Harold H. Doiron
Credentials
- Ph.D., Mechanical Engineering, University of Houston (1970). [1]
- B.S., Physics, Mathematics, University of Louisiana at Lafayette (1963). [1]
Background
According to his biography at the Seventh International Conference on Climate Change, Harold Doiron is known for his experience in eliminating unstable vibrations in liquid propellant rockets.
He organized and led the NASA/industry team, titled the “Pogo Prevention Panel”
that successfully eliminated this pogo stick vibration problem from the Space Shuttle design.
Stance on Climate Change
According to an open letter signed by Doiron,
“We believe the claims by NASA and GISS, that man-made carbon dioxide is having a catastrophic impact on global climate change are not substantiated… . With hundreds of well-known climate scientists and tens of thousands of other scientists publicly declaring their disbelief in the catastrophic forecasts, coming particularly from the GISS leadership, it is clear that the science is NOT settled.” [2]
Key Quotes
“Public policy decisions with potential major changes to energy use in the USA to affect climate change, should have more engineering input … The Physics, chemical, biological and heat transfer processes involved in Climate Change modeling and analysis are similar to large, complex systems familiar to Aerospace Engineers.” [3]
Key Deeds
February 4, 2018
In January 2018, more than 200 scientists endorsed an open letter calling on the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) to remove climate change denier Rebekah Mercer from its board and to “end ties to anti-science propagandists and funders of climate science misinformation.” The New York Times reported that those among the AMNH letter calling for Mercer to step down were Michael E. Mann, director of the Earth System Science Center at Pennsylvania State University, and Katharine Hayhoe, director of the Climate Science Center at Texas Tech University. [29]
Doiron was among a group of climate change deniers who responded with their own open letter, calling for the AMNH “not to cave in to this pressure.” The letter was signed by numerous individuals with ties to groups funded by the Mercer Family Foundation such as Will Happer of the CO2 CoalitionRichard Lindzen, a fellow at the Cato InstituteCraig Idso, the chairman of the Center for the Study of Carbon Dioxide and Global Change. There are a number of signatories affiliated with the Heartland Institute, which has received over $5.78 million from the Mercer Family Foundation since 2008. [30]
The letter reads: [31]
“The Earth has supported abundant life many times in the geological past when there were much higher levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. It is quite likely that future generations will benefit from the enrichment of Earth’s atmosphere with more carbon dioxide.
“Make no mistake, the agitators are not defending science from quackery — quite the contrary!”
November 9, 2017
Doiron was listed as a speaker at the Heartland Institute’s “America First Energy Conference” at the Marriott Hotel in Houston, Texas. Doiron spoke on Panel 2A “Energy and National Security.” His speech was titled “Climate Alarmists are a Threat to Our National Security”: [25]
- See PDF and PowerPoint of presentation.
The event description read as follows: [22]
“At the America First Energy Conference, we plan to examine—one year and one day after Trump’s shocking Election Day victory—the following:
“Where does Trump’s America First Energy Plan stand?
“How much progress has been made in implementing it, and what remains to be done?
“What scientific and economic evidence is there that the plan is putting the nation on the right path for economic growth, environmental protection, or both?” [22]
In a fundraising letter obtained by DeSmog, Fred Palmer had promoted the event as having the goal to “review the scientific and economic evidence that exposes the fraud inherent in the Obama-era regulation regime” while discussing “the overwhelming benefits of fossil fuels to us all.” [23]
Many of the other speakers have regularly spoken at the Heartland Institute’s past ICCCs. Notable speakers listed so far include Joe Bast, Fred Palmer, Roger Bezdek, H. Sterling Burnett, Hal Doiron, Paul Driessen, John Dale Dunn, Myron Ebell, Heartland’s new President Tim Huelskamp, Craig Idso, David Legates, Jay Lehr, Anthony Lupo, Ross McKitrick, Steve Milloy, Todd Myers, John Nothdurt, David Schnare, and numerous others. [24]
As reported at the Houston Chronicle, speakers notably included two Trump Administration officials: Richard W. Westerdale II of the State Department and Vincent DeVito of the Department of Interior. David Bernhardt, deputy secretary of the Interior Department, was also formerly listed as a Heartland conference speaker, but apparently withdrew. [26]
