American Physical Society (APS)
The American Physical Society (APS) is a U.S.-based nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing the knowledge and practice of physics. Founded in 1899, its initial focus was on organizing scientific meetings, but it later expanded its scope to include publishing scientific journals and participating in public and governmental affairs. With a membership of about 50,000 physicists, APS plays a significant role in advocating for science-based policy and education, addressing critical issues such as climate change.
The APS has established itself as an influential voice in discussions regarding global warming, encouraging scientists and the public to understand and mitigate the impact of human activities on the climate. It has taken concrete steps, such as becoming the first scientific organization in the U.S. to publish its own greenhouse gas emissions inventory, and actively lobbying against regulatory rollbacks on emissions. The APS has consistently maintained that the evidence for climate change is clear and pressing, calling for immediate action to address greenhouse gas emissions.
While the APS has faced controversy regarding its approach to climate change statements and the inclusion of differing perspectives, it remains committed to promoting scientific inquiry and public education on environmental issues. In recent updates to its climate statement, the APS reaffirmed its stance on the ongoing impact of human activities on the climate, emphasizing the need for continued efforts to address these challenges.
American Physical Society (APS)
Mission
The American Physical Society (APS) is a US-based nonprofit professional organization for physicists. The APS was initially organized, in 1899, to advance and diffuse the knowledge of physics, and in its early years the main activity of the society was to hold scientific meetings. In 1913, the APS turned to publishing scientific journals as a major activity. Later, the group became active in public and governmental affairs, as well as in the affairs of the international physics community. The society also provides a number of educational programs and functions as a lobbying and advocacy agency, making official statements on issues of critical importance to the nation.
Significance for Climate Change
The APS engages in significant public advocacy. It prepares personalized letters and e-mails for citizens to send to legislators, provides contact information for various science coalitions, and holds grassroots meetings to educate the public as to government activities and procedures. APS presentations provide an overview of lobbying efforts and governmental actions. The APS has asserted that physicists are essential to advancing understanding of the complex interactions of humanity and the climate. The organization often calls on scientists and governments to address gaps in the knowledge of climate science and pool their expertise in support of a global green economy.
In addition to published statements and lobbying efforts made by individuals in the APS, many of the approximately fifty thousand members of the society work to educate the public about the gravity of climate change in the hope of changing behaviors that contribute to emission of greenhouse gases. In 2017, the APS became the first scientific organization in the United States to assess and publish an inventory of its own greenhouse gas emissions. The APS also helped to overturn the Trump administration's rollback of regulations on emissions of methane.
Typical of advocacy statements adopted by the APS Council is a strong statement in 2007 that made clear the position of the APS on global warming and climate change:
Emissions of greenhouse gases from human activities are changing the atmosphere in ways that affect the Earth’s climate…. The evidence is incontrovertible: Global warming is occurring. If no mitigating actions are taken, significant disruptions in the Earth’s physical and ecological systems, social systems, security and human health are likely to occur. We must reduce emissions of greenhouse gases beginning now.
The APS urged scientists to redouble their efforts to understand the relationship between human activity and climate change and to develop new technologies to mitigate anthropogenic warming. The APS stood by this original statement in the years that followed its release, only making small copy edits in 2012 to the original document.
However, in 2014, the APS caused controversy when it appointed a number of climate change skeptics to the panel of experts advising on the revision of their 2007 statement. Meanwhile, the subcommittee dedicated to rewriting the statement did not include any physicists whose work was in the field of climate science. Both advocates and skeptics of the theory of anthropogenic climate change viewed this as a sign that the APS was stepping back from its previous strong position on climate change and adopting a more equivocal position.
In November 2021, the APS released a further revised "Statement on Earth's Changing Climate." In the updated statement, the APS confirmed their belief that the impact of human activities on the climate was continuing to grow, and the actions and decisions made at the time of publishing would have lasting effects over the next centuries. The organization also revised their logo, choosing to prominently include the word "physics."
Bibliography
"About APS." American Physical Society, www.aps.org/about. Accessed 13 Dec. 2024.
"American Physical Society Adopts New Statement on Earth's Changing Climate." American Physical Society, 10 Nov. 2021, www.aps.org/newsroom/pressreleases/climate.cfm. Accessed 10 Dec. 2024.
"Climate Change." American Physical Society, www.aps.org/policy/statements/07‗1.cfm. Accessed 10 Dec. 2024.
Pierrehumbert, Raymond T. "Climate Science Is Settled Enough." Slate. Slate Group, 1 Oct. 2014. Web. 20 Mar. 2015.
"What's In a Logo?" APS, 2022, www.aps.org/archives/publications/apsnews/200601/logo.cfm. Accessed 10 Dec. 2024.