Person

Naomi Oreskes

Professor Naomi Oreskes during 2nd European TA conference in Berlin (link) by Adrian Grycuk is licensed CC BY-SA 3.0 pl (link)

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Naomi Oreskes is a historian of science and climate activist. 1 She is the author of a number of books critical of non-weather-dependent sources of energy including Merchants of Doubt, Why Trust Science, and The Collapse of Western Civilization: A View From the Future. 1

Early Life

Naomi Oreskes was born on November 25, 1958. 2 She received her Bachelor of Arts in mining geology from the Royal School of Mines of Imperial College London in 1981 and PhD in Geological Research and History of Science from Stanford University in 1990. 3

Climate Alarmism

Naomi Oreskes is primarily known for her environmentalist views and criticism of energy companies. 4 Her main academic project argues that energy companies have, in her opinion, wrongfully funded scientific inquiry into the validity of various claims relating to climate change and that this funding has had a negative impact on, and in effect tarnished, an otherwise consistent scientific consensus on anthropogenic climate change. 4

Her 2004 article “The Scientific Consensus on Climate Change” compiled hundreds of abstracts on meteorology and related fields to argue that a strong scientific consensus exists on climate change. 5 The article has been widely cited, including in the controversial 6 Al Gore documentary An Inconvenient Truth. 4

In 2010, Oreskes authored Merchants of Doubt, a book that argued for the position that scientists that reject the “scientific consensus” on climate change should not be allowed to receive funding from right-leaning think tanks and energy firms. 7 The book concludes that the funding of scientific studies and inquiry skeptical of aspects of climate change science is both undesirable and that giving such scientists a voice has hindered government action to address climate change. 7

Criticisms

In a 2015 article, Oreskes panned four climate scientists who attended the 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP 21) who argued that weather-dependent sources of energy cannot effectively replace non-weather dependent sources of energy at the rate necessary to avoid negative outcomes of climate change. 8 The scientists argued that alternatives to weather-dependent sources of energy, such as nuclear energy, are necessary given the limitations with weather-dependent energy production. 9

Oreskes has been criticized for referring to these climate scientists as “climate deniers,” 10 and has been accused of engaging in the same “cherry picking” and “distortion of scientific evidence” she accused the four scientists in her article. 10 In particular, Oreskes has been accused of cherry picking in arguing that nuclear energy is not a viable source of energy because nuclear power plants require government subsidies, ignoring the fact that weather-dependent forms of energy are similarly reliant on government subsidies for economic viability. 10

Alleged Sher Edling Retainer

According to an article by Firebreak published in September 2023, Oreskes was, as of 2023, on retainer with law firm Sher Edling which has previously pursued legal action against fossil fuel companies for their alleged role in causing climate change. However, according to the article, Oreskes denied she was on any such retainer as of 2021 and had allegedly asked for media outlet CNN to remove any mentions of such a connection in a 2021 story it published discussing a Harvard study which she had co-authored accusing ExxonMobil of using, “Big Tobacco-like propaganda to downplay” climate change as well as pass “blame onto consumers.” 11 12 According to the CNN story, ExxonMobil had accused Oreskes of having a retainer with Sher Edling, which was filing lawsuits against the company and others at the time following the release of the Harvard study, which it called a “blatant conflict of interest.” 12 The CNN story continued by alleging that Oreskes had admitted to being, “paid for three and a half hours of work to review the historical accuracy of material for a complaint by the law firm at issue. In the past, she has commented on briefs and complaints on climate cases on a pro bono basis.” 12 In addition, at the bottom of the CNN story, as of 2024, there is a subparagraph that reads, “Correction: A previous version of this story misstated the nature of Oreskes’ legal work for a complaint. She commented on briefs and complaints on climate cases for a law firm that is leading lawsuits against Exxon and others in the industry.” 12

According to the Firebreak article, Oreskes, during a 2020 deposition, had allegedly admitted to receiving retainers from several law firms, “…at least three times in the last ten years (including the ongoing one with Sher Edling).” 11 The article continues by claiming Oreskes had written a 2015 op-ed for The American Chemical Society titled ““Why Disclosure Matters” where she allegedly claimed that academics, “who do not disclose industry funding of having no research integrity.” 11 13

Political Activities

Naomi Oreskes has acted as a Democratic-invited witness on various congressional hearings and forums, including in 2016, 14 2019, 15 and 2023. 16

In 2016, Oreskes was a speaker at a forum hosted by the Congressional Progressive Caucus and the House Sustainable Energy and Environment Coalition (SEEC). 14 At the 2016 forum, Oreskes revealed that beyond working as an academic, she has engaged in advocacy and has consulted state attorneys general on pursuing charges against energy-producing companies. 17

