Roger A. Pielke Jr. | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | (1968-11-02)November 2, 1968 (age 57) |
| Alma mater | University of Colorado Boulder (B.A. 1990; M.A. 1992; Ph.D. 1994) |
| Known for | Public policy and science, environment-society interactions |
| Awards | Eduard Brueckner Prize (2006) NRC Board on Ocean Sciences Roger Revelle Commemorative Lecturer (2006) Sigma Xi Distinguished Lectureship Award (2000) |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Political science,Environmental Studies, sports governance |
| Institutions | University of Colorado Boulder,Oxford University's James Martin Institute for Science and Civilization,NCAR Environmental and Societal Impacts Group |
| Notes | |
FatherRoger A. Pielke, atmospheric scientist (land and sea interactions with atmosphere,atmospheric dynamics,climate change) | |
Roger A. Pielke Jr. (born November 2, 1968) is an American political scientist and a nonresident senior fellow at the conservative think tankAmerican Enterprise Institute.[1] Before he was a professor of theCooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES), and was the director of the Sports Governance Center within the Department of Athletics at the Center for Science and Technology Policy Research at theUniversity of Colorado Boulder.[2]
He previously served in the Environmental Studies Program and was a Fellow of theCooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES) where he served as director of the Center for Science and Technology Policy Research at the University of Colorado Boulder from 2001 to 2007. Pielke was a visiting scholar at Oxford University'sSaïd Business School in the 2007–2008 academic year.[3]
Pielke's research and views on climate change have been a subject of controversy.[4][5][6] Climate publications and scientists have accused him of spreadingclimate denial talking points and misinformation.[7]
Climate blogDeSmog lists Pielke in its Climate Disinformation Database.[8] Climate science blogSkeptical Science has accused him of spreading misinformation and misrepresenting scientific findings.[9] In a book review forScience Magazine,Kevin E. Trenberth criticized Pielke's work for mischaracterizing and "politicizing climate change science."[10]
A prolific writer, his interests include understanding thepoliticization of science;decision making under uncertainty; policy education for scientists in areas such asclimate change,disaster mitigation, and world trade; and research on the governance of sports organizations, includingFIFA and theNCAA.
Pielke earned a B.A. in mathematics (1990), an M.A. inpublic policy (1992), and a Ph.D. inpolitical science (1994), all from theUniversity of Colorado Boulder. From 1993 to 2001, he worked as a staff scientist[11] in the Environmental and Societal Impacts Group of theNational Center for Atmospheric Research. Pielke was the director of graduate studies for the CU-Boulder Graduate Program in Environmental Studies from 2002 to 2004, and a board member for WeatherData, Inc. from 2001 to 2006. In 2012 he was awarded anhonorary doctorate byLinköping University[12][13] and the Public Service Award of theGeological Society of America.[14] In 2024 Pielke became a member of theNorwegian Academy of Science and Letters.[15]
Pielke's early work was on theSpace Shuttle program. In 1993 he argued that the shuttle was expensive and risky — that it was "probable" that another orbiter would be lost within 20–35 flights.[16] Shortly before the loss of Columbia he warned that loss of another shuttle was only a matter of time.[17] He has also been critical of the space station program.[18]
Pielke has also written extensively onclimate change policy. He has written that he accepts theIPCC view of the underlying science, stating, "The IPCC has concluded that greenhouse gas emissions resulting from human activity are an important driver of changes in climate. And on this basis alone I am personally convinced that it makes sense to take action to limit greenhouse gas emissions."[19] He also writes, (in contradiction of the findings of the IPCC 6th assessment report[20]) that
"Any conceivable emissions reductions policies, even if successful, cannot have a perceptible impact on the climate for many decades", and from this he concludes that, "In coming decades the only policies that can effectively be used to manage the immediate effects of climate variability and change will be adaptive."[21][22]
On the issues ofhurricanes and climate change he has argued that the trend in increasing damage from hurricanes is primarily due to societal and economic factors (chiefly an increase in wealth density), rather than change in the frequency and intensity.[23]
A "Guide to Climate Skeptics" published byForeign Policy notes that Pielke's published views have led to him being considered by some a "denier" ofclimate change and by others an "alarmist".[4] In October 2016, in ahacked email disclosed byWikiLeaks,[24]Judd Legum states that aThinkProgress blog was instrumental in his firing from theFiveThirtyEight website.[25]
In April 2015, Pielke joined with a group issuingAn Ecomodernist Manifesto.[26][27] The other authors were: John Asafu-Adjaye, Linus Blomqvist,Stewart Brand,Barry Brook.Ruth DeFries,Erle Ellis, Christopher Foreman,David Keith, Martin Lewis,Mark Lynas,Ted Nordhaus, Rachel Pritzker, Joyashree Roy, Mark Sagoff,Michael Shellenberger,Robert Stone, and Peter Teague.[28]
Pielke was named in a letter sent by RepresentativeRaúl Grijalva (D-AZ) to institutions that employed scientists who had testified to Congress about climate change. The letter stated, "My colleagues and I cannot perform our duties if research or testimony provided to us is influenced by undisclosed financial relationships," and requested information including the sources and amounts of outside funding for those scientists who had testified.[29]
Pielke rebuked Grijalva's investigation into alleged financial influence on him by fossil fuel companies. "I have no funding, declared or undeclared, with any fossil fuel company or interest. I never have. Representative Grijalva knows this too, because when I have testified before the US Congress, I have disclosed my funding and possible conflicts of interest... the Congressman and his staff, along with compliant journalists, are busy characterizing me in public as a 'climate skeptic' opposed to action on climate change. This of course is a lie. I have written a book calling for a carbon tax, I have publicly supported President Obama’s proposed EPA carbon regulations, and I have just published another book strongly defending the scientific assessment of the IPCC with respect to disasters and climate change." Pielke stated in a blog post published after Grijalva began demanding Pielke's employer to disclose all of Pielke's personal correspondence (including draft letters) as it related to climate science.[30]
Pielke contends that Democratic members of Congress were motivated by political and partisan interests. He believes that he was targeted due to his view that it is 'incorrect to associate the increasing costs of disasters with the emission of greenhouse gases'.[30]
A good Anthropocene demands that humans use their growing social, economic, and technological powers to make life better for people, stabilize the climate, and protect the natural world.
On Tuesday, a group of scholars involved in the environmental debate, including Professor Roy and Professor Brook,Ruth DeFries of Columbia University, and Michael Shellenberger and Ted Nordhaus of the Breakthrough Institute in Oakland, Calif., issued what they are calling the "Eco-modernist Manifesto."
As scholars, scientists, campaigners, and citizens, we write with the conviction that knowledge and technology, applied with wisdom, might allow for a good, or even great,Anthropocene.
