Russell Cook

 Credentials

• Associate’s Degree in Graphic Arts, Al Collins School of Graphic Design
• Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration, University of New Mexico

Source: [1]

Background

Russell Cook is a contributing editor for The Heartland Institute's Environment & Climate News.

Russell Cook is “neither a scientist nor a trained journalist,” but rather, “a common citizen having reasonably adequate enough education and an inquisitive enough mind to observe and question contradictory stories in the media about global warming.” [2]

Cook is the author of GelbspanFiles.com, where he “dig[s] deeply into the accusation that scientists and others who express skepticism about the theory of man-made global warming are being paid by the fossil fuel industry to lie about the issue.” [2]

Cook has written over 60 pieces about “the false accusation that skeptic scientists are paid to lie about global warming.” [3] On his website, he states that the funding for the articles he’s written come with “one unbreakable condition: No strings of any kind.” [2]

Cook notes that, prior to January 2013, he was paid $1,000 by the Science & Public Policy Institute and $1,350 by the Committee For A Constructive Tomorrow. But “neither payment,” he said, “came with instructions of what position I was to take on global warming.” [2]

After January 2013, with his “savings drawn down to a critical level,” the Heartland Institute offered Cook a “$12,000 strings-free grant to enable [him] to continue devoting time to [the] subject. I have carte blanche to write whatever I wish to write, whenever I wish to write it, without any direction from Heartland, its donors, or anyone else,” he writes in GelbspanFiles.com in a section titled, “A Note About Funding.” [2]

Russell Cook is a contributor to American Thinker, Breitbart.com, Red State, GlobalWarming.org, Watts Up With That, and other websites. [3]

Stance on Climate Change

“My conclusion can be readily summarized: the accusation [“that those who express skepticism about the theory of man-made global warming are being paid by the fossil fuel industry to lie about the issue”] appears to be a false claim, a myth generated by a small group of enviro-activists with significant direction from ex-Boston Globe reporter Ross Gelbspan.” [4]

Key Quotes

“Warmist true believers bitterly cling their mantra that only the corrupting influence sinister money could possibly explain skepticism toward the theory they embrace as gospel truth.

In case anyone is unfamiliar with the simplicity of the man-caused global warming idea: overwhelming scientific conclusions say we are causing floods / droughts / blazing summers / intense winters, and don't listen to any skeptic scientists – they're corrupt.” [6]

“AGW believers hope the Supreme Court will ultimately accept the simple mantra that global warming science is settled, thus corrupt skeptic scientists must be ignored.  Sadly, it takes a maddening amount of detail to tell how this group is interconnected in its efforts to manipulate us into believing such a simple concept.  That's the double-edge.” [5]

“I'm no investigative journalist, I've never taken a journalism class, and I don't want to be a journalist when I grow up. I'm just a semi-retired idiot graphic artist who keeps asking how policymakers, environmentalists and mainstream news outlets justify their demand to regulate CO₂ and why skeptic scientists should be silenced.” [6]

“As common citizens without science expertise, the majority of us are forced to leave the debate over the actual causes of global warming to the scientists.  But we can participate in another process – namely, finding out for ourselves whether the narratives about the issue and its scientists ring true.  Examples include whether a commonly heard description about skeptics being “climate deniers” is true, when elemental examinations of skeptic reports indicate that it's more accurate to say they dispute that the United Nations' Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has conclusively made the case for human-induced greenhouse gases being the primary driver of global warming.” [7]

Key Deeds

July 7 - 9, 2014

Russell Cook was a speaker at the Heartland Institute’s Ninth International Conference on Climate Change (ICCC9) in Las Vegas, Nevada. [8]

Cook’s presentation with Marc Morano and Tony Heller, titled “Communicating Climate Change: The Blogosphere,” took place at 2:45 PM, July 8. [9]

View DeSmogBlog’s in-depth research on the other speakers and sponsors from Heartland's ICCC9.

 Affiliations

• Heartland Institute, contributing editor to Environment & Climate News

• Committee For A Constructive Tomorrow

Source: [1] , [2]

 Publications

View an ongoing list of Russell Cook’s publications. [3]

 Resources

1. “Russell Cook, Contributing Editor Environment & Climate News,” Heartland Institute. Archived July 23, 2013.

2. Russell Cook. “About,” GelbspanFiles.com. Archived July 23, 2014.

3. Russell Cook. “Archive,” GelbspanFiles.com. Archived November 15, 2013.

4. Russell Cook. “Who is Russell Cook?” GelbspanFiles.com. Archived November 15, 2013.

5. Russell Cook. ”Supreme Court to Hear Global Warming Case,” American Thinker, December 8, 2010. Archived September 7, 2013.

6. Russell Cook. “Warmist Slander of Scientific Skeptics,” American Thinker, September 15, 2010. Archived July 29, 2014.

7. Russell Cook. “'Trust Us, Skeptics Are Crooks',” American Thinker, April 5, 2013. Archived July 29, 2014.

8. “Return of Climate Denial-a-Palooza: Heartland Institute Hitches Anti-Science Wagon To Vegas Freedomfest,” DeSmogBlog, July 7, 2014.

9. Russell Cook, Marc Morano, Tony Heller. “Communicating Climate Change: The Blogosphere,” Heartland Institute, July 8, 2014.