Alfred (Al) Pekarek
Credentials
Background
Alfred (Al) Pekarek is a former associate professor of geology at St. Cloud State University, St. Cloud, Minnesotta, and is a consulting geologist in the petroleum industry. [1]
According to a 2011 biographical note contained in a American Liberty Petroleum Corporation report, Pekarek had been involved in petroleum exploration for 30 years at that time, primarily in the Rocky Mountains and the Basin and Range province. His work was primarily in oil and gas exploration consulting. [15]
Pekarek has worked in various roles and as a consultant for Sun Exploration Company, Husky Oil Company, Wexpro Company, and others. At Husky, he was the geologist in charge of their Railroad Valley, Nevada, exploration program and “directly responsible for 8 wells, and indirectly involved in nearly a dozen others.” [15]
Pekarek’s name appears on Senator James Inhofe’s list of “prominent scientists” who dispute the science of man-made global warming. [19]
Stance on Climate Change
October 2009
Speaking at a “Cap & Tax” sponsored by the Rochester Tea Pary Patriots, Pekarek declared:
“Climate is certainly cyclical; we’ve got natural drivers, and we appear to have entered another cooling phase. On a positive note […] are there any benefits to increasing carbon dioxide? Absolutely yes. What are they? […] Higher crop yields […] this sometimes I think could be providential […] because under those trying circumstances [of global cooling], with more c02, plants might actually do better.” [2]
Key Quotes
April 2009
Pekarek called Obama’s proposed cap-and-trade plan “a potentially economy-crippling tax” and said that there had been no significant national debate on the issue of climate change “because believers in global warming do not accept the challenge,” according to an article in the St Cloud Times. [3]
Key Deeds
October 3, 2016
Pekarek presented (here and here) at the American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG) Pacific Section and Rocky Mountain Section joint meeting in Las Vegas, Nevada where he promoted techniques for exploring shale resource exploration through hydraulic fracturing (fracking) in the Mississippian Chainman Shale region. [11], [12]
December 8, 2009
Pekarek is a signatory to the 2009 “Copenhagen Climate Challenge,” a follow up to a 2007 open letter to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon that denied man-made climate change. [17], [18]
October 2009
Pekarek was featured at an event called “Cap & Tax” sponsored by the Rochester Tea Pary Patriots. Elaine Garry, president and CEO of People’s Cooperative Service – of one of southeast Minnesota’s major utility companies – also spoke at the event, as her company was concerned about the potential impact of cap and trade. [4]
See video of his speech below:
April 2009
Al Pekarek and Chris Horner were speakers at a forum at St. Cloud University hosting Rep. Michele Bachmann. According to the Star Tribune, Pekarek was a moderator of the event and said he thought it helped energize people over “what government is trying to do to us.”[9]
March 4, 2008
Pekarek is listed as a “climate expert” who signed the 2008 Manhattan Declaration on Climate Change. The declaration was first presented for consideration at the Heartland Institute’s 2008 International Conference on Climate Change. [5], [20]
The declaration was created by the International Climate Science Coalition (ICSC), a group of climate skeptics directed by Tom Harris, and concludes that “attempts by governments to legislate costly regulations on industry and individual citizens to encourage CO2 reduction will slow development while having no appreciable impact on the future trajectory of global climate change.”
February 19, 2009
Pekarek spoke at the Legislative Evaluation Assembly of Minnesota (LEA) Awards Banquet, presenting on “climate change and energy”:
“In the last 5-10 years, we have heard ad nauseam that there is a scientific consensus— that anthropogenic global warming is real, that man is causing the earth to warm at an alarming rate by the burning of fossils fuels, that we are nearing a tipping point after which we are doomed. That consensus arose out of the UN’s IPPC group of 2500. However, in that group there are only about 300 qualified scientists. At the same time, dissenting groups of scientists numbering 100’s to 1000’s, and in one case, 10s of 1000s have disagreed,” the event description claims. [10]
View Pekarek’s complete PowerPoint presentation (.ppt).