In 2019, Oreskes served as a Democratic Party witness before the U.S. House Select Committee on Climate Change. 18 Oreskes acknowledged in her written statement that she has been labeled a climate activist. 18 She did not reject the label and instead stated that when “citizens are inactive, democracy fails,” 18 and went on to emphasize that she was not before the committee as a representative of any institution or organization. 18 In her testimony, she accused Representative Joe Barton (R-TX) and Senator James Inhofe (R-OK) of having “attacked” or “harassed” climate scientists. 18

In 2023, Oreskes again served as a Democratic-invited witness on climate science before the U.S. Senate Committee on The Budget. 16

References

  1. “Naomi Oreskes.” Harvard University Department of History of Science. https://histsci.fas.harvard.edu/people/naomi-oreskes#:~:text=Oreskes%20is%20author%20or%20co,(Princeton%20University%20Press%2C%202019)
  2. “Naomi Oreskes.” Calendar Z. https://www.calendarz.com/on-this-day/november/25/naomi-oreskes
  3. Oreskes, Naomi. Curriculum vitae. May 2023. Accessed August 18, 2023. https://histsci.fas.harvard.edu/sites/projects.iq.harvard.edu/files/hos/files/oreskes_cv_may_2023.pdf
  4. “Bio for Naomi Oreskes.” Climate Accountability. July 26, 2013. Accessed August 18, 2023. https://climateaccountability.org/pdf/Oreskes%20Jul13.pdf
  5. Oreskes, Naomi. “The Scientific Consensus on Climate Change.” Science. December 3, 2004. Accessed August 18, 2023. https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.1103618
  6. Adam, David. “Gore’s climate film has scientific errors – judge” The Guardian. October 11, 2007. Accessed August 18, 2023. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2007/oct/11/climatechange
  7. Buchanan, Will. “Merchants of Doubt” Christian Science Monitor. June 22, 2010. Accessed August 18, 2023. https://www.csmonitor.com/Books/Book-Reviews/2010/0622/Merchants-of-Doubt
  8. Oreskes, Naomi. “There is a new form of climate denialism to look out for – so don’t celebrate yet” The Guardian. December 16, 2015. Accessed August 18, 2023. https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/dec/16/new-form-climate-denialism-dont-celebrate-yet-cop-21
  9.  “Top Climate Scientists Dr. James Hansen, Dr. Tom Wigley, Dr. Ken Caldeira and Dr. Kerry Emanuel to Issue Stark Challenge at Paris COP21 Climate Conference” Vertical Response. November 12, 2015. Accessed August 18, 2023. http://hosted.verticalresponse.com/372493/c25ebfa5d2/TEST/TEST/
  10.  Ropeik, David. “Is Naomi Oreskes Using the Same Merchant of Doubt Tactics She Criticizes?” Big Think. December 19, 2015. Accessed August 18, 2023. https://bigthink.com/technology-innovation/is-naomi-oreskes-using-the-same-merchant-of-doubt-tactics-she-criticizes/
  11. Zaruk, David. “The La Jolla Tobacconization Strategy (Part 1).” Firebreak, Accessed September 28, 2023. https://www.thefirebreak.org/p/the-la-jolla-tobacconization-strategy
  12. Egan, Matt. “Exxon uses Big Tobacco’s playbook to downplay the climate crisis, Harvard study finds.” CNN, May 25, 2021. https://edition.cnn.com/2021/05/13/business/exxon-climate-change-harvard/index.html
  13. “Viewpoint: Why Disclosure Matters.” ACS Publications, June 12, 2015. Accessed November 8, 2024. https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.est.5b02726
  14. “CPC and SEEC Hold Forum on Oil Industry Deception Campaign” Congressional Progressive Caucus. June 22, 2016. Accessed August 18, 2023. https://progressives.house.gov/2016/6/cpc-and-seec-hold-forum-on-oil-industry-deception-campaign
  15. Oreskes, Naomi. “Testimony for the U.S. Select Committee on Climate Change” Senate Democrats. October 29, 2019. Accessed August 18, 2023.
  16. Oreskes, Naomi. “Written Testimony Submitted to the US Senate Committee on the Budget Hearing on Dollars and Degrees: Investigating Fossil Fuel Dark Money’s Systematic Threats to Climate and the Federal Budget: The Causes and Costs of Climate Delay” June 21, 2023.  Accessed August 18, 2023. https://www.budget.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/Dr.%20Naomi%20Oreskes%20-%20Testimony%20-%20Senate%20Budget%20Committee1.pdf
  17. Brown, Katie. “Activists Admit At Friendly Forum They’ve Been Working With Ny Ag On Climate Rico Campaign For Over A Year.” ENERGYINDEPTH. June 24, 2016. Accessed August 18, 2023. https://eidclimate.org/activists-admit-at-friendly-forum-theyve-been-working-with-ny-ag-on-climate-rico-campaign-for-over-a-year/
  18. Oreskes, Naomi. “Testimony for the U.S. Select Committee on Climate Change” Senate Democrats. October 29, 2019. Accessed August 18, 2023. https://www.democrats.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/Naomi_Oreskes_Testimony.pdf
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