George H. Taylor (meteorologist)

George H. Taylor
BornJune 1927 (age 97)
Santa Barbara, California
DiedNovember 8, 2022(2022-11-08) (aged 95)
Alma materUCSB, University of Utah
Known forClimate change skepticism
Scientific career
FieldsClimatology, meteorology
InstitutionsOregon State University
ThesisAn airborne pollution-monitoring program in an area of complex mountain-valley terrain (1975)

George H. Taylor (born 1947) was the former director of the Oregon Climate Service at Oregon State University in Corvallis, a position he held from 1989 until his retirement on 1 May 2008.

Education and career

Born in Santa Barbara, California,[1] Taylor held a B.A. in mathematics from the University of California, Santa Barbara (1969) and a M.S. in meteorology from the University of Utah (1975).[1] In 1989, he became the director of the Oregon Climate Service at Oregon State University (OSU); in this capacity, he tracked weather and issued long-range weather forecasts for the state of Oregon.[2][3] Beginning in 1991, he was popularly known as "Oregon's state climatologist." However, in 2007, the then-governor of Oregon, Ted Kulongoski, said that there was no such position in the state and demanded that Taylor stop using such a title, saying "he's not my weatherman".[4][5]

Taylor was also the president of the American Association of State Climatologists from 1998 to 2000.[1] In 2008, after he retired from OSU, he founded, and became the president of, the consulting firm Applied Climate Services,[6] where he still worked as of February 2014.[7]

Views on global warming

Taylor has expressed a skeptical position on global warming.[8] While his position is at odds with the scientific consensus on the topic, he has argued that "consensus in science doesn't really mean much. What matters is the truth. Often consensus is wrong."[9] Taylor considered global warming to be primarily caused by natural variability, not human activity, though he acknowledged that both have played a role.[8] In 2005, Taylor testified before the Environment Committee of the Oregon House of Representatives in opposition to a bill that would increase the fuel efficiency standards for automobiles in Oregon to match California's. In his testimony, he said, "I believe the effect of greenhouse gas is a relatively minor one," and "I really believe natural variation and natural factors are a bigger cause of climate change than you and I."[10]

Personal life

Taylor was a vegetarian, rode a bike to Oregon State University when he worked there (as of 2007), and engaged in many environmentalist practices.[10][11]

References

  1. ^ a b c "George H. Taylor, M.S., Certified Consulting Meteorologist: Resume of Experience" (PDF). Retrieved 20 March 2014.
  2. ^ Odegard, Kyle (21 February 2008). "George Taylor to Retire After 19 Years at Oregon Climate Service". Corvallis Gazette-Times. Retrieved 20 March 2014.
  3. ^ Floyd, Mark (16 March 2007). "When it Comes to Baseball, It's All About the Weather". Oregon State University. Retrieved 20 March 2014.
  4. ^ Hochberg, Lee (21 June 2007). "Oregon Global Warming Skeptic Finds Controversy". PBS NewsHour. Retrieved 20 March 2014.
  5. ^ "Not Ted's weatherman". The Oregonian. 5 June 2006.
  6. ^ "About ACS". Applied Climate Services. Archived from the original on 13 February 2014. Retrieved 20 March 2014.
  7. ^ Fuqua, Canda (7 February 2014). "Temperature a Record Low, but Snowfall Not a Record High". Corvallis Gazette-Times. Retrieved 20 March 2014.
  8. ^ a b Tomlinson, Stuart (21 February 2008). "Update: Controversial "State Climatologist" Steps Aside". OregonLive.com. Retrieved 20 March 2014. Taylor said he believes climate change is a combination of natural factor and human factors. "I don't deny that human activities affect climate change," he said. "But I believe up to now, natural variations have played a more important role than human activities.
  9. ^ Eilperin, Juliet (17 September 2006). "Climatologist Draws Heat From Critics". Washington Post. Retrieved 20 March 2014.
  10. ^ a b Koberstein, Paul (24 August 2005). "Hot or Not". Willamette Week. Portland, Oregon. Retrieved 20 March 2014.
  11. ^ Knickerbocker, Brad (20 September 2007). "Global-warming Skeptics: Might Warming be 'normal'?". Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved 22 March 2014.