Don Easterbrook

Don Easterbrook

Credentials

Background

Don Easterbrook is a Professor Emeritus of Glacial Geology and Environmental and Engineering Geology at Western Washington University.2Don J. Easterbrook, PhD,” Don J. Easterbrook. Archived November 29, 2016. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/GOrZt

Don Easterbrook is the editor of Evidence-Based Climate Science, a book which claims to produce data that is “counter-global-warming evidence not embraced by proponents of CO2.” The book (PDF) includes work by Easterbrook himself, and a range of noted climate change deniers including Steve Goddard, Joseph D’Aleo, Nils-Axel Mörner, David Archibald, Nicola Scafetta, Christopher Monckton, and others.3Evidence-Based Climate Science: 1st Edition. Elsevier, August 25, 2011. ISBN: 9780123859563 4“Evidence-Based Climate Science: Data opposing CO2 emissions as the primary source of global warming” (PDF), Elsevier, September 2011. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.

Easterbrook is a regular speaker at the Heartland Institute‘s International Conference on Climate Change. The Heartland Institute and its conference sponsors have collectively received millions of dollars in funding from the fossil fuel industry.5The Heartland Institute,” DeSmog profile.

In 2013, Easterbrook argued before the Washington State Senate Committee on Climate Change that peer-reviewed data showing global warming had been “tampered with by NOAA and NASA.” In the same presentation, he also said that ”CO2 cannot possibly cause global warming,” and that “Global warming ended in 1998.”6Man made global warming and ocean acidification thoroughly and scientifically discredited.” YouTube video uploaded by user Patrick Roddie on September 22, 2014. Archived .mp4 on file at DeSmog.

Stance on Climate Change

March 26, 2013

May 2008

“We are entering a solar cycle of much reduced sunspots, very similar to that which accompanied the change from the Medieval Warm Period to the Little Ice Age, which virtually all scientists agree was caused by solar variation. Thus, we seem to be headed for cooler temperatures as a result of reduced solar irradiance.”12“Recent Global Cooling: Summary” (PDF), by Don Easterbrook, May 13, 2008.

Key Quotes

May 2016

Speaking to a crowd at The Kitsap Patriots Tea Party, Easterbrook says the Paris Climate treaty, which he adds “doesn’t have any power at all,” intends to “establish a global socialistic government run by the UN with no elections or accountability.”13Exposing the Climate Change Myth Featuring Dr Easterbrook,” YouTube video uploaded by user indianola1, June 11, 2016. Archived .mp4 on file at DeSmog.

“I used to believe in apple pie and motherhood and NOAA and NASA. These were all the things that were pure and good. Now I just believe in apple pie and motherhood,” Easterbrook said. “There is this massive fraudulent corruption of data by NOAA and NASA.”

July 2015

Don Easterbrook described the Heartland Institute‘s International Conference on Climate Change as “my people,” and that speaking at the event will bel like “preaching to the choir.” View video via Internet Archive.14Dr Easterbrook Global Warming HOAX & Facts,” YouTube video uploaded by user Justin H on July 22, 2015. See timestamp 1:21:40. Archived .mp4 on file at DeSmog.

July 18, 2014

Don Easterbrook gave Marc Morano‘s Climate Depot an “exclusive […] point-by-point rebuttal to the new NOAA climate report.” Easterbrooks claimed included the following:15Marc Morano. “Climate Catastrophe Cancelled! Geologist Debunks NOAA Climate Report Point-By-Point,” Climate Depot, July 18, 2014. Archived November 28, 2016. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/QJYKn

”[…] CO2 levels for the past 500 million years were consistently greater than 3,000 ppm. 400ppm is abnormally low.”16Marc Morano. “Climate Catastrophe Cancelled! Geologist Debunks NOAA Climate Report Point-By-Point,” Climate Depot, July 18, 2014. Archived November 28, 2016. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/QJYKn

“If you double nothing (0.004%), you still have nothing!”17Marc Morano. “Climate Catastrophe Cancelled! Geologist Debunks NOAA Climate Report Point-By-Point,” Climate Depot, July 18, 2014. Archived November 28, 2016. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/QJYKn

