Boris “Boba” Winterhalter
Credentials
- Ph.D., Geology/Earth Science, Helsinki University (1964).1“Curriculum Vitae,” Kolumbus.fi, April 6, 2006. Archived October 29, 2019. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/ABT9y
- M.Sc, Helsinki University.2“Curriculum Vitae,” Kolumbus.fi, April 6, 2006. Archived October 29, 2019. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/ABT9y
Background
Dr. Boris Winterhalter is a retired marine researcher of the Geological Survey of Finland, and former professor of marine geology at University of Helsinki.3“Curriculum Vitae,” Kolumbus.fi, April 6, 2006. Archived October 29, 2019. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/ABT9y
He operates three blogs (in Finnish). The first, Ilmasto on luonnostaan muuttuva (roughly translating to “the climate is naturally variable”) which “deals mainly with political issues and my critique of the offical [sic] climate doctrine in Finland.”4“Boris Winterhalter’s Climate Blog (in Finnish),” The Unbearable Nakedness of CLIMATE CHANGE. See Comment #1 left by Boris Winterhalter. Archived October 12, 2011.
His second blog, Ilmastonmuutos ja riippumaton tiede (roughly translated to “Climate change and the related science and belief”) covers “mainly scientific issues related to the hype of climate change.”5“Boris Winterhalter’s Climate Blog (in Finnish),” The Unbearable Nakedness of CLIMATE CHANGE. See Comment #1 left by Boris Winterhalter. Archived October 12, 2011.
His third blog is titled Ilmastonmuutos – totta vai tarua, or “Skeptic’s thoughts.”
Stance on Climate Change
Winterhalter is a signatory to the International Climate Science Coalition’s ”Climate Scientists’s Register,” which states:
“We, the undersigned, having assessed the relevant scientific evidence, do not find convincing support for the hypothesis that human emissions of carbon dioxide are causing, or will in the foreseeable future cause, dangerous global warming.”6“CLIMATE SCIENTISTS’ REGISTER ENDORSERS,” International Climate Science Coalition. Archived October 29, 2019. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.ph/BujTw
Key Quotes
May 2, 2006
Winterhalter presented at a climate seminar at Gothenburg. The following is from his PowerPoint presentation (PDF):
“Although some outflow glaciers are retreating in Greenland, it seems that the net accumulation of snow counteracts this loss in ice and there is no imminent danger of sea level rise.
“In northern Europe we enjoy a temperate climate thanks to the prevailing south-westerlies and there are no indications of a change in pattern.”7Boris Winterhalter. “On the Climate During the Holocene” (PDF), Climate Seminar at Gothenburg, May 2, 2006. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.
December 2007
Winterhalter was quoted in Senator Jim Inhofe‘s Senate Committe on Environment and Public Works minority report, “Over 400 Prominent Scientists Disputed Man-Made Global Warming Claims in 2007”:
“The effect of solar winds on cosmic radiation has just recently been established and, furthermore, there seems to be a good correlation between cloudiness and variations in the intensity of cosmic radiation. Here we have a mechanism which is a far better explanation to variations in global climate than the attempts by IPCC to blame it all on anthropogenic input of greenhouse gases.”8Marc Morano. “U.S. Senate Report: Over 400 Prominent Scientists Disputed Man-Made Global Warming Claims in 2007,” U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, December 20, 2007. Archived December 26, 2007. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/H2012
Key Deeds
February 23, 2017
Boris Winterhalter was a signatory of a petition (PDF) organized by Richard Lindzen of the Cato Institute urging President Donald Trump to pull the United States out of the United Nations international convention on climate change (UNFCCC).9“PETITION” (PDF), February 23, 2017. Richard Lindzen. PDF Archived at DeSmog.
“In just a few weeks, more than 300 eminent scientists and other qualified individuals from around the world have signed the petition below,” Lindzen wrote in the letter.10“PETITION” (PDF), February 23, 2017. Richard Lindzen. PDF Archived at DeSmog.
