E. Calvin Beisner, Ph.D.
Founder and National Spokesman
The Cornwall Alliance for the Stewardship of Creation, Pembroke Pines, FL.
E. Calvin Beisner is a world-renowned scholar on the application of Christian worldview, theology, and ethics to economics, government, environmental stewardship, and public policy. A professor of interdisciplinary studies at Covenant College from 1992 to 2000 and of historical theology and social ethics at Knox Theological Seminary from 2000 to 2008, he has taught theology, apologetics, ethics, church history, economics, and other disciplines. He has written four books on population, resources, economics, and the environment; eight other books; and hundreds of articles. He has testified as an expert witness on the ethics and economics of climate policy before Congressional committees and lectured on many environmental subjects for churches, schools, colleges, seminaries, and conferences around North America, Europe, Africa, and Asia.
With general editor Julian Simon, Dr. Beisner was managing editor of the massive book The State of Humanity (1995), has edited some 30 other books, and contributed to over 30. He is an adjunct scholar or fellow of the Acton Institute for the Study of Religion, the Committee for a Constructive Tomorrow, the Atlas Economic Research Foundation, and the Institute for Humane Studies.
Dr. Beisner received his B.A. in Interdisciplinary Studies with concentrations in Religion and Philosophy and double minors in Classical Languages and Classical History from the University of Southern California (1978), his M.A. in Society with Specialization in Economic Ethics from International College under the tutelage of the late conservative historian and political philosopher Russell Kirk (1983), and his Ph.D. in Scottish History (History of Political Thought) from the University of St. Andrews, in Scotland (2003).
Potential Topics
- Biblical Foundations for Environmental Stewardship
- Godly Dominion vs. Environmentalism: Reducing Poverty, Restoring Liberty, and Renewing Human Dignity by Reclaiming the Blessings of Genesis 1:28
- The Theological, Scientific, and Economic Case Against Climate Alarmism
- How Environmentalism Harms the Poor and Undermines Liberty
- The Strengths and Weaknesses of the Evangelical Creation Care Movement
- How Environmentalism Threatens the Dignity Sanctity of Human Life
- and many more
G. Cornelis (‘Kees’) van Kooten, Ph.D.
Professor of Economics and Canada Research Chair in Environmental Studies & Climate, University of Victoria, BC, Canada, and Senior Research Fellow, Agricultural Economics Institute and Department of Social Sciences, Wageningen University and Research Centrum, The Netherlands
Dr. van Kooten would classify himself as an orthodox Calvinist and Baptist steeped in the writing of John MacArthur, Tim Keller, J.I. Packer, R.C. Sproul, N.T. Wright (well not always), and others. He has been on faculty at six different research universities and supervised graduate students in Business (MBA), Agricultural Economics, Forest Management, Natural Resource Management, Mechanical Engineering, Geography, and Economics, including 15 Ph.D.s (5 at each of three different universities). He has a broad background in science and economics.
Potential Topics:
- Climate change and economics
- Energy economics (e.g., wind, solar and nuclear)
- Forestry, agriculture and the environment
- International trade
- Science and religion
David R. Legates, Ph.D., C.C.M.
Professor of Climatology
University of Delaware, Newark, DE.
Dr. Legates has been studying climate and climate change for 35 years and received a PhD in Climatology from the University of Delaware in 1988. He has served on the faculty at the University of Oklahoma, Louisiana State University, and the University of Delaware. Dr. Legates is recognized as a Certified Consulting Meteorologist by the American Meteorological Society and has served as an expert witness in more than one hundred court cases in Delaware, Georgia, Louisiana, New Jersey, and Texas. He also has worked with the US Department of Justice and provided amicus briefs to the US Supreme Court. While his initial research has focused on analyzing air temperature and precipitation records to assess global patterns and temporal changes, Dr. Legates has published more than 60 refereed journal articles in various aspects of climatology, climate change and its impacts, statistics, and hydrology.
Dr. Legates has made more than 200 professional presentations and given talks on climate change at many public events. He has also provided congressional testimony to the US Senate twice and has served as the Delaware State Climatologist.
Dr. Legates was awarded the 2002 Boeing Autometric Award for the Best Paper in Image Analysis and Interpretation by the American Society of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing.
Potential Topics:
- Climate change
- Climate observations
- Climatological statistics
Tracy Miller, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Economics
Grove City College, Grove City, PA.
Dr. Tracy Miller received his Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Chicago. He has taught a wide variety of undergraduate economics courses during his 28 years in academia. His research interests include transportation policy, property rights, health economics, and environmental policy. He has published articles and opinion editorials on agricultural policy, international trade policy, environmental policy, health care policy, transportation policy, and macroeconomic policy. He has spoken to professional audiences at a number of economics conferences and to popular audiences as part of the Freedom Readers lecture series sponsored by the Center for Vision and Values at Grove City College. His recent lectures for the Center for Vision and Values have been on the subject of health care reform. His commentary on contemporary economic and political issues can be found at http://tracycmiller.blogspot.com/.
