Hendrik (Henk) Tennekes
Credentials
Past professor of aeronautical engineering, and the past director of research at the Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute.1“Experts,” ICECAP. Accessed February, 2012. Archived with WebCite February 2, 2012.
Background
Hendrik (Henk) Tennekes is a retired researcher from the Netherlands known for his work in the fields of turbulence and multi-modal forecasting.
From 1965 to 1977 he was a professor of aeronautical engineering at the Pennsylvania State University. From 1977 to 1990, he served as director of research at the Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute (Koninklijk Nederlands Meteorologisch Instituut, or KNMI), and from 1990 to 1995 as director of strategy development there. He was forced to resign after publishing skeptical articles regarding climate change.
According to his profile at ICECAP, “His contrary views on global warming forced him into early retirement at age 58.”2“Experts,” ICECAP. Accessed February, 2012. Archived with WebCite February 2, 2012.
He was also a member of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences from 1982 until his recent withdrawal in January, 2010, after accusing the RNAAS of misrepresenting science.3“Henk Tennekes Resigns from Dutch Academy,” Pielke Research Group, February 12, 2010. Archived with WebCite, February 2, 2012.
Stance on Climate Change
“[T]here is no chance at all that the physical sciences can produce a universally accepted scientific basis for policy measures concerning climate change. There exists no sound theoretical framework for climate predictability studies.”4“The limits of predictability,” The National Post, January 19, 2007.
Key Quotes
“Wind power is a green mirage of the worst kind.”5Henk Tennekes. “Wind power the worst kind of Mirage,” Financial Post, March 3, 2010. Archived (PDF) by “Anthropogentic Global Warming: Documents supporting the sceptics’ view (www.au.agwscam.com).
Key Deeds
January 27, 2012
Signatory to a Wall Street Journal Op-Ed titled “No Need to Panic About Global Warming.”
Other signatures include those of Claude Allègre, Jan Breslow, William Happer, William Kininmonth, Richard Lindzen, James McGrath, Rodney Nichols, Burt Rutan, Harrison H. Schmitt, Edward David, Michael Kelly, Nir Shaviv, and Antonino Zichichi.
Media transparency found that the article had misrepresented the position of Yale economist William Nordhaus. Skeptical Science also did a comprehensive examination of the signatories revealing that few have published anything in peer-reviewed journal on the subject of climate change.
January 23, 2010
Tennekes resigned from the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences, saying that “I don’t want to remain a member of an organization that, like AMS and NAS, screws up science that badly.”6“Henk Tennekes Resigns from Dutch Academy,” Pielke Research Group, February 12, 2010. Archived with WebCite, February 2, 2012.
April 2006
He is recorded as one of the “scientists” who signed the open letter to Prime minister Stephen Harper in 2006 that vehemently denies climate change while urging inaction on climate policy.
Affiliations
- International Climate and Environmental Change Assessment Project (ICECAP) — “Expert.”7“Experts,” ICECAP. Accessed February, 2012. Archived with WebCite February 2, 2012.
Publications
According to a search of 22,000 academic journals, Henk Tennekes has not published any original research in a peer-reviewed journal since 1990. Prior to 1990, Tennekes has published research mainly in the area of meteorology.
Tennekes has written numerous articles for Dr. S Fred Singer’s organization called the “Science and Environmental Policy Project (SEPP). The SEPP and Fred Singer have a long history of attacking the science of global warming. Fred Singer has been connected to organizations that were involved in denying the link between second-hand tobacco smoke and he has also received funding from oil companies.8Hendrik Tennekes. “A Skeptical View of Climate Models,” Science and Environmental Policy Project. Archived March 5, 2009.
Hendrik’s articles have also appeared on the SPPI (Science and Public Policy Institute) website. SPPI’s list of personnel includes Lord Christopher Monckton and Willie Soon, Chief science advisor.9Henk Tennekes. “Three Essays on Climate Models,” Science and Environmental Policy Project, January 30, 2009.
The site draws heavily on Christopher Monckton’s writing and papers. The founder of SPPI, Robert Ferguson, was also the Executive Director of the Center for Science and Public Policy (CSPP), a project of the Frontiers of Freedom Institute. Frontiers of Freedom received extensive funding from tobacco and oil companies, including over $200,000 from ExxonMobil in 2002.
Other Resources
- “Hendrik Tennekes,” Wikipedia Entry.
Resources
- 1“Experts,” ICECAP. Accessed February, 2012. Archived with WebCite February 2, 2012.
- 2“Experts,” ICECAP. Accessed February, 2012. Archived with WebCite February 2, 2012.
- 3“Henk Tennekes Resigns from Dutch Academy,” Pielke Research Group, February 12, 2010. Archived with WebCite, February 2, 2012.
- 4“The limits of predictability,” The National Post, January 19, 2007.
- 5Henk Tennekes. “Wind power the worst kind of Mirage,” Financial Post, March 3, 2010. Archived (PDF) by “Anthropogentic Global Warming: Documents supporting the sceptics’ view (www.au.agwscam.com).
- 6“Henk Tennekes Resigns from Dutch Academy,” Pielke Research Group, February 12, 2010. Archived with WebCite, February 2, 2012.
- 7“Experts,” ICECAP. Accessed February, 2012. Archived with WebCite February 2, 2012.
- 8Hendrik Tennekes. “A Skeptical View of Climate Models,” Science and Environmental Policy Project. Archived March 5, 2009.
- 9Henk Tennekes. “Three Essays on Climate Models,” Science and Environmental Policy Project, January 30, 2009.
