Scientists for Science-Based Policy- About The Photo

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A foundational pillar of all scientific endeavor is the establishment and preservation of all inquiry and knowledge that allows us to understand, and perhaps predict the future of, our world. The “Scientists for Science-Based Policy” is a platform for a group of Earth’s most distinguished scientists, all members of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, who are united by their profound concern about anthropogenically driven climate change and policies that undermine substantive measures to address it. They signed the letter on this website as individuals, but their warning should be heeded by us all.

GeneTex is honored to accept the invitation of the website’s creators to host it so that this message will be preserved for all to read.

It will be here for as long as GeneTex exists.

Photometers on Izaña Observatory, Tenerife

A variety of different measurements of atmospheric properties are taken at the Izaña Observatory. The three photometers in the photograph above are used for observing the characteristics of aerosol particles. Other instruments monitor atmospheric levels of heat-trapping greenhouse gases.

These measurements have been taken for more than 30 years. Over this period, atmospheric CO2 levels at Izaña have increased from roughly 345 parts per million to well over 400 parts per million. This inexorable increase is both compelling and concerning. Izaña is on Tenerife, the largest and most populous of Spain's Canary Islands. Located in the Atlantic Ocean off the northeast coast of Africa, the site is high up on a volcano (Mt. Teide) and far removed from urban pollution sources.

Measurements made at Izaña and elsewhere document how human activities are changing the chemical composition of Earth's atmosphere, even in some of the most remote regions of our planet. It is imperative that such critical scientific measurements continue, and that the best-available scientific information is used to inform policy decisions on climate change and many other significant societal issues.

Dr. Benjamin Santer, an atmospheric scientist and one of the organizers of the Statement, took this photo in March 2018.

Scientists for Science-Based Policy