Advancement of Sound Science Center (TASSC)
The Advancement of Sound Science Center (TASSC) is a lobbying organization that emerged from the tobacco industry, initially aimed at undermining health warnings about second-hand smoke. Founded by the public relations firm APCO, TASSC expanded its focus to challenge broader environmental concerns, such as global warming and chemical safety, which it labeled as "junk science." A notable figure associated with TASSC is Steven Milloy, a libertarian commentator known for his skepticism regarding climate science and his management of the website junkscience.com. TASSC received funding from various corporations, including major oil and chemical companies, which fueled its efforts to question scientific consensus on climate change. The organization's activities included encouraging public outreach against greenhouse gas emission reductions and disputing scientific assessments of environmental issues. TASSC has been instrumental in promoting skepticism about climate change and has offered financial incentives for anyone who could scientifically prove human contributions to global warming. Its legacy is tied to broader discussions about the intersection of science, industry, and public policy.
Advancement of Sound Science Center (TASSC)
- DATE: Established 1993
Mission
The Advancement of Sound Science Center (TASSC), previously the Advancement of Sound Science Coalition, was a lobbying group run by the public relations firm APCO and founded by the tobacco industry. Originally established to provide scientific arguments against the dangers of second-hand smoke, TASSC expanded its mission to also advance the idea that warnings about other environmental dangers, including global warming and chemical exposure, were based on what the group labeled “junk science.” TASSC’s chief spokesman was libertarian Steven Milloy, commentator for Fox News and creator of the Web site junkscience.com. Other advisers to TASSC included former New Mexico governor Garrey Carruthers and global warming skeptics S. Fred Singer, Michael Fumento, and Patrick J. Michaels. TASSC received financial support from Amoco, Exxon, Dow Chemical, Occidental Petroleum, Philip Morris, and other corporations.
Significance for Climate Change
It is difficult to separate the activities of Steven Milloy from those of TASSC. TASSC was operated out of Milloy’s home, and there was no other paid staff. Initially, TASSC was listed as the sponsor of the Web site junkscience.com, but after the Web site’s corporate ties were exposed, the site ran under the sponsorship of Citizens for the Integrity of Science, another group run by Milloy using the same mailing address and phone number that TASSC had used.
TASSC played a role in raising early questions about the scientific consensus about the causes of global warming. In 1997, for example, the group invited citizens to read about global warming on its Web site and then to send emails to President Bill Clinton about proposed reductions in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Articles available on the Web site were unanimously dismissive of the seriousness of global warming. One, titled “Kangaroo Court: The Working Group on Public Health and Fossil Fuel Combustion,” argued that “A kangaroo court of junk scientists predicts that 8 million people will die during 2000 to 2020 from air pollution associated with fossil fuel, unless the world limits GHG emissions to levels advocated by European nations.”
In 2004, Milloy was among the public critics of the Arctic Climate Impact Assessment. In 2008, his Web site offered “The Ultimate Global Warming Challenge,” a half-million-dollar prize to the first person to prove, “in a scientific manner, that humans are causing harmful global warming.” By 2020, the organization waas considered defunct.
"Advancement of Sound Science Coalition." DeSmog, 2024, www.desmog.com/advancement-sound-science-coalition/. Accessed 21 Dec. 2024.