Jay H. Lehr

Credentials 

• Ph.D., Ground Water Hydrology. University of Arizona (1962).
• Degree in Geological Engineering from Princeton University.

Source: [1]

Background

Jay H. Lehr is a Senior Fellow and "Science Director" of the Heartland Institute. He is also a "motivational speaker" and prolific writer. He was editor of "Rational Readings of Environmental Concerns," which labels environmentalists as "extremists" and "alarmists" among other things. He has testified before Congress numerous times on environmental issues.

Dr. Lehr's experience is in groundwater hydrology. He received the nation's first Ph.D. in Groundwater Hydrology from the University of Arizona and later became the executive director of the National Association of Groundwater Scientists and Engineers. [2]

Stance on Climate Change

"The media willfully ignores thousands of scientists who believe in global warming but do not believe its effects will be 'catastrophic.' The only global warming catastrophes are going to be bad public policies based on fear and panic rather than caution and science." [3]

Key Quotes

Lehr was presented as an expert on Fox News's "Hannity" show to discuss the recent nuclear disaster in Japan. He concluded that "I can tell you with the utmost confidence there will not be a health impact of anything that is going on at the Fukushima power plant." [4]

Key Deeds

Ongoing

Lehr speaks regularly on environmental issues and climate change (often on behalf of the Heartland Institute) where he generally supports an anti-environmentalist, skeptical position. 

For example, see a sample in one of Lehr's presentations where he suggests that "global warming is the best thing to socialize the world":

March, 2008

Lehr spoke at the Heartland Institute's 2008 International Conference on Climate Change.

His presentation, below, is titled "Humans Are Not the Cause of Climate Change":

Affiliations 

• The Heartland Institute — Science Director, Senior Fellow, and Managing Editor of Environmental and Climate News. [5]

• American Council on Science and Health (ACSH) —"Advisor" [6]

• Environmental Education — "Senior Scientist" and President [7]

• International Climate Science Coalition (ICSC) — Member, "Science Advisory Board." [8]

Publications

According to the Heartland Institute, Lehr is the author of 400 magazine and journal articles and 12 books.

Lehr's profile at "The Encyclopedia of Water," where he was chief editor, reveals that these 400 articles were on "ground water hydrology." According to a search of Google Scholar, Lehr has not published any articles in peer reviewed journals on the subject of climate change.

Sample Publications:

• Jay H. Lehr, ed., Rational Readings on Environmental Concerns (New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1992).

• Jay H. Lehr, Standard Handbook of Environmental Science, Health, and Technology (McGraw-Hill Publishing Co. 2000).

Resources

1. "Dr. Jay H. Lehr," The Encyclopedia of Water. Archived August 8, 2008.

2. "Policy Experts & Staff," The Heartland Institute. Archived October 4, 2008.

3. "Alarmism Undermines Sound Policy" (Letter to the Editor in the Chicago Sun Times). The Heartland Institute, April 4, 2006. Archived November 25, 2006.

4. "Are Fears of a Catastrophic Nuclear Meltdown in Japan Warranted?" (Transcript), Fox News, March 14, 2011.

5. "Heartland Experts: Jay Lehr," The Heartland Institue. Accessed January, 2012.

6. "The Health Effects of Low-Level Radiation" (PDF), American Council on Science and Health. See page 14.

7. "Modern Groundwater Exploration: Discovering New Water Resources in Consolidated Rocks Using Innovative Hydrogeologic Concepts, Exploration, Drilling, Aquifer Testing, and Management Methods," Wiley Online Library, January 28, 2005 (see "Author Biography").

8. "Who We Are," International Climate Science Coalition. Accessed January, 2012.

9. "Jay Lehr," SourceWatch entry.

10. ExxonSecrets Factsheet: Jay H. Lehr.