Robert Balling
Encyclopedia
Robert C. Balling, Jr. is a professor
of geography at Arizona State University
, and the former director of its Office of Climatology
. His research interests include climatology
, global climate change
, and geographic information systems. Balling has declared himself one of the scientists who oppose the consensus on global warming, arguing in a 2009 book that anthropogenic global warming "is indeed real, but relatively modest", and maintaining that there is a publication bias
in the scientific literature which produces a tendency towards climate change alarmism
.
in 1974 (Wittenberg University
, BA) and 1975 (Bowling Green State University
, MA), before gaining his Ph.D.
in geography from the University of Oklahoma
in 1979. He was assistant professor at the University of Nebraska (1979 - 1984), before joining the Office of Climatology at Arizona State University
. He gained tenure
there in 1987, and served as the director of the Office of Climatology until 2004.
's 1997 book The Heat is On. This led the Minnesota Star Tribune
to run an editorial speaking of a "disinformation campaign" by some climatologists. Balling and his colleague Patrick Michaels
took a complaint against the Star Tribune to the Minnesota News Council. By a 9-4 decision the council "voted to sustain the complaint that the Star Tribune editorial unfairly characterized the scientific reputations of Patrick Michaels and Robert Balling." At the 1998 hearing, Balling "acknowledged that he had received $408,000 in research funding from the fossil fuel industry over the last decade (of which his University takes 50% for overhead)."
Between December 1998 and September 2001 Balling was listed as a "Scientific Adviser" to the Greening Earth Society
, a group that was funded and controlled by the Western Fuels Association
(WFA), an association of coal-burning utility companies. WFA founded the group in 1997, according to an archived version of its website, "as a vehicle for advocacy on climate change, the environmental impact of CO2, and fossil fuel use."
Professor
A professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...
of geography at Arizona State University
Arizona State University
Arizona State University is a public research university located in the Phoenix Metropolitan Area of the State of Arizona...
, and the former director of its Office of Climatology
Climatology
Climatology is the study of climate, scientifically defined as weather conditions averaged over a period of time, and is a branch of the atmospheric sciences...
. His research interests include climatology
Climatology
Climatology is the study of climate, scientifically defined as weather conditions averaged over a period of time, and is a branch of the atmospheric sciences...
, global climate change
Climate change
Climate change is a significant and lasting change in the statistical distribution of weather patterns over periods ranging from decades to millions of years. It may be a change in average weather conditions or the distribution of events around that average...
, and geographic information systems. Balling has declared himself one of the scientists who oppose the consensus on global warming, arguing in a 2009 book that anthropogenic global warming "is indeed real, but relatively modest", and maintaining that there is a publication bias
Publication bias
Publication bias is the tendency of researchers, editors, and pharmaceutical companies to handle the reporting of experimental results that are positive differently from results that are negative or inconclusive, leading to bias in the overall published literature...
in the scientific literature which produces a tendency towards climate change alarmism
Climate change alarmism
Climate change alarmism or global warming alarmism is a critical description of a rhetorical style that stresses the potentially catastrophic effects of global warming to the point where the scale of the problem appears to exclude the possibility of real action or agency by the reader or...
.
Career
Balling gained bachelors and masters degrees in geographyGeography
Geography is the science that studies the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of Earth. A literal translation would be "to describe or write about the Earth". The first person to use the word "geography" was Eratosthenes...
in 1974 (Wittenberg University
Wittenberg University
Wittenberg University is a private four-year liberal arts college in Springfield, Ohio serving 2,000 full-time students representing 37 states and approximately 30 foreign countries...
, BA) and 1975 (Bowling Green State University
Bowling Green State University
Bowling Green State University, often referred to as Bowling Green or BGSU, is a public, coeducational research university located in Bowling Green, Ohio, United States. The institution was granted a charter in 1910 by the State of Ohio as part of the Lowry Bill, which also established Kent State...
, MA), before gaining his Ph.D.
Ph.D.
A Ph.D. is a Doctor of Philosophy, an academic degree.Ph.D. may also refer to:* Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*Piled Higher and Deeper, a web comic strip*PhD: Phantasy Degree, a Korean comic series* PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
in geography from the University of Oklahoma
University of Oklahoma
The University of Oklahoma is a coeducational public research university located in Norman, Oklahoma. Founded in 1890, it existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two became the state of Oklahoma. the university had 29,931 students enrolled, most located at its...
in 1979. He was assistant professor at the University of Nebraska (1979 - 1984), before joining the Office of Climatology at Arizona State University
Arizona State University
Arizona State University is a public research university located in the Phoenix Metropolitan Area of the State of Arizona...