Scott Pruitt also addressed the conference in a recorded video, personally thanking Heartland for “what you’re doing to advance energy” and “for what you’re doing to advance natural resources. [27]
The Climate Investigations Center put up a parody of the America First Energy conference website, complete with profiles on the individual speakers and highlighting their corporate funding and ties to groups such as the Cooler Heads Coalition (CHC). [28]
February 23, 2017
Harold Doiron 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). [20]
“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. [20]
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. [21]
November 20, 2015
Hal Doiron, as part of “The Right Climate Stuff Research Team,” spoke at an event hosted by the Texas Public Policy Foundation titled “At the Crossroads Energy & Climate Policy Summit.” He spoke alongside other TRCS members including Walter Cunningham and Dr. George L. Stegemeier, to “set the record straight on climate science.” [19]
Event speakers included: [19]
| Robert E. Murray | Founder, Chairman, President, and CEO of Murray Energy Corporation, the nation’s largest underground coal mining commpany. |
| H. Leighton Steward | Member, TheRightClimateStuff.com |
| Dr. Don Easterbrook | Professor Emeritus of Geology at Western Washington University |
| Dr. Will Happer | Cyrus Fogg Brackett Professor of Physics, Emeritus, Princeton University |
| Dr. Richard Lindzen | Alfred P. Sloan Professor of Meteorology, Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences, MIT |
| Dr. Patrick Moore | Author and founding member of Greenpeace |
| Dr. E. Calvin Beisner | Spokesman for the Cornwall Alliance for the Stewardship of Creation |
| Horace Cooper | Adjunct Fellow, National Center for Public Policy Research |
| Dr. Caleb Rossiter | Adjunct Professor, School of International Service and Adjunct Professor, Department of Mathematics and Statistics, College of Arts and Sciences at American University |
| Mark P. Mills | Senior Fellow, Manhattan Institute and founder andCEO, Digital Power Group |
| Dr. Hal Doiron | Former NASA Engineer and Chairman, The Right Climate Stuff Research Team |
| Walter Cunningham | Fighter Pilot, Col. USMCR-Ret.; Physicist; Apollo 7 Astronaut |
| Dr. George L. Stegemeier | President, GLS Engineering, Inc. |
| Stephen Moore | Distinguished Visiting Fellow on the Project for Economic Growth at the Heritage Foundation |
| Robert L. Bradley Jr. | CEO, Institute for Energy Research |
| Mike Nas | Partner, Environmental and Legislative Affairs Practice Group, Jackson Walker L.L.P. |
| Marc Morano | Founder, ClimateDepot.com |
| Ray Gifford | Partner, Wilkinson Barker Knauer LLP |
| Brian Lloyd | Executive Director, Public Utility Commission of Texas |
| John Cornyn | U.S. Senator and Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn |
June 11–12, 2015
Hal Doiron was a speaker on Panel 13: “The Right Climate Stuff,” at the Heartland Institute’s Tenth International Conference on Climate Change (ICCC10) in Washington, D.C., with Tom Wysmuller and Walter Cunningham. [16]
View Hal Doiron’s Panel 13 presentation at the Heartland Institute’s ICCC10, below: [17]
May 12, 2015
Harold Doiron is a signatory to an open letter to Pope Francis on climate change. The letter invites the Pope to reconsider his views on climate change before his upcoming encyclical letter on the environment, which is widely expected to call for measures to prevent climate change in the interests of the world’s poor.
The open letter was coordinated and signed by Calvin Beisner of the Cornwall Alliance. According to the letter, “Good climate policy must recognize human exceptionalism, the God-given call for human persons to ‘have dominion’ in the natural world (Genesis 1:28), and the need to protect the poor from harm, including actions that hinder their ascent out of poverty.” [9]
Another excerpt below:
”[…] the [climate] models are wrong. They therefore provide no rational basis to forecast dangerous human-induced global warming, and therefore no rational basis for efforts to reduce warming by restricting the use of fossil fuels or any other means.”
Judith Curry comments on her blog Climate Etc. that “Arguably the most effective ‘pushback’ comes from Cal Beisner of the Cornwall Alliance, who coordinated An Open Letter to Pope Francis on Climate Change.” [10]
April 27, 2015
Hal Doiron presented in the Vatican City, Italy, along with skeptics such as Christopher Monckton and Calvin Beisner of the Cornwall Alliance, for a press event hosted by the Heartland Institute in order to “dissuade Pope Francis from lending his moral authority to the politicized and unscientific climate agenda of the United Nations,” according to a Heartland Institute press release. [14], [15]
Video below:
DeSmogUK attended the event and noted that “just nine journalists made up the audience at Heartland’s press conference.”
