The Global Climate Coalition’s (GCC) Science and Technology Assessment Committee’s (STAC) January 16, 1997 meeting minutes and February 12, 1997 meeting agenda were submitted, along with other GCC documents, during discovery in Green Mtn. Chrysler Plymouth Dodge Jeep v. Crombie and Central Valley Chrysler-Jeep, Inc. v. Witherspoon.

The January meeting, held at Southern Company’s offices, was led by Mobil Corporation’s top climate scientistLenny Bernstein, who was acting STAC Co-Chair (attendance list here). Bernstein updated STAC on the status of the GCC’s grant to the American Council of Science and Health (ACSH) for its “Health Effects” study, planned “GCC participation in the IPCC Workshop on Integrated Assessment,” and addressed “API questions on extreme weather events.” Electric Power Research Institute’sChuck Hakkarinen (EPRI) presented on IPCC “emissions scenarios development.”

I. “IPCC Tracker Budget” and Meetings with Clinton Administration

Attendees discussed participating in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), noting that EPRI was “planning on sending [a] contractor to the meeting.” The committee, interested in having its own representation at IPCC, recommended “that the STAC use some of the IPCC Tracker budget to send a representative … since the outcome is of vital importance to the GCC STAC.” The GCC was simultaneously soliciting members and allies for nomination for IPCC authorship.

Attendees also expressed concern about the changing landscape due to government sentiment and advances in science: “Through participation in various meetings with Clinton Administration officials, the GCC has learned that the Administration is willing to drop all caveats associated with the science of the climate change issue when speaking publicly … The health issue is increasing in importance with the climate change issue, as well as with other environmental issues such as PM standards and ozone standards. The GCC has got to be prepared to respond to the issue this year.”

II. “Plant Migration and Climate Change” Presentation

A presentation on plants’ ability to adapt to climate change was delivered by Dr. Pitelka of the Appalachian Environmental Laboratory of the University of Maryland. Having presented to the GCC in 1995, Pitelka updated STAC with new findings.

He highlighted “[t]wo extreme points of view”; plants do have the ability to to migrate to save themselves from harmful impacts of climate change, and plants do not have the ability to migrate in time to adapt. The rest of the presentation was scant on conclusions, but emphasized that “[o]utliers are key” when discussing “What Can We Say About Plant Migration in the Future?” This presentation was especially important to GCC STAC member Western Fuels Association and its Greening Earth campaign.

III. Committee Membership

The last attachment is a full mailing list of STAC membership as of February 18, 1997. The document contains full names, affiliation, and phone/fax numbers (redacted), listed in text below:

• Mitchell Baer (American Petroleum Institute);
• Tim Banfield and Fred Starheim (Allegheny Power and Ohio Edison Company respectively (FirstEnergy Corp. was formed in 1997 by a merger of Ohio Edison and Centerior Energy, Allegheny was acquired by FirstEnergy in 2011));
• Greg Dana (Association of International Automobile Manufacturers);
• Dennis Devlin and Brian Flannery (Exxon);
• Howard Feldman and Russell Jones (American Petroleum Institute);
• Bronson Gardner and Eric Holdsworth (GCC);
• Robert Gehri (Southern Company);
• Chuck Hakkarinen, (Electric Power Research Institute);
• Jon Heuss (GM Research Scientist);
• John Holt (National Rural Electric Cooperative Association);
• John Kinsman (Edison Electric Institute (EEI);
• Eric Kuhn (Cinergy Services);
• Ned Leonard (American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity, Western Fuels Association, EEI);
• John McManus (American Electric Power Corp.);
• James Pinto (Texaco, now a part of Chevron);
• Terry Pritchett (General Motors);
• Eric Reiner (3M Environmental Engineering and Pollution Control);
• John Shiller (Ford Motor Company),
• Jerrel Smith (Union Electric Company);
• James Smithson and Porter J. Womeldorff (Illinois Power Company (now Ameren));
• Mike Stroben (Duke Energy); and
• Marle Takemoto (Chrysler).

Interested in more GCC documents? See more in the full Global Climate Coalition collection.