Joanne Nova

 Credentials

Joanne Nova holds a Bachelor of Science degree in microbiology from the University of Western Australia. She also has a Graduate Certificate in Science Communications from the Australian National University. [1]

 Background

Joanne Nova is a self-proclaimed climate change skeptic who declares that science has disproved the theory of anthropogenic global warming (AGW). Nova's most notable work in the area of climate change is the controversial document, "The Skeptic's Handbook."

The Skeptic's Handbook asserts that global warming is not caused by greenhouse gasses, that "the world has not warmed since 2001," and that any global warming is a natural process.

After graduation, Nova joined the Shell Questacon Science Circus, a Shell-sponsored program that employs university students to travel around Australia teaching interactive science programs to children.  Currently, Nova works as a professional speaker, the Director of Science Speak, and the writer and creator of the blog, JoNova.

Science Speak is a business Nova runs with fellow climate change skeptic David Evans.  It describes itself as a "scientific modeling and mathematical research company," that also "speak[s] about some science issues."  The website appears dedicated to the issue of global warming, yet doesn't appear to provide any examples of current projects or areas of research. [2]

Furthermore, Science Speak does not accredit Nova with any of its research in the area of global warming. With the exception of "The Skeptic's Handbook," Nova's written commentary on the failures of science communicators and journalists on the issue of global warming has been relatively limited to her personal blog.

Stance on Climate Change

The International Climate Science Coalition (ICSC) lists Joanne Nova as a "qualified endorser" of the Manhattan Declaration. The ICSC defines a qualified endorser as an individual that is "well-trained in science and technology or climate change-related economics and policy." [3]

Those who sign the Manhattan Declaration must agree, among other things, that "global warming is not a global crisis" and that "attempts by governments to legislate costly regulations on industry and individual citizens to encourage CO2 reduction will slow development while having no appreciable impact on the future trajectory of global climate change."

Key Quotes

"In the head-spinning cosmos of climate change, everyday hundreds of people claim there are 'thousands of papers' in support of a theory, yet no one can actually name one single paper with empirical evidence that shows carbon dioxide emissions are the main cause of global warming." [4]

Key Deeds

March 8 - 10, 2009

Nova was a speaker at the Heartland Institute's 2009 International Conference on Climate Change where she is listed as one of several specialists on the issue of global warming. [5]

She gave a presentation entitled, "The Great Global Fawning: How Science Journalists Pay Homage to Non-Science and Un-Reason." 

DeSmogBlog found that the sponsors of the 2009 conference had collectively received over $47 million from major oil companies and right-wing foundations.

2008

Published a booklet titled "Skeptics Handbook" (PDF). The booklet claims to be a guide to "Rise above the mod-slinging in the Global Warming Debate."

It summarizes many arguments popular with climate change skeptics including how greenhouse gasses haven't caused any warming, that temperature has led changes in cO2 emissions, that "Temperatures are not rising," and that "Carbon dioxide is already doing almost all the warming it can do. [6]

"The Skeptic's Handbook" has been debunked numerous times by DeSmogBlog and also by John Cook of Skeptical Science who wrote an article titled "A Scientific Guide to the 'Skeptic's Handbook': The evidence that humans are causing global warming."

Nova has published a sequel, "The Skeptic's Handbook II" (PDF), also known as "Global Bullies Want Your Money." This handbook generally attacks climate science with political polemic while accusing "Big Government" of squandering money on climate change.

Nova also published a lengthy paper for the Science and Public Policy Project (SPPI) titled "Climate Money" which appears to be an extended version of her second handbook. The SPPI article contends that the government has wasted money by pursing climate policy, and that climate science is generally one-sided and inaccurate, at least when it agrees that humans are causing global warming.

December, 2007

In 2007, the Heartland Institute arranged for and funded a group of scientists to be sent to Bali to challenge and protest the annual conference of the parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. [7]

Included in this team of "scientists" was Joanne Nova, as well as other prominent skeptics Christopher Monckton, Vincent Gray, Will Alexander, and David Evans. 

The group's activities attracted media coverage from outlets such as Fox News, Rush Limbaugh's radio show, and the Drudge Report.

 Affiliations

• Science Speak — Runs the website with David Evans.

 Publications

Although Joanne Nova has not published any research in peer-reviewed journals, she is often presented as an expert in the area of climate science.  For example, Fred Singer's Science & Environmental Policy Project (SEPP) describes Joanne Nova as holding a PhD in meteorology. [8]

Nova has also given presentations for the Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) and the Cooler Heads Coalition.

 Resources

1. "Joanne Nova: Biography," JoanneNova.com.au. Accessed February 4, 2012.

2. "About Us," Sciencespeak.com. Accessed February, 2012.

3. "QUALIFIED ENDORSERS NOT AT CONFERENCE," International Climate Science Coalition. Accessed February , 2012. Archived February 4, 2012, with WebCite.

4. "The Skeptics Handbook II: Global Bullies Want Your Money" (PDF), Joannanova.com.au.

5. "Heartland Institute/International Conference on Climate Change (2009)," SourceWatch.

6. "The Skeptic's Handbook" (PDF), JoanneNova.com. Accessed February, 2012.

7. "The Heartlander: February-March 2008," The Heartland Institute.

8. "The Week That Was (Oct 18, 2008) brought to you by SEPP," Science and Environmental Policy Project. Archived August 20, 2010.

9. "Joanne Nova," SourceWatch profile.