Fixes #3759: Move r29129 to v1.7 branch (Deal with PGI compilers on)

---svn-pre-commit-ignore-below---

r29129 [[BR]]
Deal with PGI compilers on the Mac by initializing a global variable.

cmr:v1.6.6:reviewer=jsquyres
cmr:v1.7.3:reviewer=jsquyres