repeatedly attacks Al Gore for a supposed lack of credentials in the field.

Peden’s views can be summarized as follows:

1. C02 does not contribute to global warming, and we would benefit from having more of it in the atmosphere.
2. We didn’t cause global warming and we can’t stop it.
3. Solar activity and ocean currents are the main drivers of climate change.
4. The IPCC is corrupt.
5. Listing polar bears as an endangered species was part of a political agenda.

March 4, 2008

Peden signed the Manhattan Declaration on Climate Change. The Declaration was organized by the International Climate Science Coalition (ICSC) and presented at the end of the Heartland Institute‘s 2008 International Conference on Climate Change.16QUALIFIED ENDORSERS NOT AT CONFERENCE,” International Climate Science Coalition. Archived September 26, 2019. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.fo/zeWGr

Those who sign the declaration must agree that “human-caused climate change is not a global crisis” and recommend that “That all taxes, regulations, and other interventions intended to reduce emissions of CO2 be abandoned forthwith.”17QUALIFIED ENDORSERS NOT AT CONFERENCE,” International Climate Science Coalition. Archived September 26, 2019. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.fo/zeWGr

Peden reproduces the Manhattan Declaration in the appendix of his editorial report on Middlebury Networks.18The Tim Ball Nominees,” Rabett Run, December 11, 2008. Archived October 10, 2019. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.fo/bZVjm

Affiliations

Social Media

Publications

According to a search of Google Scholar, Peden has published no articles in peer-reviewed journals relating to climate science. Peden’s personal blog, Opinions On Various Stuff, was last updated in 2014.21Opinions on Various Stuff homepage. Archived October 10, 2019. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.fo/cS0pd

Other Resources

Resources

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