Patrick J. Michaels, a climate scientist who spoke out often and brashly against the prevailing view that climate change needs urgent attention, becoming a favorite of climate change doubters and a target of criticism by those advocating action on greenhouse gases and in other areas, died July 15 at his home in Washington, D.C. He was 72.
He thought the conversation around global warming was alarmist, and his scientific credentials made him a go-to expert for those who played down the threat.