August 2008
Pekarek prepared a report for the American Liberty Petroleum Corporation on the Kibby Flat Prospect in NV. Pekarek was a member of the groups Advisory Board. [14], [15]
December 13, 2007
Pekarek is listed as a signatory to a 2007 open letter to the UN Secretary General. The letter describes global warming as a natural phenomenon, and claims that the IPCC‘s reports are not adequate as justification for climate change policy. [6]
April 2006
Pekarek signed a 2006 open letter to Prime Minister Harper that urged the government stall any action on climate policy. [16]
Affiliations
- Natural Resources Stewardship Project (NRSP) — Past “Allied Expert.” The NRSP is now defunct. [7]
- The Heartland Institute — Formerly listed as an “Expert.” [8]
- Sun Exploration Company — Former Exploration Program Manager. [15]
- Husky Oil Company — Former Exploration Program Manager. [15]
- Wexpro Company — Former Consultant. [15]
- American Liberty Petroleum Company — Member, Advisory Board. [15]
Publications
According to a search of Google Scholar, Pekarek does not have a single piece of research published in a peer-reviewed journal. [13]
Resources
- “Faculty/Staff,” St. Cloud State University. Archived May 28, 2010. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/dA53K
- “Cap and Trade – Speaker 2 – Dr Alfred Pekarek – Part 3 of 3,” YouTube Video. Uploaded by RochesterTeaParty, October 28, 2009. Archived .mp4 on file at DeSmog.
- Lawrence Schumacher. “Minnesota: Audience takes sides on climate change at Bachmann forum,” St Cloud Times, April 9, 2009. Article no longer available online.
- Heather J. Carlson. “People’s CEO concerned about emissions legislation,” Monday Post-Bulletin, October 19, 2009. Article no longer available online.
- “CLIMATE EXPERTS WHO SIGNED MANHATTAN DECLARATION,” International Climate Science Coalition. Archived October 12, 2017. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/CCCMx
- “Open Letter to the Secretary-General of the United Nations” (PDF), Science and Public Policy Institute, December 13, 2007.
- “NRSP People,” The Natural Resources Stewardship Project. Archived March 15, 2007.
- “Heartland Experts: Mr. Alfred Pekarek,” The Heartland Institute. Archived February 29, 2016. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/uhkGZ
- “Bachmann’s forum on energy emissions draws cheers, jeers,” Star Tribune, April 10, 2009. Archived October 12, 2017. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/Tjyvu
- “Climate Change and Energy,” Legislative Evaluation Assembly of Minnesota. Archived October 12, 2017. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/GDm6r
- Alfred Pekarek. “Successful exploration in a challenging frontier,” AAPG, October 3, 2016. Archived October 12, 2017.
- Alfred Pekarek. “The multiple undeveloped petroleum plays in Nevada,” AAPG, October 3, 2016. Archived October 12, 2017.
- Google Scholar search for author:”alfred pekarek” author:OR author:”al pekarek”. Performed October 12, 2017.
- American Liberty Petroleum Corp. Factsheet.
- “American Liberty Petroleum Corp. (OTC:OREO)- Overview & Analysis” (PDF), SmallCap Network, November 11, 2011.
- Richard Littlemore. “Denying Climate Change; Urging Inaction,” DeSmog, April 19, 2006.
- “Open Letter to the Secretary-General of the United Nations,” December 16, 2007. Reprinted by the Science and Public Policy Institute.
- “Open Letter to Secretary-General of United Nations,” Climate Realists, December 9, 2009.
- “List of 400 Global Warming Deniers, Debunked – 3,” The Daily Green, January 11, 2008. Archied March 16, 2008. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/1xMIE
- “New York Global Warming Conference Considers ‘Manhattan Declaration’ – by Heartland Institute staff – News Releases,” Heartland Institute, March 2008. Archived December 14, 2009. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/TDHu5