“[R]ates of sea level rise have declined slightly and are about 1.7 mmyr. Sea level has been rising at a relatively constant rate of only ~7 inches per century–that’s 3 1/2 inches in the next 50 years.18Marc Morano. “Climate Catastrophe Cancelled! Geologist Debunks NOAA Climate Report Point-By-Point,” Climate Depot, July 18, 2014. Archived November 28, 2016. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/QJYKn

Responding to the NOAA’s statement that most parts of the planet had experienced above-average temperatures in 2013, Easterbrook said they had reached this “only by massive tampering with temp records.”19Marc Morano. “Climate Catastrophe Cancelled! Geologist Debunks NOAA Climate Report Point-By-Point,” Climate Depot, July 18, 2014. Archived November 28, 2016. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/QJYKn

July 2014

“I am continuing to predict global cooling for the next couple of decades at least.”20Return of Climate Denial-a-Palooza: Heartland Institute Hitches Anti-Science Wagon to Vegas FreedomFest,” DeSmog, July 7, 2014. Archived July 14, 2014.

March 26, 2013

“In God we trust. All others bring data.”21Man made global warming and ocean acidification thoroughly and scientifically discredited.” YouTube video uploaded by user Patrick Roddie on September 22, 2014. Archived .mp4 on file at DeSmog.

October 2006

“If the cycles continue as in the past, the current warm cycle should end soon and global temperatures should cool slightly until about 2035, then warm about 0.5°C from ~2035 to ~2065, and cool slightly until 2100. The total increase in global warming for the century should be ~0.3 °C, rather than the catastrophic warming of 3-6°C (4-11°F) predicted by the IPCC.”22The Cause of Global Warming and Predictions for the Coming Century,” Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, Vol. 38, No. 7, p. 235.

Key Deeds

September 24, 2020

Appearing in Marc Morano’s 2020 film Climate Hustle 2: Rise of the Climate Monarchy, produced by the Committee for a Constructive Tomorrow (CFACT), Easterbrook disputed that climate change had contributed to recent temperature increases, stating:23 Climate Hustle 2: Rise of the Climate Monarchy. CFACT/ CDR Communications, Inc., 2020

“If you look at maximum temperatures, the 1930s are way, way above anything in the post 2000 era.”

Easterbrook questioned the causal link between climate change and rising global temperatures, stating:

“And so that whole claim that each year is hotter than the next doesn’t really take into account the 1930s heat wave. And the reason it doesn’t is because both NOAA and NASA and other agencies in England have subtracted temperatures from the 1930s to make them look cooler.”

Easterbrook also questioned the severity of sea level rise, stating:

“there seems to be a very stable, steady rise of sea level at about seven inches per century. So if you look at a human life in terms of a 50 year period, that’s about three and a half inches and you’re never gonna know it.”

March 23, 2017

Easterbrook spoke at the Heartland Institute‘s 12th International Conference on Cimate Change (ICCC12) on “Panel 1B: Climate Science.”24DON EASTERBROOK,” Climateconference.heartland.org. Archived April 5, 2017. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/PvNzP

February 23, 2017

Don Easterbrook was a signatory of a petition (PDF) organized by Richard Lindzen of the Cato Institute urging President Donald Trump to pull the United States out of the United Nations international convention on climate change (UNFCCC).25“PETITION” (PDF), February 23, 2017. Richard Lindzen. PDF Archived at DeSmog.

“In just a few weeks, more than 300 eminent scientists and other qualified individuals from around the world have signed the petition below,” Lindzen wrote in the letter.26“PETITION” (PDF), February 23, 2017. Richard Lindzen. PDF Archived at DeSmog.

DeSmog investigated the list, and found that only a small handful of the signatories could be considered “even remotely ‘qualified’ or ‘eminent’ — but not in the field of climate science.” The list included individuals “interested in climate,” and one signatory who only identified as an “emailer who wished to sign the petition” while some signers provided no affiliation or address whatsoever.27Graham Readfearn. “Climate Science Denier Richard Lindzen’s List of 300 “Scientists” Sent to Trump Is the Usual Parade of Non-Experts,” DeSmog, February 27, 2017.

August 2016

Don Easterbrook is listed as a “Founding Member” of group named Climate Exit (Clexit) led by climate change denier Christopher Monckton. According to Clexit’s founding statement (PDF), “The world must abandon this suicidal Global Warming crusade. Man does not and cannot control the climate.”28The Clexit Committee comprises” (PDF), Clexit.net. Archived.pdf on file at Desmog. 29“After Brexit, Clexit” (PDF), Clexit.net. Archived .pdf on file at Desmog.

