Denial-a-Palooza: Where Are All the Scientists That Deniers Love To Talk About?

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Wake up and smell the fossil fuel funding. That’s right, it’s that time of year again: the Heartland Institute is hosting its Sixth (annual?*) International Conference on Climate ChangeĀ over the next two days in Washington D.C.

DeSmogBlog already revealed some of the oily sponsors behind the event. Now it’s time to take a look at the so-called scientists Heartland has rounded up to accomplish this year’s theme of ā€œRestoring the Scientific Method.ā€Ā Ā Ā 

As in past years, Heartland’s speakers list is dominated by economists, engineers, TV weathermen, and representatives from right wing think-tanks.Ā DeSmogBlog has researched the speakers at this year’sĀ event:Ā 

DeSmogBlog also added new names to the disinformation database this year (some longĀ overdue):

Scott Denning, who also spoke at last year’s Heartland Conference, is notably absent from this list. The reason being that DenningĀ actually acknowledges man-made global warming (see his presentation at last year’s conference). Denning is a professor of atmospheric science at Colorado State University, and appears to be one of a small handful of legitimate climate scientists in theĀ crowd.Ā 

Why then, you might ask, has the Heartland Institute not only invited Denning back this year, but also featured him prominently on theĀ ICCC6 home page? Apparently Heartland actuallyĀ scheduled a debate between Denning and Roy Spencer.Ā 

Whether he recognizes it or not, Denning serves as a false stamp of legitimacy for this non-scientific conference.

Brian Angliss over at Scholars & Rogues has more to say about the dearth of actual climate scientists attending Denial-a-Palooza this year.

*This will be Heartland’s sixth conference in the past four years: the firstĀ was in March 2008, the secondĀ in March 2009,Ā thirdĀ in June 2009,Ā fourthĀ in May 2010,Ā fifthĀ in October 2010, and now theĀ sixth in June 2011.

** Senator James Inhofe, who was set to be the opening key note speaker, sent his regrets this morning claiming he is ā€œunder the weather.ā€Ā  Perhaps he was referring to the brutal drought conditions affecting his constituents back in Oklahoma, as Joe Romm from ClimateProgress postulates.

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