The Novim Group is a non-profit based in Santa Barbara, CA which has funded and overseen two global scientific research projects: a Climate Engineering Study Group report and the Berkeley Earth Surface Temperature (BEST) study.
About Novim
editNovim was founded in 2008 with a mission to assemble teams of high-profile, high-caliber researchers from top research universities and government agencies around the world to tackle major global scientific issues. Novim chooses issues which, by the nature of the underlying problem to be solved, are important to all of humanity. Their projects explain the probable costs and possible consequences of each course of action.[1] The name Novim is derived from novo - the Russian word for new.[2]
Novim's Executive Director Michael Ditmore says that the group "convenes teams of scientists to analyze such issues and publish their findings without advocacy." [3]
Novim administers the fundraising efforts necessary to conduct the project studies. Funding sources for the BEST study include the Charles Koch, the Getty Foundation, Bill Gates, and others.[4]
Geoengineering Study
editThe International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) announced Novim's first report, a Climate Engineering Study Group report, in August of 2009. This paper examines the need for and the nature of using geoengineering to lower the Earth's average temperature. The authors suggest adopting the principles of short wave climate engineering (SWCE) to introduce aerosols into the stratosphere. Much like the sulfur particles released by large volcanic eruptions, the aerosols would reflect shortwave solar radiation back into space to cool the air and land below. [5] SWCE may help reverse global warming but the technique remains untested until further research can lower the potential for adverse effects.[6] Opponents claim that the core causes are not addressed, only the symptoms, and that SWCE would damage the ozone.[7]
Novim collected an international team of scientists to work together on the study.[8] Dr. Ken Caldeira advocates for small scale testing to be performed soon so that a working system could, at the very least, be designed and ready in event of a large-scale climate crisis[9] which requires rapid global action.[10] Deploying the methods described in the study would cost an estimated $8 billion USD per year if delivered by aircraft.[11]
The paper was submitted to peer review in 2009 at the IOP Conference Series[12] and the IIASA GGI Seminar.[13] Novim has also made the paper available for free online at Arxiv.org.[14] Since it's release, Novim's Geoengineering Study has become a common reference in peer academic studies on the subject, including a United States House of Representatives Report[15], an article in Science[16], the Journal of Geophysical Research[17], and the International Seminar on Nuclear War and Planetary Emergencies.[18] The study has also appeared on the suggested reading lists at the Trottier Symposium[19], the Denver Climate Study Group[20], and the International Risk Governance Council meeting on geoengineering.[21]
Berkeley Earth Surface Temperature (BEST) Study
editNovim's second study was the recently released Berkeley Earth Surface Temperature Study (BEST).[4] The study reanalyzes the world's land temperature data – using information from more recording stations than the studies referenced by Climategate[22][23] - with an intention to provide clear, fact-based results made readily available without political bias. Professor Richard A. Muller led the study team, which also included 2011 Nobel Prize in Physics winner Saul Perlmutter.[24][25] Results will be made available soon for free via smartphone and tablet app, and can currently be downloaded from the BEST website.
Affiliations
editNovim applies techniques and methodologies developed at the Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics at UCSB, an organization whose founders, directors, and researchers include multiple Noble Prize winners. KITP Director David Gross is a member of Novim's Science Advisory Board.
Novim has recently begun working with Environmental Capital Group's Managing Director Bryan Martel to pursue future studies. [26]
Science Advisory Board
editAs of November 2011, Novim's Science Advisory Board is comprised of the following members:[27]
- David Auston
- Past President, Kavli Foundation
- Tom Everhart
- President Emeritus, Caltech
- David Gross, 2004 Nobel Prize in Physics
- James Langer, Past President, American Physical Society
- Venkatesh Narayanamurti
- Former Dean, Harvard SEAS
References
edit- ^ Admin, "Getting Science Right", Pacific Coast Business Times, Santa Barbara, CA, 7 September 2009. Retrieved on 7 November 2011.
- ^ "About Novim", Retrieved 7 November 2011.
- ^ Stanford Graduate School of Business Center for Social Innovation, "An interview with Michael Ditmore (MBA '70)", Published 11 October 2011, Retrieved 7 November 2011.
- ^ a b Ars Technica OpenForum, "Climate Change, the Science", First Post on 16 October 2011, Retrieved on 7 November 2011.
- ^ Climate intervention: what we need to know to respond to a climate emergency
- ^ Jonathan Tirone, "Geo-Engineering Risks Weigh on Hopes to Reverse Global Warming", Bloomberg, Published 3 August 2009, Retrieved 7 November 2011.
- ^ Hands Off Mother Earth, "Sulphate Aerosols & Artificial volcanoes"
- ^ CIGI Online, "CIGI Fellow Studies Geoengineering", Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI), Published 5 August 2009, Retrieved 7 November 2011.
- ^ John Tierney, "Is the Earth Warming? Adjust the Thermostat", The New York Times: 10 August 2009.
- ^ Joe Romm, "Science on the Risks of Climate Engineering: 'Optimism about a geoengineered ‘easy way out’ should be tempered by examination of currently observed climate changes'", ThinkProgress, published 29 August 2009
- ^ Tom McNichol, "Engineering a Better Climate", GOOD, published 11 January 2010
- ^ D Battisti et al, 2009 IOP Conf. Ser.: Earth Environ. Sci. 6 452015 doi:10.1088/1755-1307/6/45/452015
- ^ Jason Blackstock, "Developing Climate Engineering Responses to Climate Emergencies: Scientific Assessments and Policy Implications of Geoengineering Research", International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) Greenhouse Gas Initiative Seminar: July 2009.
- ^ Climate Engineering Responses to Climate Emergencies .
- ^ Chairman Bart Gordon, Committee on Science and Technology, U.S. House of Representatives, "Engineering the Climate: Research Needs and Strategies for International Coordination Report", 111th Congress 2nd Session: October 2010.
- ^ Gabriele C. Heger and Susan Solomon, "Climate Change: Risks of Climate Engineering", Science Magazine, Issue 21, August 2009: Vol. 325 no. 5493 pp. 955-956, DOI: 10.1126/science.1178530
- ^ Caspar M. Ammann, et. al, "Climate Engineering through artificial enhancement of natural forcings: Magnitudes and implied consequences", Journal of Geophysical Research, Vol. 115, D22109, 2010.
- ^ A. Zichichi (Series Editor and Chairman), International Seminar on Nuclear War and Planetary Emergencies 42nd Session, "E. Majorana" Centre for Scientific Culter, Erice, Italy: 19 - 24 August 2009.
- ^ Suggested Reading List, Trottier Symposium, McGill University, Montreal, Canada: 2009.
- ^ Associated background, Denver Climate Study Group: "Geoengineering - Why? and the next steps", Denver, CO: 10 November 2009
- ^ Annotated Bibliography on Climate Engineering, International Risk Governance Council meeting on geoengineering, Lisbon: April 2009.
- ^ Ian Sample, "Global warming study finds no grounds for climate sceptics' concerns", The Guardian, Published 20 October 2011, Retrieved 7 November 2011.
- ^ "BEST - The Study: Dataset", Retrieved 7 November 2011
- ^ "The heat is on", The Economist, From the print edition 22 October 2011, Retrieved 7 November 2011.
- ^ Richard A. Muller, "The Case Against Global-Warming Skepticism", The Wall Street Journal, 21 October 2011.
- ^ "Environmental Capital Group: Partners", Retrieved 7 November 2011.
- ^ "About Novim: Science Advisory Board", Retrieved 7 November 2011.