Richard Lindzen
Background
Richard S. Lindzen holds a Ph.D. in applied mathematics from Harvard University. Currently, Dr. Lindzen is the Alfred P. Sloan Professor of Meteorolgy at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
Professor Lindzen's academic interests lie within the topics of "climate, planetary waves, monsoon meteorology, planetary atmospheres, and hydrodynamic instability." According to his curriculum vitae and Google Scholar, Dr. Lindzen has published over 200 peer-reviewed articles in the field of climatology.
Lindzen and Tobacco, Oil, and Conservative Think Tanks
Heidelberg Appeal
Richard Lindzen is a signatory to the Heidelberg Appeal. The Heidelberg Appeal was created by the International Centre for Scientfic Ecology, a public relations front group, during the 1992 UN World Summit. Eventually the document was endorsed by 4,000 scientists who declared that "we are worried at the dawn of the twenty-first century, at the emergence of an irrational ideology which is opposed to scientific and industrial progress and impedes economic and social development." The document goes on to say that "many essential human activities are carried out by manipulating hazardous substances, and that progress and development have always involved increasing control over hostile forces."
On the board of the International Centre for Scientific Ecology was Dr. Fred Singer. The Heidelberg Appeal was later used, with the consent of Dr. Singer and the International Centre for Scientific Ecology, by tobacco giant Philip Morris as a source for drawing support to its European branch of The Advancement of Sound Science Coalition (TASSC)--TASSC Europe. TASSC was Philip Morris' front group inititated to question the science being used to show the devastating effects of cigarette smoking on the human body.
Oregon Petition
Richard Lindzen is also a signatory to the infamous Oregon Petition. This controversial petition was first circulated in 1998 with an article that appeared to be a reprint of a National Academy of Science peer-reviewed article. The National Academy of Science has stated that it is not connected in anyway with the Oregon Petititon.
The Cato Institute, Cooler Heads Coalition, and Heartland Institute
Richard Lindzen has also worked with the conservative think tank, the Cato Institute. The Cato Institute has received $125,000 from ExxonMobil since 1998. In his 1995 article, "The Heat Is On," Ross Gelbspan notes that Lindzen charged oil and coal organizations $2,500 per day for his consulting services.
Richard Lindzen has been a speaker at climate change events sponsored by both the Cooler Heads Coalition and the Heartland Institute. The Cooler Heads Coalition has a membership that includes the Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI), the George C. Marshall Institute, the Fraser Institute, the Heartland Institute, the Independent Institute, the National Center for Policy Analysis, and the Pacific Research Institute. Collectively, these organizations have received $5,659,400 in funding from ExxonMobil since 1998.
Dr. Lindzen was a keynote speaker at the International Conference on Climate Change in 2008 and 2009. This conference is organized by the Heartland Institute. The sponsors of the conference have collectively received $5,802,000 in funding from ExxonMobil since 1998.
Stance on Climate Change and Global Warming
Richard Lindzen's scientific stance on climate change and anthropogenic global warming is that the earth goes through natural periods of global warming and cooling. And, according to Dr. Lindzen, the findings of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change are problematic and limited because they are based on computer models which Lindzen says are "generally recognized as experimental tools whose relation to the real world is questionable." Furthermore, Lindzen feels that the issue of global warming is completely political, and that policy makers and the media not only manipulate science but also force scientists to produce work that supports a particular agenda.
