Kenneth P. Green

Credentials

D.Env., environmental science and engineering, University of California, Los Angeles.
M.S., molecular genetics, San Diego State University.
B.S., biology, University of California, Los Angeles.

Source: [1]

Background

Kenneth Green is an Environmental Scientist and is Resident Scholar with the American Enterprise Institute (AEI) where he "studies public policy relating to climate change and energy."[1],[2]

As an Environmental Scientist, Green studied environmental policy for more than ten years at think tanks in California and Canada before joining AEI. He was executive director of the Environmental Literacy Council from 2005 to 2006 and chief scientist at the Fraser Institute from 2002 to 2005. Before moving to the Fraser Institute, he served as the Chief Scientist and Director of the Environmental Program at the Reason Foundation for eight years.

Green's profile at AEI describes him as an "Expert Reviewer" of the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Working Group 1, 2001. All this really means is that Green asked to see a draft IPCC report and agreed not to publicly comment on the draft.

Stance on Climate Change

"This is not to say that man-made climate change theory is either right or wrong, proven or not proven, looming catastrophe or massive hoax—only that it is not, as various groups have implied, nearing a final verdict."[3]

Key Quotes

"The climate's sensitivity to greenhouse gases is considerably lower than the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change claims—so much lower, in fact, that the warming we would expect from doubling the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere would be quite modest and offer very little risk." [4]

"Here's the problem - carbon dioxide doesn't contribute to smog and isn't a health threat. All of this is being done because some people believe carbon dioxide is causing global warming, and that preventing carbon dioxide from entering the air is the only answer. Never mind that there is still an ongoing scientific debate about global warming itself, and that some respected climate scientists believe that methane is a better target, California legislators have locked their sites on carbon dioxide."[5]

"If the president simply acknowledges that humans are probably causing some climate change, that warming will likely continue, and that warming might pose serious challenges for human societies and ecosystems, his epiphany will be a bit late, but at least reasonable. Whether liberal or conservative, thoughtful analysts have recognized this for over a decade now. But if the president’s realization involves some massive scheme of action to enlarge the scope of government interference in energy markets, he may well be taking aim at the goose that lays the golden egg--our economy is fueled by abundant, low-cost energy." [6]

Key Deeds

March 30, 2009

Green's signature is displayed alongside a full-page ad funded by the CATO institute that appeared in numerous newspapers including the Washington Post, the New York Times and the Chicago Tribune in 2009.

The advertisement criticizes President Obama's declaration that "few challenges facing America and the world are more urgent than combating climate change," saying that "with all due respect Mr. President, that is not true." It claims "there has been no net global warming for over a decade," and that the dangers of global warming are "grossly overstated."[10]

2009

Participated in the "Climate Chains" video along with fellow climate change skeptics Chris Horner, Marlo Lewis, Todd Wynn, and Patrick Michaels.

The video claims that "One of the greatest threats to freedom and prosperity in America is climate change legislation." The video was organized by the Cascade Policy Institute. [7]

December 10th, 2007

Green was a Moderator at a talk hosted by American Enterprise Institute asking the question "Do Fossil Fuels Have a Future?" He was joined by Lee Raymond and James Glassman. [8]

July 5, 2006

Co-author (with Steven Hayward) of a July 2006 letter sent by AEI to scientists, requesting someone — at a rate of $10,000 for 10,000 words — whose review "thoughtfully explores the limitations of climate model outputs as they pertain to the development of climate policy."

The author would be part of a "major project to produce a review and policy critique of the forthcoming Fourth Assessment Report (FAR) of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), due for release in the spring of 2007."

AEI was looking for someone that "thoughtfully explores the limitations of climate model outputs as they pertain to the development of climate policy."

October 29, 2000

Writing in his role as Director of Environmental Programs for the Reason Public Policy Institute, Green criticized the IPCC in an October 2000 briefing report.

He describes the IPCC's Summary for Policy Makers as a "derivative document" which condenses and expresses IPCC findings "in a language suitable for moderately educated readers."

According to Green, the SPM consists of "speculative scenarios" not reflective of the full reports, and "has not been peer-reviewed. Its author is anonymous, the document is created independent of the actual report, and the summary is so short that issues were overly simplified."[9]

Affiliations

The American Enterprise Institute (AEI)— "Resident Scholar."[1]
The Heartland Institute —"Heartland Expert."[2]
The Reason Foundation— Former "Chief Scientist," and Director of the Environmental Program. [11]
The Fraser Institute— "Chief Scientist," (2002-2005). [1]
The American Council on Science and Health (ACSH) — Scientific Advisor. [12]
Environmental Literacy Council — Executive Director, 2005–2006. [1]

Publications

Based on a search of major academic journals, Green has not published any peer-reviewed articles on the subject of climate.

Green has authored numerous skeptical policy studies, magazine articles, newspaper columns, and other publications including a textbook for middle school students titled Global Warming: Understanding the Debate.

A list of some of Green's publications is available at the Reason Foundation.