roy spencer

Roy Spencer, a climate expert at the University of Alabama in Huntsville, defending his calling critics "global warming Nazis." Spencer is pictured while giving testimony about climate change before a Senate committee in July 2013.

HUNTSVILLE, Alabama - A climate research professor at the University of Alabama in Huntsville today defended his use of the term "Nazi" in a blog post, saying he was responding to ridicule that had Nazi overtones.

Roy Spencer, who acknowledges his views on climate change are frequently contrary to more widespread views that humans are most responsible for global warming, objected to being called a "denier" when it comes to climate change.

His personal blog, which is not affiliated with UAH, includes a Feb. 20 entry headlined "Time to push back against the global warming Nazis."

"When people stop calling me a denier, which implies I'm as evil as a Holocaust denier, I will stop calling them global warming Nazis," Spencer told AL.com today.

The Atlanta-based Anti-Defamation League issued a statement Tuesday condemning Spencer's use of the term Nazi.

The statement from Shelley Rose, ADL Southeast Interim Regional Director, said in the statement that Spencer's "analogy of proponents of global warming to Nazis is outrageous and deeply offensive. This analogy is just the latest example of a troubling epidemic of comparisons to Hitler and the Holocaust."

The statement goes on to say, "The six million Jewish victims and millions of other victims of Hitler deserve better. Their deaths should not be used for political points or sloganeering. This type of comparison diminishes and trivializes the Holocaust. There is no place for it in civil discussions."

In his blog post, Spencer wrote, "Too many of us for too long have ignored the repulsive, extremist nature of the comparison (between Holocaust deniers and those who disagree that humans are the foremost cause of climate change, such as Spencer). It's time to push back. I'm now going to start calling these people "global warming Nazis."

Spencer said today that the use of the term denier to describe Spencer and those who shares his views are designed to be "more emotionally-laden, a term that had more emotional impact." He pointed to comments made in an Oct. 9, 2006 blog post by former University of Colorado associate professor Roger Pielke, who called for ending the use of the phrase "denier."



President Obama has used the term "denier" to describe those who disagree with his views on climate change.

"Why not just call us skeptics?" Spencer said. "Skepticism is normal in science."

'I knew it would get attention'

Spencer also said he expected that invoking the Nazi imagery in his blog would generate discussion.

"I knew it would get attention," he said. "It's to make a point that we don't like being called deniers. The clear implication there is you are as evil as a Holocaust denier and the other side has gotten away with merrily calling us deniers for the longest time - knowing fully well the historical implications of that term.

"I decided I've had enough and I'm going to turn it around on them. I'm going to explain how the Nazi imagery is more accurately applied to them because the policies, which they are promoting, whether they know it or not, are going to kill far more people than were killed in the Nazi Holocaust. It's a good way to get people to notice the issue, the underlying issues, related to energy policy. If they are going to do this, OK, here's a good way I can make my point to where it will get noticed. I knew I would take a lot of flak for it, too. So be it."

Spencer also questioned why the Anti-Defamation League does not protest the use of "deniers" when it has Nazi overtones.

"Where was the Anti-Defamation League when so many people, politicians, news people, other scientists have been calling us deniers?" he said. "Where was the Anti-Defamation League when that was going on?

"Yeah, I agree with them. Calling people Nazis is not something you do lightly. But my doing this is a response to the attacks I've been getting - which appeal to Nazi imagery, specifically the Holocaust. Where is the Anti-Defamation League on that issue? Why aren't they outraged on that?"

The "denier" description is not accurate, Spencer said.

"They call us climate change deniers," he said. "We don't deny climate change. They call us global warming deniers. We don't deny global warming. It's a lie."