Robert H. Essenhigh

Credentials

Ph.D., Fuel Technology and Chemical Engineering, University of Sheffield (1959).¹
M.S., Natural Sciences, University of Cambridge (1955).²
B.A., Natural Sciences, University of Cambridge (1951).³

Background

Robert H. Essenhigh is a professor emeritus of mechanical engineering with a focus in the area of combustion. He is skeptical of the theory of man-made climate change.⁴ ⁵

Essenhigh’s area of study has been the effect of chemical kinetics on the rate of coal combustion.⁶

Stance on Climate Change

Essenhigh believes that after the next 20 years, the Earth “will begin to cool into a new ice age.”

“’At 6 billion tons, humans are then responsible for a comparatively small amount – less than 5 percent – of atmospheric carbon dioxide,’ he said. ‘And if nature is the source of the rest of the carbon dioxide, then it is difficult to see that man-made carbon dioxide can be driving the rising temperatures. In fact, I don’t believe it does.’”⁷
“The outcome is that the global warming advocate’s conclusion on the role of CO2 evidently has it back to front: It’s the temperature that is driving the CO2. If there are flaws in these propositions, I’m listening; but if there are objections, let’s have them with the numbers.”⁸

Key Quotes

July 2006

An event description where Essenhigh was set to speak on the topic of “Can Humans Do Anything About Global Warming?” outlines some of his prior writing on climate change:⁹ ¹⁰

“On the issue of carbon dioxide and global warming, the question at issue really is, ‘Does carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuel combustion cause global warming?’ There does appear to be a common consensus view; but, the available data not only does not support this common consensus view, but supports the contrary position. That is that it is the naturally rising temperature that is driving up the carbon dioxide. This finding not only absolves man as the cause of global warming, but also raises major questions about the economic impact of attempting to control carbon dioxide emissions, particularly if this is a waste of time and resources.”¹¹

Key Deeds

December 13, 2007

Essenhigh is a signatory to a 2007 open letter to the Secretary-General of the United Nations which claims that the “UN climate conference is taking the World in entirely the wrong direction” and that no attempts should be made to stop or slow climate change.¹²

April 6, 2006

Signatory to a 2006 open letter to Stephen Harper titled “Open Kyoto to Debate.” The letter suggests that global warming science is made up of “predetermined political agendas,” and states that “allocating funds to ‘stopping climate change’ would be irrational.”¹³

Affiliations

The Heartland Institute — “Expert.”¹⁴

Robert Essenhigh on Facebook.

Publications

A search of academic journals shows Essenhigh has published over 45 peer-reviewed research articles mainly in the area of combustion.

According to a search of Google Scholar, Essenhigh has published two article in the area of climate change in a peer-reviewed journal. One of these publications was published in the journal Energy And Environment, a journal edited by climate change skeptic Sonja Boehmer-Christiansen. E&E has been criticized for its peer-review process, and has been one of the main journals willing to published articles by climate change skeptics.

His other publication is in Energy & Fuels, a publication of the American Chemical Society, an organization that has been accused of editorial bias due to its strong ties with industry.¹⁵ ¹⁶

Sample Publications

“DOES CO2 REALLY DRIVE GLOBAL WARMING?“ Energy & Environment, Volume 12, Number 4 (July 2001).
“Potential Dependence of Global Warming on the Residence Time (RT) in the Atmosphere of Anthropogenically Sourced Carbon Dioxide,” Energy Fuels, 2009, 23 (5), pp 2773–2784. A publication of the American Chemical Society.

Other Resources

“Peer-reviewed skeptic papers by Robert Essenhigh,” SkepticalScience. Accessed December 8, 2011.

Resources

1
“Robert H. Essenhigh,” The Ohio State University. Archived August 27, 2008. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/KoDiN
2
“Robert H. Essenhigh,” The Ohio State University. Archived August 27, 2008. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/KoDiN
3
“Robert H. Essenhigh,” The Ohio State University. Archived August 27, 2008. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/KoDiN
4
“Robert H. Essenhigh,” The Ohio State University. Archived August 27, 2008. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/KoDiN
5
“Robert Essenhigh,” OSU Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering. Archived October 30, 2019. Archive.URL: https://archive.ph/MtXkb
6
“Robert H. Essenhigh,” The Ohio State University. Archived August 27, 2008. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/KoDiN
7
“Global Warming Natural, May End Within 20 Years, Says Ohio State University Researcher,” ScienceDaily, June 15, 2001.
8
“Does CO2 really drive global warming?”, (viewpoint) Chemical Innovation Vol. 31 (#5: May): pp. 44-46; 2001. Republished by earthlink.net. Note: Chemical Innovation is a journal of the American Chemical Society.
9
“Calendar,” The Free Press, July 7, 2006. Archived July 7, 2006. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.ph/z8gsA
10
“Global warming counteroffensive: send out the skeptics,” Daily Kos, July 5, 2006.
11
“Global warming counteroffensive: send out the skeptics,” Daily Kos, July 5, 2006.
12
“Open Letter to the Secretary-General of the United Nations,” Science & Public Policy Institute (Reprint). Archived February 21, 2010. Archive URL:https://archive.ph/P7oMx
13
“Open Kyoto to debate,” National Post, April 6, 2006. Archived April 26, 2006. Archive URL:https://archive.ph/hpxEr
14
“Heartland Experts: Robert Essenhigh,” The Heartland Institute. Archived October 30, 2019. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.ph/2D2d0
15
Robert Essenhigh. “Potential Dependence of Global Warming on the Residence Time (RT) in the Atmosphere of Anthropogenically Sourced Carbon Dioxide,” Energy Fuels 2009, 23, 5. Archive URL https://archive.ph/7fS8L
16
“About the Journal,” ACS Publications. Archived October 30, 2019. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.ph/hfinI

DeSmog

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