Media outlets including Fox News, The Hill, and the Daily Caller reported on the list, describing signatories as “eminent scientists” and “qualified individuals.”11Valerie Richardson. “Hundreds of Scientists Urge Trump to Withdraw from U.N. Climate-Change Agency,” The Washington Times, February 23, 2017. Republished by Fox News. Archived March 6, 2017. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/dlFj3 12Timothy Cama. “Climate skeptics ask Trump to withdraw from UN agency,“ The Hill, February 23, 2017. Archived March 6, 2017. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/dlFj3 13Michael Bastasch. “Hundreds Of Scientists Urge Trump To Pull Out Of A 25-Year-Old UN Environmental Treaty,” The Daily Caller, February 23, 2017. Archived March 6, 2017. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/Lg3U5
DeSmog investigated the list, and found that only a small handful of the signatories could be considered “even remotely ‘qualified’ or ‘eminent’ — but not in the field of climate science.” The list included individuals “interested in climate,” and one signatory who only identified as an “emailer who wished to sign the petition” while some signers provided no affiliation or address whatsoever.14Graham Readfearn. “Climate Science Denier Richard Lindzen’s List of 300 “Scientists” Sent to Trump Is the Usual Parade of Non-Experts,” DeSmog, February 27, 2017.
November 2010
Winterhalter is listed as a signatory of the International Climate Science Coalition’s “Climate Scientists’ Register.”15“CLIMATE SCIENTISTS’ REGISTER ENDORSERS,” International Climate Science Coalition. Archived October 29, 2019. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.ph/BujTw
2007
Winterhalter’s name was included a Lavoisier Group submission to the Garnaut Climate Change Review. The document asserts, among other things, that “Claims by the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) assertions that the ‘science’ of global warming is ‘settled’ are self serving and false.”16“SUBMISSION TO THE GARNAUT ENQUIRY BY PETER WALSH, PRESIDENT OF THE LAVOISIER GROUP,” Garnautreview.org. Retrieved from Trove web archive. Archived .png on file at Desmog.
“Many well qualified scientists, see Attachment A, believe temperature changes, up and down, are driven by changes in solar behaviour, and that “Greenhouse” gases have negligible influence on the modest 20th Century warming. Many believe a cooling period will set in within 10 to 15 years.”17“SUBMISSION TO THE GARNAUT ENQUIRY BY PETER WALSH, PRESIDENT OF THE LAVOISIER GROUP,” Garnautreview.org. Retrieved from Trove web archive. Archived .png on file at Desmog.
The “Science List” is made up of those who previously signed an open letter to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon during the Bali climate conference.18“SUBMISSION TO THE GARNAUT ENQUIRY BY PETER WALSH, PRESIDENT OF THE LAVOISIER GROUP,” Garnautreview.org. Retrieved from Trove web archive. Archived .png on file at Desmog.
December 13, 2007
Winterhalter signed a 2007 open letter to UN Secretary General Ban-Ki moon.19“Open Letter to the Secretary-General of the United Nations,” December 13, 2007. Republished by the Science and Public Policy Institute. Archie URL: https://archive.ph/YMMBt
This letter describes global warming as a natural phenomenon, and expresses how carbon dioxide is a “non-polluting gas that is essential to plant photosynthesis.” It also claims that the IPCC reports are “inadequate as justification” for implementing climate change policy.20“Open Letter to the Secretary-General of the United Nations,” December 13, 2007. Republished by the Science and Public Policy Institute. Archie URL: https://archive.ph/YMMBt
February 2007
Winterhalter is listed as a reviewer of the Independent Summary for Policymakers (ISPM) of the IPCC Fourth Assessment Report.21“Independent Summary for Policymakers of the IPCC Fourth Assessment Report (Working Group I),” Archived August 6, 2011, from Ross Mckitrick’s page on the University of Guelph web server.
The ISPM is published by the Fraser Institute and is critical of the IPCC. The Fraser Institute receives funding from several tobacco companies, and has received $60,000 from ExxonMobil.
Affiliations
- International Climate Science Coalition (ICSC) — Signatory, “Climate Scientists’ Register.”22“CLIMATE SCIENTISTS’ REGISTER ENDORSERS,” International Climate Science Coalition. Archived October 29, 2019. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.ph/BujTw
- Fraser Institute — Reviewer of Fraser Institute’s ISPM.23“Independent Summary for Policymakers of the IPCC Fourth Assessment Report (Working Group I),” Archived August 6, 2011, from Ross Mckitrick’s page on the University of Guelph web server.
- Heartland Institute — Listed on the Heartland Institute’s website under “Who We Are.”24“Boris Winterhalter,” Heartland Institute. Archived October 29, 2019. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.ph/Odxbd
Social Media
Publications
According to a search of 22,000 academic journals, Winterhalter has not published peer-reviewed research on climate.
He has had four peer-reviewed articles, all related to marine geology, the first published in 1970, the rest between 2000 and 2002.