Desmog reports on how the group grew in the wake of the UK’s decision to leave the EU. A key member of Clexit’s “60 well-informed science, business and economic leaders” is Hugh Morgan, a former board member of the Reserve Bank of Australia and former CEO of Western Mining Corporation with close ties to Australia’s Liberal party.30Graham Readfearn. “After Brexit, Climate Science Denialists Form New Group to Call for a Clexit,” Desmog, August 3, 2016. 31Hugh Morgan AO,” Australian Government Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. Archived February 22, 2002. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/1ObOB

According to Clexit’s founding statement:

“If the Paris climate accord is ratified, or enforced locally by compliant governments, it will strangle the leading economies of the world with pointless carbon taxes and costly climate and energy policies, all with no sound basis in evidence or science […]”32“After Brexit, Clexit” (PDF), Clexit.net. Archived .pdf on file at Desmog.

May 7, 2016

Don Easterbrook was the keynote speaker at an event hosted by the Kitsap Patriots Tea Party and Silverdale-Seabeck Republican Women titled “Exposing the Climate Change Myth.” Video below:33SPECIAL EVENT: Climate Myth Featuring Dr Easterbrook,” Kitsap Patriots Tea Party, May 7, 2016. Archived November 29, 2016. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/pUOqZ

May 2, 2016

Don Easterbrook was listed among “Key Scientists” appearing in Marc Morano‘s movie, Climate Hustle. The full list included the following:34“Background on Key Scientists Appearing in Climate Hustle” (PDF), ClimateHustle.org. Archived .pdf on file at Desmog.

Marc Morano’s Climate Hustle was released in U.S. theatres on May 2, 2016. Bill Nye described it as “not in our national interest and the world’s interest.”35‘Climate Hustle’ debuts as skeptics take on global-warming ‘consensus’,” The Washington Times, May 1, 2016. Archived August 26, 2016. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/XtLXp

The film was produced by the Committee for Constructive Tomorrow (CFACT) and CDRCommunications. As noted at Desmog’s project, ClimateHustler.org, CFACT has received funding from ExxonMobil, Chevron, as well as hundreds of thousands of dollars from foundations associated with Richard Mellon Scaife. CFACT has also received at least $7.8 million in “dark money” through DonorsTrust and Donors Capital Fund.36Background on Climate Hustle Host and Producers,” ClimateHustle.org. Archived .pdf on file at Desmog. 37Homepage, climatehustler.org. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/NB9qn

CDR Communications was behind the 2010 video by the Cornwall Alliance titled Resisting the Green Dragon, which claimed environmentalism was a “false religion” and a “global government” power grab. Chris Rogers of CDR Communictions is also chairman of The James Partnership, the umbrella arm that includes the Cornwall Alliance as one of its projects and pays the salary of Calvin Beisner, Cornwall’s founder and spokesperson.38Graham Readfearn. “The Evangelical Christian Climate Deniers Behind Marc Morano’s Climate Hustle Documentary,” Desmog, November 19, 2015.

Climate Hustle initially premiered on December 7, 2015 in Paris, France during the COP21 United Nations summit on climate change.39Matthew Kasper, “Climate Hustle, Latest Global Warming Denial Documentary, Set For World Premiere In Paris During COP21,” Republic Report, November 13, 2015. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/s7OHs 40Climate Hustle,” SourceWatch, accessed November 14, 2015. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/bOG35

“We are putting together what I think is the most comprehensive, unique, entertaining and humorous climate documentary that has ever been done or attempted,” Morano had said before the film was released.41Graham Readfearn. “Marc Morano’s Climate Hustle Film Set For Paris Premiere With Same Old Denial Myths,” Desmog, November 12, 2015.

“The reason that this is a unique film,” Morano has said, “is that we are going for a pop culture-friendly… sarcastic approach and we actually give both sides in this movie.”