. He gained tenure
Tenure
Tenure commonly refers to life tenure in a job and specifically to a senior academic's contractual right not to have his or her position terminated without just cause.-19th century:...
there in 1987, and served as the director of the Office of Climatology until 2004.
Funding controversy
Balling was mentioned as a fossil fuel industry - funded scientist in Ross GelbspanRoss Gelbspan
Ross Gelbspan is an American writer and activist. He has written two books relating to global warming-- The Heat Is On and Boiling Point . The Heat Is On received national attention when President Bill Clinton told the press he was reading it. Boiling Point was the subject of the lead review in...
's 1997 book The Heat is On. This led the Minnesota Star Tribune
Star Tribune
The Star Tribune is the largest newspaper in the U.S. state of Minnesota and is published seven days each week in an edition for the Minneapolis-Saint Paul metropolitan area. A statewide version is also available across Minnesota and parts of Wisconsin, Iowa, South Dakota, and North Dakota. The...
to run an editorial speaking of a "disinformation campaign" by some climatologists. Balling and his colleague Patrick Michaels
Patrick Michaels
Patrick J. Michaels is an American climatologist. Michaels is a senior research fellow for Research and Economic Development at George Mason University, and a senior fellow in environmental studies at the Cato Institute...
took a complaint against the Star Tribune to the Minnesota News Council. By a 9-4 decision the council "voted to sustain the complaint that the Star Tribune editorial unfairly characterized the scientific reputations of Patrick Michaels and Robert Balling." At the 1998 hearing, Balling "acknowledged that he had received $408,000 in research funding from the fossil fuel industry over the last decade (of which his University takes 50% for overhead)."
Between December 1998 and September 2001 Balling was listed as a "Scientific Adviser" to the Greening Earth Society
Greening Earth Society
The Greening Earth Society, now defunct, was a public relations organization which promoted the idea that there is considerable scientific doubt about the effects of climate change and increased levels of carbon dioxide...
, a group that was funded and controlled by the Western Fuels Association
Western Fuels Association
The Western Fuels Association is a not-for profit cooperative that supplies coal and transportation services to consumer-owned electric utility in the Great Plains, Rocky Mountain and Southwest regions...
(WFA), an association of coal-burning utility companies. WFA founded the group in 1997, according to an archived version of its website, "as a vehicle for advocacy on climate change, the environmental impact of CO2, and fossil fuel use."
Books
- Robert C. Balling, The Heated Debate: greenhouse predictions versus climate reality, Pacific Research Institute for Public PolicyPacific Research InstituteThe Pacific Research Institute , or officially the Pacific Research Institute for Public Policy, is a California-based free-market think tank founded in 1979 whose stated vision is the promotion of "the principles of individual freedom and personal responsibility"...
, April 1992, ISBN 0-936488-47-6 - Robert C. Balling, and Martin A. J. Williams, Interactions of Desertification & Climate, Oxford University Press, October 1995, ISBN 0-340-63217-8
- Patrick MichaelsPatrick MichaelsPatrick J. Michaels is an American climatologist. Michaels is a senior research fellow for Research and Economic Development at George Mason University, and a senior fellow in environmental studies at the Cato Institute...
and Robert C. Balling, The Satanic Gases: clearing the air about global warming, Cato InstituteCato InstituteThe Cato Institute is a libertarian think tank headquartered in Washington, D.C. It was founded in 1977 by Edward H. Crane, who remains president and CEO, and Charles Koch, chairman of the board and chief executive officer of the conglomerate Koch Industries, Inc., the largest privately held...
, 2000 ASIN: 1882577914 - Patrick MichaelsPatrick MichaelsPatrick J. Michaels is an American climatologist. Michaels is a senior research fellow for Research and Economic Development at George Mason University, and a senior fellow in environmental studies at the Cato Institute...
and Robert C. Balling, Climate of extremes: global warming science they don't want you to know, Cato InstituteCato InstituteThe Cato Institute is a libertarian think tank headquartered in Washington, D.C. It was founded in 1977 by Edward H. Crane, who remains president and CEO, and Charles Koch, chairman of the board and chief executive officer of the conglomerate Koch Industries, Inc., the largest privately held...
, 2009
External links
- Balling's homepage.
- Testimony Prepared for the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Science March 6, 1996
- Robert C. Balling articles at TCS DailyTCS DailyTCS Daily is an online magazine with commentary and analysis on current news from a free-market perspective.TCS is an initialism that now stands for "Technology, Commerce, Society"; when the Web site was founded in 2000, those three letters stood for its original name, "Tech Central Station." The...