September 25, 2014
Harold Doiron attends the “At the Crossroads; Energy & Climate Policy Summit” in Houston, Texas, hosted by the Texas Public Policy Foundation and The Heritage Foundation. Doiron presents in “Panel I: The State of the Science,” with Judith Curry and Roy Spencer. [8]
July 7–9, 2014
Harold Doiron was a panelist at the Heartland Institute’s Ninth International Conference on Climate Change (ICCC9) in Las Vegas, Nevada. [7] He spoke on Panel 6: “The Right Climate Stuff” with Thomas Wysmuller and Walter Cunningham.
Panel 6: “The Right Climate Stuff”
Panel 6 Q & A
DeSmogBlog has done in-depth research on the other speakers and sponsors from Heartland’s ICCC9, which can be found here.
March, 2013
Harold Doiron is part of a group that calls themselves “The Right Climate Stuff” (TRCS). According to a comment by a user identifying himself as Harold Doiron on the SkepticalScience website, Doirin is the Leader and Chairman (Unconfirmed) of TRCS. [18]
On March 15, 2013, Doiron, alongside Thomas Wysmuller, Walter Cunningham, and Heartland President Joseph Bast spoke at a panel discussion where they explain “why they are urging government agencies to cease their ‘unbridled advocacy’ of Anthropogenic Global Warming & Return Integrity to the Scientific Method.” [11]
In January 2013, TRCS issued a summary of its findings as follows (according to a press release issued by The Heartland Institute):
- The science that predicts the extent of anthropogenic global warming is not settled science.
- There is no convincing physical evidence of catastrophic anthropogenic global warming.
- Computer models need to be validated before being used in critical decision-making.
- Because there is no immediate threat of global warming requiring swift corrective action, we have time to study global climate changes and improve our prediction accuracy.
- The U.S. government is over-reacting to concerns about anthropogenic global warming.
- A wider range of solution options should be studied for global warming or cooling threats from any credible cause.
The group also presented at the Heartland Institute’s 7th International Conference on Climate Change (ICCC-7) in 2012 in Chicago.
January, 2013
Harold Doiron was on a Panel at the National Press Club titled “Climate Change – Science or Hype.” Panelists included H. Leighton Steward from Plants Need CO2, Scott Sklar of The Stella Group, Daniel Wiess of the Center for American Progress, Monical Dorhoi of World Bank, Keven Book of CleanView Energy Partners and David Kruetzer of the Heritage Foundation. [12]
At the debate, Harold Doiron described The Right Climate Stuff (TRCS) as a “Volunteer group.” He added, “I think we’re very objective. We don’t belong to any special interest group. […] Our conclusion is humans are not (causing) a significant warming of this planet.”
In an interview with StateImpact, Harold Doiron described why he and 20 of his colleagues became involved in the group. In Doiron’s case, James Hansen was the trigger: “Well, the thing that really pushed me over the edge was the public statements of NASA’s chief climate scientist Dr. James Hansen,” Doiron said. [13]
May 21, 23, 2012
Doiron registered as one of four former NASA scientists and astronauts to speak at the Heartland Institute’s Seventh International Conference on Climate Change (ICCC7). [4] Video footage from the NASA panel can be viewed below.
DeSmogBlog researched the co-sponsors behind Heartland’s ICCC7 and found that they had collectively received over $67 million from ExxonMobil, the Koch Brothers and the conservative Scaife family foundations.
March 28, 2012
Doiron was one of 49 former NASA scientists to sign an open letter to NASA and the Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS) to cease their “unbridled advocacy of CO2 being the major cause of climate change.” [2]
SkepticalScience published a critique on the claims made in the letter, which was also republished in The Guardian. [5], [6]
September 12, 2011
Harold Doiron was a member of the organizing committee for the JSC NAL Symposium on Climate Change where he delivered the opening remarks (PDF).
“Our speakers today could be generally classified as being on the side of the debate that argues that Catastrophic Anthropogenic Global Warming (CAGW) is an unproven theory with very little credibility,” Doiron said.
Walter Cunningham was also a speaker at the event. [3]
Affiliations
Other Affiliations
- NASA Alumni League JSC Chapter — Member (PDF).[1]
- InDyne, Inc. — Past VP, Engineering Analysis and Test Division. [1]
- McDonnell Douglas/Boeing — Past Sr. Manager, Loads and Dynamics. [1]
- Reed Tool Company — Past Director, Technical Services and Field Engineering. Studied methods to reduce costs of drilling for oil and gas, and provided “drilling bit applications technical support, oil and gas well drilling planning.” [1]
- NASA Johnson Space Center — Past Aerospace Technologist. [1]
Publications
According to a search of Google Scholar, Harold Doiron has not published in peer-reviewed journals on the subject of climate.
