Oakland, Calif— Is global warming real? Have any such predictions been established scientifically? Would massive “carbon” taxes and other controls put America and the world—especially the poor—at great risk?

These and other questions will be explored on Wednesday, July 24th at 7:30pm at an event at the Independent Institute Conference Center in Oakland.

Geoscientist and astrophysicist Dr. Willie Soon, Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, will explain why forecasts from CO2 climate models have been so wrong—and why solar influences on clouds, oceans, and wind drive climate change, not CO2 emissions.

Stanford University physicist Elliott Bloom will then comment.

Willie Soon received his Ph.D. (with distinction) in aeronautical engineering from the University of Southern California, and he has been Astronomer at the Mount Wilson Observatory; Senior Scientist at the George C. Marshall Institute; Senior Visiting Fellow at the State Key Laboratory of Marine Environmental Science at Xiamen University; and Professor of Environmental Studies at the University of Putra Malaysia.

Dr. Soon is the author of The Maunder Minimum: And the Variable Sun-Earth Connection (with S. H. Yaskell), Introduction to Astronomy (with P.N. Okeke) and Global Warming: A Guide to the Science (with S. Baliunas and A. Robinson), as well as over 90 scientific papers. He is the recipient of the IEEE Nuclear & Plasma Sciences Society Award, Rockwell Dennis Hunt Award, Smithsonian Institution Award, Courage in Defense of Science Award, Petr Beckmann Award for Courage and Achievement in Defense of Scientific Truth and Freedom, and Frederick Seitz Memorial Award.

Tickets for the event are sold out. Media interested in attending should contact Robert Ade, Communications Manager at the Independent Institute at [email protected], (510) 635-3690.

The Independent Institute is a non-profit, research, and educational organization that promotes the power of independent thinking to boldly advance peaceful, prosperous, and free societies grounded in a commitment to human worth and dignity. For more information, visit Independent.org. For media inquiries, contact Communications Manager Rob Ade: [email protected]; (510) 635-3690.