In an interview with Ezra Levant, Morano said:

“I am not interviewing a lot of the main climate sceptical scientists because I feel like they have been interviewed by many other people and their stories have been told. I am trying to find another layer of scientist whose stories have not been out there yet. You will see a lot of new names in this.”42Graham Readfearn. “Marc Morano’s Climate Hustle Film Set For Paris Premiere With Same Old Denial Myths,” Desmog, November 12, 2015.

See a preview of the film below:

At the Paris premier of the film, reporters from Desmog and the Irish Times were denied entrance after having their RSVPs accepted days earlier.43Graham Readfearn. “The Fakery of the Paris ‘Red Carpet’ Premiere of Marc Morano’s Climate Hustle Film,” Desmog, December 30, 2015.

December 7, 2015

Don Easterbrook appears as a “Key Scientist” in Marc Morano’s documentary film, Climate Hustle, which debuted on December 7, 2015, in Paris, France during the COP21 United Nations summit on climate change. The film chiefly showcases Morano’s personality, a range of discredited scientists, and no new factual information about climate change.44“Background on Key Scientists Appearing in Climate Hustle” (PDF), ClimateHustle.org. Archived .pdf on file at Desmog.

Other notable “Key Scientists” featured in Climate Hustle include:45“Background on Key Scientists Appearing in Climate Hustle” (PDF), ClimateHustle.org. Archived .pdf on file at Desmog.

November 19, 2015

Don Easterbrook was a speaker at an event hosted by the Texas Public Policy Foundation titled “At the Crossroads Energy & Climate Policy Summit.”46At The CrossRoads Energy & Climate Policy Summit,” Crossroads-Summit.com. Archived July 4, 2016. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.

Easterbrook spoke as part of Session 1, “The Earth’s Climate History” alongside H. Leighton Steward. According to the event description, “This panel will discuss the earth’s 1500-year climate cycles which, at times, have had higher temperatures and CO2 levels than today.”47At The CrossRoads Energy & Climate Policy Summit,” Crossroads-Summit.com. Archived July 4, 2016. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.

The full list of event speakers was as follows:48At The CrossRoads Energy & Climate Policy Summit,” Crossroads-Summit.com. Archived July 4, 2016. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.

Robert E. MurrayFounder, Chairman, President, and CEO of Murray Energy Corporation, the nation’s largest underground coal mining commpany.
H. Leighton StewardMember, TheRightClimateStuff.com
Dr. Don EasterbrookProfessor Emeritus of Geology at Western Washington University
Dr. Will HapperCyrus Fogg Brackett Professor of Physics, Emeritus, Princeton University
Dr. Richard LindzenAlfred P. Sloan Professor of Meteorology, Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences, MIT
Dr. Patrick MooreAuthor and founding member of Greenpeace
Dr. E. Calvin BeisnerSpokesman for the Cornwall Alliance for the Stewardship of Creation
Horace CooperAdjunct Fellow, National Center for Public Policy Research
Dr. Caleb RossiterAdjunct Professor, School of International Service and Adjunct Professor, Department of Mathematics and Statistics, College of Arts and Sciences at American University
Mark P. MillsSenior Fellow, Manhattan Institute and founder andCEO, Digital Power Group
Dr. Hal DoironFormer NASA Engineer and Chairman, The Right Climate Stuff Research Team
Walter CunninghamFighter Pilot, Col. USMCR-Ret.; Physicist; Apollo 7 Astronaut
Dr. George L. StegemeierPresident, GLS Engineering, Inc.
Stephen MooreDistinguished Visiting Fellow on the Project for Economic Growth at the Heritage Foundation
Robert L. Bradley Jr.CEO, Institute for Energy Research
Mike NasPartner, Environmental and Legislative Affairs Practice Group, Jackson Walker L.L.P.
Marc MoranoFounder, ClimateDepot.com
Ray GiffordPartner, Wilkinson Barker Knauer LLP
Brian LloydExecutive Director, Public Utility Commission of Texas
John CornynU.S. Senator and Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn

July 18, 2014

Don Easterbrook gave Marc Morano‘s Climate Depot an “exclusive […] point-by-point rebuttal to the new NOAA climate report.” Easterbrook’s list itself features a number of claims, that themselves have been debunked by scientists at Skeptical Science.49Global Warming & Climate Change Myths,” Skeptical Science. 50Marc Morano. “Climate Catastrophe Cancelled! Geologist Debunks NOAA Climate Report Point-By-Point,” Climate Depot, July 18, 2014. Archived November 28, 2016. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/QJYKn

July 7–9, 2014

Don Easterbrook was a speaker at the Heartland Institute’s Ninth International Conference on Climate Change (ICCC9) in Las Vegas, Nevada.51Return of Climate Denial-a-Palooza: Heartland Institute Hitches Anti-Science Wagon to Vegas FreedomFest,” DeSmog, July 7, 2014. Archived July 14, 2014.

