The Daily Kos has reported on an interesting development in the efforts of the Heartland Institute, an organization that opposes environmental regulations, to cast doubt on some of the science of global warming and the projections climate scientists have made.

Dennis T. Avery (a fixture among climate-change skeptics and listed as a senior fellow at the Heartland Institute) wrote an article originally published last fall by the Hudson Institute, “500 Scientists with Documented Doubts of Man-Made Global Warming Scares.” It turns out that the list might not hit such a nice round number, according to DeSmogBlog.

Avery’s article purports to list scientists whose work contradicts the evidence that global warming poses a major threat to us and other species. DeSmogBlog manager Kevin Grandia emailed 122 of the scientists to notify them of their inclusion on the list, and less than 24 hours later, he had 45 responses from rather unhappy scientists, many of whom have demanded to be taken off the list. An example:

“I am horrified to find my name on such a list. I have spent the last 20 years arguing the opposite.” - Dr. David Sugden, Professor of Geography, University of Edingburgh

There are of course uncertainties inherent in climate model projections — I don’t know a climate scientist who would say otherwise. But the fact that human-induced greenhouse gas emissions are driving the current rise in global temperatures is certainly not disputed by any credible climate scientist, and we are already seeing some of the effects of this climate change.

Articles like Avery’s are sadly misleading, and bring up many of the skeptic arguments that scientists have refuted again and again.