This is a very interesting time for the climate science community. They are being called on to respond to the extreme weather we are seeing around the globe. Today’s NYT article, titled, “In Weather Chaos, a Case for Global Warming,” is a must-read, if you want to see the representative views of leading climate scientists….Continue Reading…
The robust debate between Gavin Schmidt and Judith Curry (here and here) appears to have run its course. It’s been a fairly technical discussion and mostly civil. And immensely frustrating, it seems, for both of them. Taking stock of the exchange, Gavin makes this observation: When smart and informed people see basically the same information…Continue Reading…
UPDATE: Gavin Schmidt has won kudos from skeptics in the comments below, who appreciate his participation in the thread and his responses to their questions. There are two high-profile protagonists in the climate science community that are increasingly squaring off: Judith Curry and Gavin Schmidt. In an interview here yesterday, Curry elaborated on her most…Continue Reading…
UPDATE: As with many of her previous appearances at this site, Judith Curry is an active participant in the comment thread below. Judith Curry, a climate scientist at Georgia Tech, has a knack for setting off tremors in the climate blogosphere. There was a lot of rumbling last week after Curry got into a rather…Continue Reading…
One of the most civil and smartest voices in the climate blogosphere belongs to a blog commenter named Paul Kelly. I don’t know who he is. But I’ve always enjoyed reading his contributions to threads, which I’ve mostly seen at Stoat’s or Bart Verheggen’s place. And it is at one of Bart’s recent threads that…Continue Reading…
An extraordinary op-ed by four climate scientists, headlined “The Science Behind Climate Science,” asserts: The urgent need to act cannot be overstated. Climate change caused by humans is already affecting our lives and livelihoods “” with extreme storms, unusual floods and droughts, intense heat waves, rising seas and many changes in biological systems “” as climate scientists…Continue Reading…
The previous thread on climate skeptics is a marvel in many ways, but I find myself looking for a segue into more productive territory. Fortunately, one commenter has laid out a path: It would be nice if all sides of this discussion would recognize that there are rational reasons for skepticism as well as for…Continue Reading…
That’s the clever tagline to an excellent cover story on climate skeptics in the new issue of Skeptic magazine. Alas, the actual article, which aims to distinguish between “Climate Skeptics” and “Climate Deniers,” is available only on newstands or by subscription. But because I’ve been trying to puzzle out the distinction myself of late, I’m…Continue Reading…
In the public sphere, where the various running debates on climate science and climate policy are most fiercely fought, the uncertainty factor is often downplayed or glossed over. Subsequently, it gets little attention in the media. And that’s a shame, because in the decision-making sphere, the uncertainty factor is very much on the minds of…Continue Reading…
With the climate change debate becoming increasingly hard-nosed and polarized, perhaps it’s time the main players in climate science reconsidered their tactics. Right now, force meets force. This has largely deteriorated into a never-ending rhetorical battle of insults between climate scientists and skeptics. (Climate activists, taking their cue from the hostile landscape, are more transparent,…Continue Reading…