Meanwhile....
The exposure of Horner’s financial ties to coal companies is significant because he is a regular guest on Fox News Channel, which identifies him by his affiliation with CEI or E&E Legal but not by his connection to the coal industry.
Despite his lack of scientific expertise, Horner routinely critiques scientific findings, has called for spurious investigations of climate scientists affiliated with the IPCC and NASA, and has harassed scientists by filing intrusive open records requests with the universities where they work. As legal counsel for the Energy & Environmental Legal Institute and the Free Market Environmental Law Clinic — which work in tandem — Horner has targeted a number of leading climate scientists, including James Hansen and Katharine Hayhoe. Perhaps his most notorious lawsuit was against the University of Virginia to obtain emails, draft research papers, handwritten notes and other documents related to the work of Michael Mann, lead author of the famous “hockey stick” study demonstrating the link between increased fossil fuel use and rising global temperatures.
More on Horner:
Key Quotes
“Pluto's warm-up is a reminder that no matter where you are climate happens. It always has, it always will – with or without SUVs. And it should remind us to continue taking with an ever-increasing grain of salt these claims that your car acts as a weather machine.” [3]
Key Deeds
October 15, 2015
Chris Horner was paid $18,600 by coal company Alpha Natural Resources, Inc. “before it filed for chapter 11 this summer [2015],” according to the Wall Street Journal's Bankruptcy Beat piece, “Alpha Natural Discloses Payments to Climate Change Skeptic Chris Horner.” [15]
Horner received three payments from Alpha Natural Resources, each for $6,200, through the months of May, June, and July of 2015. [15] The WSJ's report notes that prior to “the recent bankruptcy filing, it wasn’t clear how much Alpha was paying Mr. Horner.” [15]
In an e-mail response to the WSJ, Horner wrote, “As you know, I’m a working attorney … Parties come to me seeking legal assistance. Obviously I can’t discuss that any more than I could if it was you seeking advice.” [15]
June 30 - July 1, 2011
Horner spoke at the Heartland Institute's Sixth International Conference on Climate Change. [4] His presentation was titled “Crony Capitalism and the 'Green Jobs' Charade.”
DeSmogBlog found that 17 of the 43 sponsors of the Heartland Institute’s Sixth International Conference on Climate Change, including the Heartland Institute itself, have collectively received over $46 million from either Scaife Foundations, Koch Foundations, or ExxonMobil and its foundation.
March 8-10, 2009
Horner was a speaker at the Heartland Institute's 2009 International Conference on Climate Change. The conference is described as “a platform for scientists and policy analysts from around the world who question the theory that global warming is a crisis.” [4]
His presentation was titled “Re-Writing the Roles for Kyoto II: Turning a Treaty into a Congressional-executive Agreement”
DeSmogBlog found that organizations sponsoring the conference had collectively received over $40 million from oil companies and right-wing foundations such as Koch Foundations and Scaife Foundations.
February 27, 2009
Horner accused NASA's chief climate scientist, James Hansen, of “doctor[ing] temperature data on two occasions in 2001 and once in 2007 in attempts to show an impending climate catastrophe.”
Horner stated that Hansen had “clearly abused his platform provided to him by the taxpayer, principally by the way he's been exposed of manipulating and revising data with the strange coincidence of him always found on the side of exaggerating the warming.” [5]
2009
Participated in the “Climate Chains” video along with fellow climate change skeptics Myron Ebell, Marlo Lewis, Patrick Michaels, and Todd Wynn. The video claims that “One of the greatest threats to freedom and prosperity in America is climate change legislation.” The video was organized by the Cascade Policy Institute. [6]
March 2 - 4, 2008
Horner spoke at the Heartland Institute's First International Conference on Climate Change. The purpose of this conference was reported to be to “generate international media attention” on global warming skepticism. [4]
May 2, 2007
Appeared on Glenn Beck's May 2, 2007 special “Exposed: The Climate of Fear.”