H. Sterling Burnett

Credentials

• Ph.D., Applied Philosophy, Bowling Green State University (2001).
• M.A., Applied Philosophy, Bowling Green State University, (1992).
• B.A., Cultural Anthropology, Southern Methodist University, (1986).

Source: [1]

Background

H. Sterling Burnett is a Senior Fellow for the National Center for Policy Analysis (NCPA).

According to the National Center for Policy Analysis, "He has held various positions in professional and public policy organizations, including serving as a member of the Environment and Natural Resources Task Force in the Texas Comptroller's e-Texas commission, board of directors of the Dallas Woods and Water Conservation Club, and adviser for the American Legislative Exchange Council's Natural Resources Task Force." [2]

Stance on Climate Change

• "Proponents of policies to control human-induced global warming cite science as the basis for their claims and proposals. There is only one problem -- as much as they claim otherwise, there is no scientific consensus for their theories." [3]

• "In other words, we do not know if the earth will get warmer or cooler in the future, and if temperatures do change, by how much or when, or if public policies can affect future temperature change." [4]

• "The current warming trend began as Earth came out of the little
  ice age—an important fact that is all too often overlooked in the global warming debate." [5]

Key Quotes

"there is no predicted human health effect from increased CO2 emissions at any foreseeable level. . . . nothing the EPA could do would reduce the speculative effects of global warming on sea levels, human health, or weather patterns — since EPA regulations can't affect these things, it ought not to regulate emissions as if it could." [6]

Burnett commented on the Gulf Oil Spill, claiming that "Environmentalists hyped the spill in an attempt to push the Senate to pass the largest energy tax in history." His policy center also issued a press release describing the situation on the Gulf Coast as "more hype than reality." [7], [8]

In a May 2006 Fox News interview, Burnett compared Al Gore's Inconvenient Truth to Nazi propagandist Joseph Goebells' films. Burnett stated: [9]

"You don't go see Joseph Goebbels' films to see the truth about Nazi Germany. You don't want to go see Al Gore's film to see the truth about global warming."

Key Deeds

December 4, 2010

Attended the Cancun Climate Change Summit. He was interviewed by the BBC shortly before attending the summit:

April 9, 2008

Testified (PDF) before the Texas House Select Committee on Electric Generation & Environmental Effects on the topic of "Electrical Power for Texas: Economic and Environmental Considerations." [10]

In his testimony, Burnett concludes, with regards to the concern that "the [coal-fired] plants will emit large quantities of carbon dioxide and contribute to global warming," he has attached a "primer" that would explain why "this should not be an issue preventing the building of new coal fired power plants."

Affiliations

• The Heartland Institute — "Expert" [11]

• National Center for Policy Analysis (NCPA) — "Senior Fellow," specializing in "environmental policy and gun policy." [2]

• American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) — Adviser, Environment, Natural Resources and Agriculture Task Force. [2]

• Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) — Environmental Research Associate (1990). [2]

• Foundation for Research on Economics and the Environment (FREE) — Research associate (1987) [2]

• Texas Public Policy Foundation (TPPF) — Senior Fellow (2005 - Present). [12]

• Environment & Climate News — Contributing Editor (2005 – Present). [12]

• Collegians for a Constructive Tomorrow — Academic Adviser (2005 – Present). [12]

• Political Economy Research Center (PERC) — PERC Fellow (1995) *Now known as the "Property and Environment Research Center." [12]

• Social Philosophy and Policy Center — Research Assistant (1991 - 1992). [12]

Publications

According to a search of Google Scholar, H. Sterling Burnett has not published research in any peer-reviewed journals on the subject of climate change. 

However, Burnett is a prolific author of skeptical articles and opinion pieces on the subject. For example:

• "Global Warming: Religion or Science?", Human Events, July 27, 2005.
   
• "Hurricanes Aren't Caused by Global Warming but Political Hot Air Is," Human Events, September 9, 2005.

• "Reality and Climate Change Policy" (PDF), National Center for Policy Analysis, Brief Analysis No 376. (August 15, 2001).

A list of Burnett's publications in Environment & Climate News is available at the Heartland Institute.

Resources

1. "H. Sterling Burnett, PhD," biography at ProCon, December 6, 2010.

2. "Dr. H. Sterling Burnett: Senior Fellow," National Center for Policy Analysis. Archived April 9, 2002.

3. "Climate science or science fiction?" The Washington Times, February 22, 2004.

4. "Reality and Climate Change Policy" (PDF), National Center for Policy Analysis, Brief Analysis No 376. (August 15, 2001).

5. "Letters: Warmer than When?" (PDF), Science News, Vol. 154, No. 23 (December 5, 1998), p. 355.

6. "(PRN) Supreme Court Ruling Doesn't Mean EPA Will Regulate CO2 Emissions," PRNewswire-USNewswire, April 3, 2007. Republished by chron.com.

7. H. Sterling Burnett. "Lessons from the Horizon blowout: More hype than harm," The Hill (Blog), March 8, 2010. Archived with WebCite, March 1, 2012.

8. Tom Henry. "Southern Michigan faces long recovery after oil spill," Toledo Blade, August 8, 2010. Archived March 1, 2012, with WebCite.

9. Judd Legum. "Exxon-Backed Pundit Compares Gore To Nazi Propagandist," ThinkProgress, May 23, 2006.

10. "Statement for the Record: Texas House Select Committee on Electric Generation & Environmental Effects On ELECTRIC POWER FOR TEXAS: ECONOMIC AND ENVIRONMENTAL CONSIDERATIONS" (PDF), April 9, 2008. Republished by the National Center for Policy Analysis.

11. "Heartland Experts: H. Sterling Burnett," The Heartland Institute.

12. "H. Sterling Burnett: Member Profile," Energybiz. Accessed November 30, 2011.

13. "H. Sterling Burnett," SourceWatch Profile.

14. ExxonSecrets Factsheet: H. Sterling Burnett.