He has published some articles on engineering, space structures, and “space shuttle pogo prevention.”
Resources
- “Harold Doiron,” LinkedIn Profile. Accessed May 4, 2012.
- Gus Lubin. “49 Former NASA Scientists Send A Letter Disputing Climate Change,” Business Insider, April 11, 2012.
- “JSC NAL SYMPOSIUM ON CLIMATE CHANGE” (PDF), NASA Alumni League JSC Chapter.
- “Former NASA Scientists, Astronauts to Attend Heartland Institute Climate Conference, May 21 – 23 in Chicago,” PRWeb, April 19, 2012.
- “NASA Climate ‘Skeptics’ Respond with Science! Just Kidding,” SkepticalScience, April 12, 2012.
- “Attacks on climate science by former NASA staff shouldn’t be taken seriously,” The Guardian, April 12, 2012.
- “Return of Climate Denial-a-Palooza: Heartland Institute Hitches Anti-Science Wagon to Vegas FreedomFest,” DeSmogBlog, July 7, 2014. Archived July 14, 2014.
- Harold Doiron. “Speakers,” At the Crossroads; Energy & Climate Policy Summit, Texas Public Policy Foundation, The Heritage Foundation, September 25/26, 2014.
- “An Open Letter to Pope Francis on Climate Change,” Cornwall Alliance For The Stewardship of Creation. April 27, 2015. Archived with WebCite May 27, 2015.
- Judith Curry. “Pope Francis, climate change, and morality,” JudithCurry.com, April 29, 2015. Archived with Webite May 27, 2015.
- Jim Lakely. “Apollo 7 Astronaut Walter Cunningham to Headline ‘Right Climate Stuff’ Event at CPAC 2013,” The Heartland Institute, March 8, 2013.
- “’The Hard Question™’ Launches at National Press Club, The Conversation begins with ‘Setting the Course on Energy’” (Press Release), Pr News Wire. January 21, 2013.
- Dave Fehling. “Retired NASA Scientists Enter Climate Change Fray,” StateImpact. March 12, 2013.
- “World’s Leading Scientific ‘Skeptics’ of Man-Caused Global Warming Invite Public and Press to Lunch Event April 28 Just Outside the Vatican,” Heartland Institute. April 27, 2015. Archived May 29, 2015.
- “Pope Francis Should Answer to ExxonMobil Rather Than God, Imply Climate Deniers,” DeSmogUK. April 27, 2015.
- “Speakers,” Heartland Institute. Archived June 30, 2015.
- “Panel 13: The Right Climate Stuff with Walter Cunningham, Tom Wysmuller, and Hal Doiron,” Heartland Institute, June 12, 2015. Archived July 15, 2015.
- “NASA Retirees Appeal to their Own Lack of Climate Authority,” SkepticalScience, January 24, 2013. Archived September 9, 2015. Refer to comment by Harold H Doiron, PhD at 06:34 AM on 23 March, 2013.
- “At The CrossRoads Energy & Climate Policy Summit,” Crossroads-Summit.com. Archived July 4, 2016. Archived .pdf on file at DesmogBlog
- “PETITION” (PDF), February 23, 2017. Richard Lindzen. PDF Archived at DeSmog.
- Graham 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.
- “About,” America First Energy. Archived October 11, 2017. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/8bTTJ
- October 2017 Fundraising letter by Fred Palmer. On file at Desmog.
- “SPEAKERS,” America First Energy. Archived October 10, 2017. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/OJWeX
- “HAL DOIRON,” America First Energy Conference. Archived November 20, 2017. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/b5yuK
- James Osborne. “Trump officials to appear at Houston event hosted by climate skeptics,” Houston Chronicle, November 2, 2017. Archived November 20, 2017. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/XPtYc
- “Scott Pruitt,” America First Energy Conference. Archived November 20, 2017. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/X4F6m
- “America First Energy Conference Stacked with Climate Change Deniers,” Climate Investigations Center, November 6, 2017. Archived November 20, 2017. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/mISrd
- Robin Pogrebin and Somini Sengupta. “A Science Denier at the Natural History Museum? Scientists Rebel,” The New York Times, January 25, 2018. Archived February 13, 2018. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/tAIv4
- Graham Readfearn. “Climate Science Deniers Defend New York’s American Museum of Natural History From Calls to Drop Trustee Rebekah Mercer,” DeSmog, February 6, 2018.
- mnh18-feb4-petitionletter (PDF – Untitled). Retrieved from Watts Up With That.