He spoke on Panel 19: “Looking Ahead: Future Climates” with Marlo Lewis, Willis Eschenbach, and Terrence Flower.

Panel 19: Looking Ahead: Future Climates

Panel 19 Q & A

DeSmog has done in-depth research on the other speakers and sponsors from Heartland’s ICCC9, which can be found here.52Return of Climate Denial-a-Palooza: Heartland Institute Hitches Anti-Science Wagon to Vegas FreedomFest,” DeSmog, July 7, 2014. Archived July 14, 2014.

March 26, 2013

Don Easterbrook made a presentation to the Washington State Senate Committee on Climate Change, attempting to provide evidence to counter the Senate Bill 5502.53Man made global warming and ocean acidification thoroughly and scientifically discredited.” YouTube video uploaded by user Patrick Roddie on September 22, 2014. Archived .mp4 on file at DeSmog.

Don Easterbrook introduces himself as ”[S]imply a geologist with 50 years of expertise and research in global climate change all over the world. I am a lifelong environmentalist. I am a scientist. I am not political. I don’t have any particular bias towards either party, so I have no political agenda. I am not associated with or funded by any business group; I am not a shill for big oil, big coal, big anybody. All of my research has been funded by government agencies.”54Man made global warming and ocean acidification thoroughly and scientifically discredited.” YouTube video uploaded by user Patrick Roddie on September 22, 2014. Archived .mp4 on file at DeSmog.

Easterbrook makes a number of assertions in his testimony, including:55Man made global warming and ocean acidification thoroughly and scientifically discredited.” YouTube video uploaded by user Patrick Roddie on September 22, 2014. Archived .mp4 on file at DeSmog.

  • “Global warming ended in 1998. […] There has been no global warming in 15 years.”
  • “The Antarctic ice sheet is not melting […] the main ice sheet is in fact growing. […] ”
  • “CO2 cannot possibly cause global warming.”
  • “Severe storms are not more frequent than normal.”
  • “You may be surprised to know the oceans are not acid.” (Clarifying this, Easterbrook responds to the question of whether ocean acidification exists with “no.”)

Easterbrook posits that NOAA and NASA manipulated the data to create a global warming trend:

“What about all the claims then that temperatures are warmer now than they have ever been?” Easterbrook asks. “These are patently not true. Those claims come from manipulation of data. […] The hottest year of record number one […] is 1936. Everybody has acknowledged 1936 was the warmest year of this century. Until NOAA and NASA begin to manipulate the old data and made it cooler, and elevated the recent temperatures and made them warmer.”56Man made global warming and ocean acidification thoroughly and scientifically discredited.” YouTube video uploaded by user Patrick Roddie on September 22, 2014. Archived .mp4 on file at DeSmog.

When a panel member responds to Easterbrook’s above statement, noting that peer-reviewed data runs contrary to what Easterbrook presented, Easterbrook responds that “what I’m showing you is the original data” while the widely-accepted peer-reviewed data “has been tampered with by NOAA and by NASA.”

May 21–23, 2012

Easterbrook was a speaker at the Heartland Institute‘s 7th International Conference on Climate Change (ICCC7).57ICCC – 7,” Internatinoal Conferences on Climate Change. Archived .mp4 on file at DeSmog.

His speech, titled “Are Forecasts of a 20-Year Cooling Trend Credible?” can be viewed below.

DeSmog researched the co-sponsors behind Heartland’s ICCC7 and found that they had collectively received over $67 million from ExxonMobil, the Koch Brothers and the conservative Scaife family foundations.58Brendan DeMelle. “Heartland Denial-a-Palooza Sponsors Have Received Million From ExxonMobil, Koch and Scaife Foundations,” DeSmog, May 22, 2012.

