Charles Battig

Credentials

• M.D., Tulane University.¹“Dr. Charles Battig,” Jefferson Area Tea Party. Archived April 11, 2012. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.fo/1sbfa
• M.S., Electrical Engineering, Tulane University.²“Dr. Charles Battig,” Jefferson Area Tea Party. Archived April 11, 2012. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.fo/1sbfa
• B.S., Electrical Engineering, Tulane University.³“Dr. Charles Battig,” Jefferson Area Tea Party. Archived April 11, 2012. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.fo/1sbfa

Background

Charles Battig is a retired physician with a postgraduate degree in electrical engineering. In 2009 he was appointed president of the Piedmont Chapter of Virginia Scientists and Engineers for Energy and Environment (VA-SEEE) by S. Fred Singer.

VA-SEEE, described as a “grassroots organization,” was founded by climate change skeptic Fred Singer who is also president of the Science and Environmental Policy Project (SEPP). The VA SEEE appears closely related to SEPP and is also connected to the “Climate Chance Reconsidered” report of the Nongovernmental International Panel on Climate Change (NIPCC).⁴Info- Scientists and Scientists and Engineers for Energy and Environment-Virginia (Facebook). Accessed May, 2012.

According to his bio at the Jefferson Area Tea Party, Battig “has pursued an active interest in climate issues prompted by the discovery of a rich history of climatologists here: Professor S. Fred Singer, Patrick Michaels, Dennis Avery, and M. Mann, and the lack of local coverage of the topic other than the Al Gore catastrophe promotion.”⁵“Dr. Charles Battig,” Jefferson Area Tea Party. Archived April 11, 2012. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.fo/1sbfa

According to Battig’s website, “As there was no active local voice countering the ‘Al Gore’ version of climatology, I decided to become the local a ‘climate reality’ activist.” He has regularly attended the Heartland Institute‘s International Conferences on Climate Change.⁶“About,” Climate Reality. Accessed May, 2012.

Stance on Climate Change

“[Professor Michael Mann’s] unsubstantiated claims of manmade climate changes being ‘near-certain linked to human activity’ neglects solar, cosmic particle, water vapor, natural rhythms of ocean and atmospheric circulations amongst many incompletely understood climate factors.”⁷Charles Battig’s (unpublished) letter to the Washington Post, October 10, 2010 (.doc). Retrieved from Climate Reality.

Key Quotes

December, 2016

“Soon to be ex-president Obama is throwing as much sand as possible into the energy machinery on his way out the door. What can only be interpreted as a petulant and defiant act of sabotage, he is poisoning the well of energy and environmental reform promised by president-elect Trump.”⁸Charles Battig. “The next great sucking sound,” American Thinker, December 23, 2016. Archived December 27, 2016. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/8LTN3

July, 2015

“Countering this climate doomsday propaganda has been a number of scientists and independent organizations. Manipulation of the historical temperature record by our own government agencies has been documented. Such revisions serve to make the historical record conform to the political aims and views of our Federal government, that global warming is occurring and is linked to fossil fuel use. Proliferation of internet access has provided the new open public soap box, independent of traditional media, itself fully in the climate panic mode. Web sites maintained by Anthony Watts, Marc Morano, and Steve Milloy are just a few of many striving to get the unpoliticized science before the public.”⁹Charles Battig. “Climate Change Hysteria and the Madness of Crowds,” Watts Up With That. July 10, 2015.

February, 2015

“The vigor with which both the Church and the EPA have linked their common belief and dogmatic position that mankind is the prime driver of climate change should concern those staunch defenders of the doctrine of “separation of church and state.’”¹⁰Charles Battig. “No separation between church and state on climate change,“ American Thinker. February 2, 2015.

January, 2015

“Global temperatures are but one of several imperfect gauges to define the vague entity popularly termed climate, but they are widely referenced as the prime indicator.”¹¹Charles Battig. “Global Warming and Government Work,” American Thinker, January 24, 2015.

May, 2012

“Mankind and nature can both benefit by the intelligent development of natural resources needed by a growing global population. Cordoning off resources at one location leads to greater potential environmental damage at another.”¹²“Nature is Not a Fragile Basket Case” (Letter to the Editor), The Wall Street Journal, May 3, 2012. (PDF) retrieved from Climate Reality.

December, 2009

“Documents show a small cabal of climate scientists actively suppressed dissenting views, denied opposing views publication in journals they control and fostered manipulation of temperature data to conform to global warming dogma.”

