Is John Kenner a real person?

In the novel "State of Fear" by Michael Crichton, John Kenner plays a very interesting character. He is very outspoken about his beliefs and not only believes global warming is a hoax but also has evidence that humans are the ones that cause natural disasters to increase. You dont hear much fjrom Kenner in the beginning but as the book goes on he becomes one of the main characters. John Kenner takes Sarah Jones and Peter Evans on many adventures to show them exactly what NERF has been up to. As they go from place to place, John Kenner explains his theory about global warming to Sarah and Evans. NERF is causing natural disasters to make people believe in global warming. I believe Kenner plays a big part in the book because I think Michael Crichton uses Kenner as a character to share his own beliefs.