Skeptical Science reported on Easterbrook’s global cooling presentation, and found that “Easterbrook had to distort the IPCC’s actual model projections” in order to make his claims. Easterbrook had said: “In fact the IPCC predicted in the year 2000 that we would be experiencing 1 degree increase in temperature between the year 2000 and 2010.”59Don Easterbrook’s Heartland Distortion of Reality,” Skeptical Science, June 7, 2012. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/k2lsP

Skeptical Science summarized Easterbrook’s distortions as follows:60Don Easterbrook’s Heartland Distortion of Reality,” Skeptical Science, June 7, 2012. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/k2lsP

  • He chose a figure which represented model simulations of temperature responses only to greenhouse gas changes, which neglects for example the temperature response to the cooling effects of aerosols.
  • He chose a single model run with an anomalous temperature spike in 2011.
  • He only presented the data from 2000 to 2011, which concealed the fact that the temperature spike in 2011 was a short-term anomaly.
  • He exaggerated his distorted IPCC temperature rise by a factor of two.

August 25, 2011

Don Easterbrook published “Evidence-Based Climate Science: Data Opposing CO2 Emissions as the Primary Source of Global Warming.” According to the publication’s description at Elsevier:61Evidence-Based Climate Science: 1st Edition. Elsevier, August 25, 2011. ISBN: 9780123859563

“Evidence-Based Climate Science: Data opposing CO2 emissions as the primary source of global warming objectively gathers and analyzes scientific data concerning patterns of past climate changes, influences of changes in ocean temperatures, the effect of solar variation on global climate, and the effect of CO2 on global climate to clearly and objectively present counter-global-warming evidence not embraced by proponents of CO2.”62Evidence-Based Climate Science: 1st Edition. Elsevier, August 25, 2011. ISBN: 9780123859563

May 27, 2011

Don Easterbrook was one of fourteen Amici, described as “well-qualified climate scientists,” who claimed that the “EPA’s endangerment finding is not ‘rational’ and therefore arbitrary and capricious.”63COALITION FOR RESPONSIBLE REGULATION, INC., ET AL. (Petitioners) v. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY AND LISA P. JACKSON, ADMINISTRATOR, Respondents (PDF). Retrieved from World Climate Report. Archived.pdf on file at Desmog.

According to the petitioners, representing the Coalition for Responsible Regulation, Inc.:64COALITION FOR RESPONSIBLE REGULATION, INC., ET AL. (Petitioners) v. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY AND LISA P. JACKSON, ADMINISTRATOR, Respondents (PDF). Retrieved from World Climate Report. Archived.pdf on file at Desmog.

“[T]he Earth’s climate is not changing in an unusual or anomalous fashion. The EPA relied on instrumental data that were adjusted to exaggerate the increase in global temperatures.”65COALITION FOR RESPONSIBLE REGULATION, INC., ET AL. (Petitioners) v. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY AND LISA P. JACKSON, ADMINISTRATOR, Respondents (PDF). Retrieved from World Climate Report. Archived.pdf on file at Desmog.

Petitioners listed were:

May 2010

Don Easterbrook spoke at the Heartland Institute‘s Fourth International Conference on Climate Change (ICCC 4). His presentation, titled ”The Looming Threat of Global Cooling” can be viewed below.66Don Easterbrook, ICCC4,” International Conferences on Climate Change. Archived .mp4 on file at DeSmog.

DeSmog has done research on the co-sponsors of the conference and found that 19 of the 65 sponsors (including Heartland itself) have received a total of over $40 million in funding since 1985 from ExxonMobil, Koch Industries family foundations or the Scaife family foundations.

March 2009

Don Easterbrook spoke at the Heartland Institute‘s Second International Conference on Climate Change (ICCC2). His presentation, titled “’Global Warming’ Is Over: Geologic, Oceanographic, and Solar Evidence for Global Cooling in the Coming Decades.” can be viewed below.67Don Easterbrook,” SourceWatch profile.

DeSmog researched the funding behind the conference and found that sponsor organizations had collectively received over $47 million from energy companies and right-wing foundations, with 78% of that total coming from the Scaife Family of foundations.

March 2008

Easterbrook is listed as a signatory to the Manhattan Declaration on Climate Change which declares that global warming is “not a global crisis.”68Declaration Signatories Include Impressive List of Scientists,” Heartland Institute, October 9, 2008. Archived March 19, 2015. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/PSA7w

The Declaration was introduced at the Heartland Institute’s 2008 International Conference on Climate Change in New York.