“It is proclaimed that failure to impose a new, worldwide energy rationing system and wealth redistribution scheme will provoke a global climate meltdown. A global government is promoted to administer the redistribution of wealth and energy. Government, industry, research institutions and the financial community are giddy with the prospects of a trillion-dollar-a-year funding source. Our own government is pushing ‘cap and trade’ as necessary because ‘the science is settled.’

“There may be ample reason now to believe there is ‘something rotten in the state of Denmark.’

“The scientific community and the public deserve a full and open investigation of the data behind the conclusions made to support the global-warming theory.”¹³“Investigate data behind global-warming theory,” (Letter to the Editor), Daily Progress, December 6, 2009. Archived December 10, 2009.

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.¹⁴Robin 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

Battig 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 2008.¹⁵Graham Readfearn. “Climate Science Deniers Defend New York’s American Museum of Natural History From Calls to Drop Trustee Rebekah Mercer,” DeSmog, February 6, 2018.

The letter reads:¹⁶mnh18-feb4-petitionletter (PDF – Untitled). Retrieved from Watts Up With That.

“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!”

February 23, 2017

Charles Battig 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).¹⁷“PETITION” (PDF), February 23, 2017. Richard Lindzen. PDF Archived at DeSmog.

“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.¹⁸“PETITION” (PDF), February 23, 2017. Richard Lindzen. PDF Archived at DeSmog.

Media outlets including Fox News, The Hill, and the Daily Caller reported on the list, describing signatories as “eminent scientists” and “qualified individuals.”¹⁹Valerie Richardson. “Hundreds of Scientists Urge Trump to Withdraw from U.N. Climate-Change Agency,” The Washington Times, February 23, 2017. Republished by Fox News. Archived March 6, 2017. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/dlFj3 ²⁰Timothy Cama. “Climate skeptics ask Trump to withdraw from UN agency,“ The Hill, February 23, 2017. Archived March 6, 2017. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/dlFj3 ²¹Michael Bastasch. “Hundreds Of Scientists Urge Trump To Pull Out Of A 25-Year-Old UN Environmental Treaty,” The Daily Caller, February 23, 2017. Archived March 6, 2017. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/Lg3U5

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.²²Graham 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.

January 5, 2017

Charles Battig was a signatory to a Cornwall Alliance open letter supporting Scott Pruitt for EPA Administrator under the Trump administration.²³“Open Letter Supporting Scott Pruitt for EPA Administrator,” Cornwall Alliance, January 5, 2017. Archived January 19, 2017. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/xMash

“Mr. Pruitt has also demonstrated understanding of and open-mindedness toward scientific insights crucial to the formulation and implementation of environmental regulation. He is prepared to hear all sides in debates over the risks and benefits of various activities that come under the purview of the EPA,” reads the letter.

On January 12, 2017, Senate Democrats raised conflict of interest concerns regarding Scott Prutt’s fossil fuel ties. Pruitt had spent years working to combat the Obama Administration’s Clean Power Plan.²⁴Ben Jervey. “Mapping EPA Nominee Scott Pruitt’s Many Fossil Fuel Ties,” DeSmog, January 13, 2017.

In an open letter to the Office of Government Ethics, members of the Senate’s environmental panel commented:

“During his tenure as Attorney General of Oklahoma, Mr. Pruitt has blurred the distinction between official and political actions, often at the behest of corporations he will regulate if confirmed to lead EPA,” the letter said. “Public reporting based on documents produced by Freedom of Information Act requests illustrate how Mr. Pruitt and members of his staff have worked closely with fossil fuel lobbyists to craft his office’s official positions.”

Pruitt was further grilled on his fossil fuel ties at his confirmation hearing on January 18.²⁵Ben Jervey and Steve Horn. “EPA Nominee Scott Pruitt Gets Grilled on Fossil Fuel Ties at Confirmation Hearing,” DeSmog, January 18, 2017.

Some notable signatories of the Cornwall Alliance letter, as of January 5, 2017, included:

• Tim Ball
• Charles G. Battig
• E. Calvin Beisner
• H. Sterling Burnett
• Kenneth Chilton
• Donn Dears
• John Droz
• James E. Enstrom
• Joseph Farah
• Steve Goreham
• Jay Grimstead
• William Happer
• Richard Land
• David Legates
• Richard S. Lindzen
• Anthony R. Lupo
• Rod D. Martin
• Anthony J. Sadar
• Willie Soon
• Roy W. Spencer
• David J. Theroux
• James A. Wanliss
• Anthony Watts
• Peter W. Wood
• Thomas H. Wysmuller
• Benjamin Zycher

January, 2016

Charles Battig went on the “Freedom & Prosperity Radio” show hosted by the Virginia Institute for Public Policy and Tertium quids to talk about the benefits of carbon dioxide (audio of full 1 hour program below):²⁶“Freedom & Prosperity Radio,” Tertium Quids. Archived May 10, 2016. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.

