by Andrew Dessler

Posted 11 months, 1 week ago Links:

DotEarth links to an interview with economist Gary Yohe about, among other things, uncertainty.  Here’s the money quote:

e360: You’ve written recently about uncertainty over the future impacts of climate change and how that plays a role in discouraging action in reducing greenhouse gases. How do you spur world action on this issue when there are still questions out there about future levels of CO2 in the atmosphere and the range of future temperature increases?


Yohe: Uncertainly is ubiquitous. There are some fundamental conclusions that we now know: that the planet is warming; that humans are… Read More

Posted 11 months, 2 weeks ago I wanted to recommend a story on Emmett Duffy's Natural Patriot blog about where fast food comes from. This is not a topic I normally post on (or actually know that much about), but I loved this post because it's a profound message combined with some interesting science. Read More

Posted 12 months ago As a climate scientist, I have become fascinated with climate skeptics. What makes them tick? Do they believe what they're saying? A while back, I suggested cognitive dissonance may play a role.

Public Radio International has an interesting story on denial. Turns out that, much like a Neapolitan ice cream, it comes in several flavors:

• First is "strategic denial": someone may know very well that X is true, but deny it because denial'ss in their best interest. Think ExxonMobil.
• Second is "state of fear": when you are afraid something could be true, you deny the possibility. The radio… Read More

Posted 1 year ago This is, I think, one of the underappreciated aspects of the climate problem. I blog about it on Nature's Climate Feedback blog. While most pundits put the problems of energy supply and climate in opposition, my view is that a constrained fossil-fuel supply points our society towards the same policies that the climate problem does. Read More

Posted 1 year ago A journalist friend recently sent me this:

I just got my "Journalist's Guide to Global Warming Experts" from The Heartland Institute in the mail. They list four "experts" in Texas. It's an awesome list. ...

Robert Bradley, energy expert
H. Sterling Burnett, policy analyst
Dr. John Dale Dunn, emergency physician
Michael Economides, petroleum engineer

As you probably know, the Heartland Institute is one of the world's premier climate denialist organizations, so you can be pretty sure these guys reject the mainstream scientific view.

Notice anything odd about the list?… Read More

Posted 1 year, 3 months ago In a recent article in The New York Times, Andy Revkin talks about the whiplash effect:

When science is testing new ideas, the result is often a two-papers-forward-one-paper-back intellectual tussle among competing research teams.

When the work touches on issues that worry the public, affect the economy or polarize politics, the news media and advocates of all stripes dive in. Under nonstop scrutiny, conflicting findings can make news coverage veer from one extreme to another, resulting in a kind of journalistic whiplash for the public.

An understanding of how science works sheds a lot of light on this problem. Read More

Posted 1 year, 3 months ago Turns out he doesn't like coal:

Read More

Posted 1 year, 3 months ago One of the biggest problems in the climate change debate is the fact that many people out there fail to understand the finer points of "scientific consensus."

For an example of this misunderstanding, see Ron Rosenbaum's recent article in Slate. (h/t Dot Earth.)

His article trots out one of the staples of the denial industry: Science has been wrong in the past, so how do we know that a scientific consensus on climate change is right? Because of this, reporters should report all sides of the argument.

So if you're writing an article about climate change, you can… Read More

Posted 1 year, 4 months ago It goes something like this:

The American Physical Society, an organization representing nearly 50,000 physicists, has reversed its stance on climate change and is now proclaiming that many of its members disbelieve in human-induced global warming.

Of course that's not true. Today a statement appeared on the APS website saying:

APS Position Remains Unchanged

The American Physical Society reaffirms the following position on climate change, adopted by its governing body, the APS Council, on November 18, 2007:

"Emissions of greenhouse gases from human activities are changing the atmosphere in ways that affect the Earth's climate."

An article at… Read More

Posted 1 year, 4 months ago An excellent post by my colleague John Nielsen-Gammon, the Texas State climatologist, can be found here. An excerpt: Read More