Other Resources
Resources
- 1“Curriculum Vitae,” Kolumbus.fi, April 6, 2006. Archived October 29, 2019. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/ABT9y
- 2“Curriculum Vitae,” Kolumbus.fi, April 6, 2006. Archived October 29, 2019. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/ABT9y
- 3“Curriculum Vitae,” Kolumbus.fi, April 6, 2006. Archived October 29, 2019. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/ABT9y
- 4“Boris Winterhalter’s Climate Blog (in Finnish),” The Unbearable Nakedness of CLIMATE CHANGE. See Comment #1 left by Boris Winterhalter. Archived October 12, 2011.
- 5“Boris Winterhalter’s Climate Blog (in Finnish),” The Unbearable Nakedness of CLIMATE CHANGE. See Comment #1 left by Boris Winterhalter. Archived October 12, 2011.
- 6“CLIMATE SCIENTISTS’ REGISTER ENDORSERS,” International Climate Science Coalition. Archived October 29, 2019. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.ph/BujTw
- 7Boris Winterhalter. “On the Climate During the Holocene” (PDF), Climate Seminar at Gothenburg, May 2, 2006. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.
- 8Marc Morano. “U.S. Senate Report: Over 400 Prominent Scientists Disputed Man-Made Global Warming Claims in 2007,” U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, December 20, 2007. Archived December 26, 2007. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/H2012
- 9“PETITION” (PDF), February 23, 2017. Richard Lindzen. PDF Archived at DeSmog.
- 10“PETITION” (PDF), February 23, 2017. Richard Lindzen. PDF Archived at DeSmog.
- 11Valerie Richardson. “Hundreds of Scientists Urge Trump to Withdraw from U.N. Climate-Change Agency,” The Washington Times, February 23, 2017. Republished by Fox News. Archived March 6, 2017. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/dlFj3
- 12Timothy Cama. “Climate skeptics ask Trump to withdraw from UN agency,“ The Hill, February 23, 2017. Archived March 6, 2017. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/dlFj3
- 13Michael Bastasch. “Hundreds Of Scientists Urge Trump To Pull Out Of A 25-Year-Old UN Environmental Treaty,” The Daily Caller, February 23, 2017. Archived March 6, 2017. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/Lg3U5
- 14Graham Readfearn. “Climate Science Denier Richard Lindzen’s List of 300 “Scientists” Sent to Trump Is the Usual Parade of Non-Experts,” DeSmog, February 27, 2017.
- 15“CLIMATE SCIENTISTS’ REGISTER ENDORSERS,” International Climate Science Coalition. Archived October 29, 2019. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.ph/BujTw
- 16“SUBMISSION TO THE GARNAUT ENQUIRY BY PETER WALSH, PRESIDENT OF THE LAVOISIER GROUP,” Garnautreview.org. Retrieved from Trove web archive. Archived .png on file at Desmog.
- 17“SUBMISSION TO THE GARNAUT ENQUIRY BY PETER WALSH, PRESIDENT OF THE LAVOISIER GROUP,” Garnautreview.org. Retrieved from Trove web archive. Archived .png on file at Desmog.
- 18“SUBMISSION TO THE GARNAUT ENQUIRY BY PETER WALSH, PRESIDENT OF THE LAVOISIER GROUP,” Garnautreview.org. Retrieved from Trove web archive. Archived .png on file at Desmog.
- 19“Open Letter to the Secretary-General of the United Nations,” December 13, 2007. Republished by the Science and Public Policy Institute. Archie URL: https://archive.ph/YMMBt
- 20“Open Letter to the Secretary-General of the United Nations,” December 13, 2007. Republished by the Science and Public Policy Institute. Archie URL: https://archive.ph/YMMBt
- 21“Independent Summary for Policymakers of the IPCC Fourth Assessment Report (Working Group I),” Archived August 6, 2011, from Ross Mckitrick’s page on the University of Guelph web server.
- 22“CLIMATE SCIENTISTS’ REGISTER ENDORSERS,” International Climate Science Coalition. Archived October 29, 2019. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.ph/BujTw
- 23“Independent Summary for Policymakers of the IPCC Fourth Assessment Report (Working Group I),” Archived August 6, 2011, from Ross Mckitrick’s page on the University of Guelph web server.
- 24“Boris Winterhalter,” Heartland Institute. Archived October 29, 2019. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.ph/Odxbd