“Dr. Charles Battig discusses: the positive effects of carbon dioxide without which plants would die closely followed by the human race; and how according to the satellite data, there has been no global warming for the last 18 years. Dr. Battig also asks if the environmentalists are so certain of their positions, why do they: refuse to debate, make personal attacks on opponents, refuse to release their data, and try to limit the freedom of speech of those who disagree with them. Aren’t these actions more typical of the side that realizes it holds a losing hand? Of what are they afraid other than losing their federal research bribes, er, grants?” reads the event program.

June 11-12, 2015

Charles Battig was a speaker on Panel 8: “Human Health and Welfare,” at the Heartland Institute’s Tenth International Conference on Climate Change (ICCC10) in Washington, D.C., with James Enstrom and Stanley Young.²⁷“Tenth International Conference on Climate Change,” Heartland Institute. Archived February 13, 2018.

View Charles Battig’s Panel 8 presentation at the Heartland Institute’s ICCC10 below:

July 10, 2014

Charles Battig was a guest blogger on Watts Up With That, writing on “Climate Change Hysteria and the Madness of Crowds.” The article claims manipulation of data by government agencies in order to “conform to the political iams and views of our Federal government, that global warming is occurring and is linked to fossil fuel use.”²⁸Charles Battig. “Climate Change Hysteria and the Madness of Crowds,” Watts Up With That. July 10, 2015.

According to Battig, “Web sites maintained by Anthony Watts, Marc Morano, and Steve Milloy are just a few of many striving to get the unpoliticized science before the public.” Steve Milloy has been the Director of External Policy and Strategy for one of the largest privately-owned coal producers in the United States, and maintainer of JunkScience.com. Milloy has been associated with major tobacco companies since 1997, where we was also executive director of The Advancement of Sound Science Coalition (TASSC).

Battig compares mainstream climate change science to a “disease pandemic” that will “burn itself out,” while climate change skeptics face an “uphill fight against the propensities of human nature and the madness of crowds.”

May 21 – 23, 2012

Battig was a speaker at the Heartland Institute‘s Seventh International Conference on Climate Change (ICCC7).

His speech, titled “Achieving Public Policy Results” can be viewed below.

DeSmog 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.²⁹Brendan DeMelle. “Heartland Denial-a-Palooza Sponsors Have Received Million From ExxonMobil, Koch and Scaife Foundations,” May 22, 2012. DeSmog.

January 23, 2012

Spoke at a SEPP/VA-SEEE forum with fellow climate change skeptics Fred Singer and Kenneth Haapala. The topics included the “status of global warming science and the divergence between models and observations.”³⁰“The Week That Was: 2012-1-07 (January 7, 2012),” (PDF), The Science and Environmental Policy Project.

October 22, 2011

Battig was a guest speaker at a joint meeting of SEPP and VA-SEEE at Virginia Commonwealth University that introduced the 2011 report of the “Nongovernmental International Panel on Climate Change” called “Climate Change Reconsidered.”³¹“Heartland Events: Climate Change Reconsidered: A joint meeting update of SEPP and VA-SEEE at VCU,” The Heartland Institute. Accessed May, 2012.

The report was funded by the Heartland Institute, and unlike the official IPCC report, scientists contributing to the NIPCC are paid for their efforts. The report is a joint project of the Heartland Institute, the Centre for the Study of Carbon Dioxide and Global Change (CSCDGC), and the Science and Environmental Policy Project (SEPP).³²“DenialGate Highlights Heartland’s Selective NIPCC Science,” SkepticalScience, February 18, 2012.

September, 2011

The Albemarle County voted to end the county’s membership in the Cool Counties initiative, a nationwide non-binding agreement that suggests steps to reduce energy use and carbon emissions and sets a goal of 80 percent carbon dioxide emission reductions by 2050.

This was after opposition by Charles Battig among others who opposed the initiative.³³“2011 Was an Incredible Year as Agenda 21 Becomes a Major Issue,” American Policy Center. ³⁴Aaron Richardson. “Albemarle votes to end Cool Counties membership,” The Daily Progress, September 7, 2011.

Affiliations

• VA-SEEE — President, Piedmont Chapter.
• CO2 Coalition — Member.³⁵“ABOUT,” CO2 Coalition. Archived December 6, 2019. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/qIG9F

Publications

Battig has published numerous letters and articles in the Wall Street Journal, Barron’s, American Thinker, and local press.

He has not published any articles in peer-reviewed journals on the subject of climate change.