December 2008

As reported a Watts Up With That (WUWT), Don Easterbrook presented at the American Geophysical Union annual meeting in San Francisco. His presentation was titled “Solar Influence on Recurring Global, Decadal, Climate Cycles Recorded by Glacial Fluctuations, Ice Cores, Sea Surface Temperatures, and Historic Measurements Over the Past Millennium.”69Anthony Watts. “Don Easterbrook’s AGU paper on potential global cooling,” Watts Up With That? December 29, 2008. Archived November 29, 2016. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/tQglB

Skeptical Science broke down Easterbrook’s global cooling projections, and found “Easterbrook’s predictions are based on assuming that correlation equals causation, and a few of the myths in our database including the top 2 most used ‘skeptic’ arguments – ‘Climate’s changed before’, ‘It’s the sun’, and ‘It’s Pacific Decadal Oscillation’. Easterbrook assumes that the cooling periods in the past might be repeated again in the future, presuming they were mainly caused by solar activity and PDO.”70Lessons from Past Climate Predictions: Don Easterbrook,” Skeptical Science. Archived November 29, 2016. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/osH1p

“He simply assumes that correlation equals causation and future climate change will be similar to past patterns. However, given that human greenhouse gas emissions are dominating current and future climate changes, ignoring this elephant in the room is the primary cause for Easterbrook’s projection inaccuracy,” Skeptical Science concludes.71Lessons from Past Climate Predictions: Don Easterbrook,” Skeptical Science. Archived November 29, 2016. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/osH1p

Dec 20, 2007

Easterbrook’s name appears on a Submission from the Lavoisier Group to the Garnaut Climate Change Review (PDF).72“Submission from the Lavoisier Group to the Garnaut Climate Change Review” (PDF), Lavoisier Group. Archived .pdf on file at Desmog.

March 2007

Easterbrook was interviewed in a New York Times piece titled “From a Rapt Audience, a Call to Cool the Hype” where he is presented as a professor of Geology who “cited ‘inaccuracies’ in ‘An Inconvenient Truth’.” The article mentions other climate change skeptics including Richard Lindzen, Bjørn Lomborg, Roy Spencer, and Benny J. Peiser.73William J. Broad. “From a Rapt Audience, a Call to Cool the Hype,” The New York Times, March 13, 2007. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/AvDyn

Easterbrook is described as having “no political axe to grind,” and as being a “rank-and-file” scientist, despite his skeptical views on global warming which put him at odds with the scientific majority.74Julie Millican and Rob Dietz. “NY Times article misrepresented Gore statements on sea level, hurricanes; mis-ID’ed global warming skeptic as ‘rank-and-file scientist’,” Media Matters, March 15, 2008.

Affiliations

Publications

Easterbrook’s profile at the Department of Geology of Western Washington University includes the following list of papers on the topic of “Global Climate Change, Global Warming” (PDFs are available here):

Sample Publications

  • Don J. Easterbrook, “Global Cooling is Here: Evidence for Predicting Global Cooling for the Next Three Decades.” Global Research, November 2, 2008 (Department of Geology, Western Washington University).
  • Easterbrook, D.J., 2005, “Causes and effects of abrupt, global, climate changes and global warming,” Geological Society of America, Abstracts with Program, v.
  • Easterbrook, D.J., Evenson, E.B., Gosse, J., Ivy-Ochs,S., Kovanen, D.J., and Sherard, C.A., 2004, “Synchronous, global, late Pleistocene ice sheet and alpine glacial fluctuations,” Geological Society of America.
  • Easterbrook, D.J., 2003, “Global, double, Younger Dryas, glacial fluctuations in ice sheets and alpine glaciers,” International Quaternary Association.
  • Easterbrook, D.J., 2003, “Synchronicity and sensitivity of alpine and continental glaciers to abrupt, global, climatic changes during the Younger Dryas” Geological Society of America, Abstracts with Program, v.
  • Easterbrook, D.J., 2002, “Implications of Younger Dryas glacial fluctuations in the western U.S., New Zealand, and Europe,” Geological Society of America, Abstracts with Program, v.

Other Resources

Resources

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