Potential Topics:
- Private property rights as the key to good environmental stewardship
- Economic consequences of renewable energy mandates
- How free markets promote environmental stewardship
- How economic development and growth leads to a cleaner environment.
Craig Vincent Mitchell, Ph.D.
Independent Ethicist, Economist, Engineer
Dr. Mitchell was director of the Land Center for Cultural Engagement and was Associate Professor of Cultural Studies at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, where he taught ethics and philosophy from 2002 to 2014. He is a Research Fellow for the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention. His areas of specialty include ethical theory, environmental ethics, political economy, and religious liberty.
Dr. Mitchell earned a B.S. in Electronic Engineering Technology from Savannah State College, a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from the Naval Postgraduate School, a M.S. in Engineering Management from West Coast University, a M.A. in Management Information Systems from West Coast University, a M.Div. from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, a M.A. in Economics from the University of Texas in Arlington, and a Ph.D. in Christian Ethics from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, where his dissertation title was Alvin Plantinga’s Proper Functional Epistemology as a Model for Christian Ethics.
Dr. Mitchel expects to complete a Ph.D. in Public and Urban Administration at the University of Texas in Arlington in 2016. He also attended the 2010 Summer Seminar on World Religions at Boston University’s Institute on Culture Religions and World Affairs. This two week long course was taught, put together, and run by Dr. Peter Berger.
Potential Topics:
- Environmental ethics and environmental sustainability
- Political Economy
- Religious Liberty
Timothy Terrell, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Economics, Wofford College, Spartanburg, SC.
Dr. Terrell obtained his Ph.D. in economics from Auburn University, where his research focus was on environmental regulation. He has spoken internationally on economics, public policy, and ethics, and is a senior fellow with the Cornwall Alliance. He has been on the faculty at Wofford College for over 14 years, where he teaches courses on regulation, public finance, American economic history, and general economic theory. He is also an Associated Scholar with the Ludwig von Mises Institute, where he serves on the editorial staff of the Quarterly Journal of Austrian Economics.
Potential Topics:
- Environmental economics/environmental regulation
- Ethics of market systems
- Economic growth and prosperity
In addition to undergraduate degrees in applied mathematics and physics and an MS in geophysics, Dr. Wanliss holds a PhD in plasma physics. He conducted postdoctoral studies in space weather at the Canadian Space Agency and has been a visiting researcher at the Japanese Space Agency, UCLA, and the University of Washington. He has also done research as a visiting associate professor at Kyung-Hee University in South Korea, the Solar-Terrestrial Environment Laboratory at Nagoya University in Japan, and Clemson University. He is the recipient of numerous awards and honors, most notably the prestigious CAREER grant from the National Science Foundation awarded to outstanding scholar-teachers; and he serves as an expert reviewer for the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change.
Dr. Wanliss has published more than fifty peer-reviewed papers and over 200 professional presentations on his scientific research. He has lectured on topics as diverse as education, parenting, global warming, Christian apologetics, space weather, and the relation of theology to science. Dr. Wanliss is a Senior Fellow of the Cornwall Alliance, and is the author of Resisting the Green Dragon.
- Understanding the environmentalist worldview
- The relationship between science and religion
- Space Weather and other cosmic influences on the earth
Gregory Wrightstone
Geologist, Author, and Climate Contrarian
Author of Inconvenient Facts – the science that Al Gore doesn’t want you to know
Gregory Wrightstone is a geologist who has been investigating the Earth’s processes for more than 35 years. He received a BS and MS in geology from Waynesburg University & WVU, respectively. Gregory’s’s debut book Inconvenient Facts – the science that Al Gore doesn’t want you to know shot up the sales charts, reaching #1 in the environmental field at Amazon and is now in its third printing.
Greg was driven to write this book after a search for climate truth revealed that the notion of catastrophic human-induced climate change was not supported by the science, facts, or data.
His science-based view of ecosystems and humanity prospering due in part to rising temperatures and increasing CO2 has led to multiple radio and TV appearances including Tucker Carlson and Fox & Friends. Gregory is a strong proponent of the scientific process and believes that climate policies should be driven by science and facts not by a political agenda.
His animated style of speaking and outstanding graphics will keep your audience enthralled and enthused. “You can describe Greg’s presentation in one word…Powerful… Wonderful speaker!” Dan Weaver, President of PA Independent Oil & Gas Association.
Potential topics:
- How rising temperature and increasing carbon dioxide are benefiting the Earth and humanity
- Inconvenient facts: the cold, hard truth about our changing climate
- The evolving role of geoscientists in climate change science