Other Resources

Resources

• 1
  “Dr. Charles Battig,” Jefferson Area Tea Party. Archived April 11, 2012. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.fo/1sbfa
• 2
  “Dr. Charles Battig,” Jefferson Area Tea Party. Archived April 11, 2012. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.fo/1sbfa
• 3
  “Dr. Charles Battig,” Jefferson Area Tea Party. Archived April 11, 2012. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.fo/1sbfa
• 4
  Info- Scientists and Scientists and Engineers for Energy and Environment-Virginia (Facebook). Accessed May, 2012.
• 5
  “Dr. Charles Battig,” Jefferson Area Tea Party. Archived April 11, 2012. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.fo/1sbfa
• 6
  “About,” Climate Reality. Accessed May, 2012.
• 7
  Charles Battig’s (unpublished) letter to the Washington Post, October 10, 2010 (.doc). Retrieved from Climate Reality.
• 8
  Charles Battig. “The next great sucking sound,” American Thinker, December 23, 2016. Archived December 27, 2016. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/8LTN3
• 9
  Charles Battig. “Climate Change Hysteria and the Madness of Crowds,” Watts Up With That. July 10, 2015.
• 10
  Charles Battig. “No separation between church and state on climate change,“ American Thinker. February 2, 2015.
• 11
  Charles Battig. “Global Warming and Government Work,” American Thinker, January 24, 2015.
• 12
  “Nature is Not a Fragile Basket Case” (Letter to the Editor), The Wall Street Journal, May 3, 2012. (PDF) retrieved from Climate Reality.
• 13
  “Investigate data behind global-warming theory,” (Letter to the Editor), Daily Progress, December 6, 2009. Archived December 10, 2009.
• 14
  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
• 15
  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.
• 16
  mnh18-feb4-petitionletter (PDF – Untitled). Retrieved from Watts Up With That.
• 17
  “PETITION” (PDF), February 23, 2017. Richard Lindzen. PDF Archived at DeSmog.
• 18
  “PETITION” (PDF), February 23, 2017. Richard Lindzen. PDF Archived at DeSmog.
• 19
  Valerie Richardson. “Hundreds of Scientists Urge Trump to Withdraw from U.N. Climate-Change Agency,” The Washington Times, February 23, 2017. Republished by Fox News. Archived March 6, 2017. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/dlFj3
• 20
  Timothy Cama. “Climate skeptics ask Trump to withdraw from UN agency,“ The Hill, February 23, 2017. Archived March 6, 2017. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/dlFj3
• 21
  Michael Bastasch. “Hundreds Of Scientists Urge Trump To Pull Out Of A 25-Year-Old UN Environmental Treaty,” The Daily Caller, February 23, 2017. Archived March 6, 2017. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/Lg3U5
• 22
  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.
• 23
  “Open Letter Supporting Scott Pruitt for EPA Administrator,” Cornwall Alliance, January 5, 2017. Archived January 19, 2017. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/xMash
• 24
  Ben Jervey. “Mapping EPA Nominee Scott Pruitt’s Many Fossil Fuel Ties,” DeSmog, January 13, 2017.
• 25
  Ben Jervey and Steve Horn. “EPA Nominee Scott Pruitt Gets Grilled on Fossil Fuel Ties at Confirmation Hearing,” DeSmog, January 18, 2017.
• 26
  “Freedom & Prosperity Radio,” Tertium Quids. Archived May 10, 2016. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.
• 27
  “Tenth International Conference on Climate Change,” Heartland Institute. Archived February 13, 2018.
• 28
  Charles Battig. “Climate Change Hysteria and the Madness of Crowds,” Watts Up With That. July 10, 2015.
• 29
  Brendan DeMelle. “Heartland Denial-a-Palooza Sponsors Have Received Million From ExxonMobil, Koch and Scaife Foundations,” May 22, 2012. DeSmog.
• 30
  “The Week That Was: 2012-1-07 (January 7, 2012),” (PDF), The Science and Environmental Policy Project.
• 31
  “Heartland Events: Climate Change Reconsidered: A joint meeting update of SEPP and VA-SEEE at VCU,” The Heartland Institute. Accessed May, 2012.
• 32
  “DenialGate Highlights Heartland’s Selective NIPCC Science,” SkepticalScience, February 18, 2012.
• 33
  “2011 Was an Incredible Year as Agenda 21 Becomes a Major Issue,” American Policy Center.
• 34
  Aaron Richardson. “Albemarle votes to end Cool Counties membership,” The Daily Progress, September 7, 2011.
• 35
  “ABOUT,” CO2 Coalition. Archived December 6, 2019. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/qIG9F