To the editor:
In the attempt to present a balanced perspective on complex matters, the challenge for journalists and readers alike is the same: How to distinguish between special interests and informed opinion. Since I had seen Al Gore’s “An Inconvenient Truth,” but was not familiar with Professor Lindzen’s writings that challenge Gore’s thesis, I followed Philip Conkling’s example (“Global Warming–Fact or Hoax?”) and on my own did a bit of searching of the Web.
As I surfed, I discovered a lot about Professor Lindzen’s impressive credentials. I also learned he has been a paid consultant for the oil and gas industry who in 1995 charged oil and coal interests $2,500 a day; also, that a trip to Washington in 1991 to offer testimony on the subject of global warming was underwritten by Western Fuels; and that a speech he wrote was funded by OPEC. In addition, Professor Lindzen is or at least was a member of the Annapolis Center for Science Based Public Policy, which, surprise, turns out to receive funding from ExxonMobil. Working Waterfront readers can learn more by simply going to any number of sites that have kept track of Professor Lindzen.
None of this is meant to indict Professor Lindzen as a shill or a hired gun for the energy industry. The money and recognition he has received from these groups could simply be attributed to the high reputation in which he is held as a climate expert, and his research may have in fact convinced him that his criticism of global warming is scientifically justified. On the other hand, in the interest of full disclosure Working Waterfront readers ought to be informed of the connections the distinguished professor has to an industry that has a vested interest in denying the existence of global warming so they can draw their own conclusions about the facts.
Ray Rhinehart
Penobscot, Maine, and Washington, D.C.