“Symbols matter, because they signal our intent, and they invite other people to join in our intent.” – Naomi Oreskes, Professor, Harvard University. Almost 20 years have gone by since that confident moment in Kyoto when leaders of nearly all the planet’s nations signed on to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. In the […]

While Judith Curry brings up some interesting notions in ‘Climate Sensitivity Uncertainy‘, I don’t agree with many of her arguments and conclusions. I’m pleased that Dr. Curry acknowledges that “uncertainty in itself is not a reason for inaction” (see also ‘Why Climate Uncertainty is No Excuse for Doing Nothing‘ on […]

In a press conference ahead of the UN Climate Summit two week ago, UN Secretary-General Ban-Ki Moon stated: “Action on climate change is urgent.  The more we delay, the more we will pay in lives and in money.” The recently appointed UN Messenger of Peace Leonardo DiCaprio stated “The debate is over. […]

Intro by Michael Quirke: In light of last week’s climate summit, I’ve asked for some thoughts from the scientists on “climate mitigation,” which entails reducing fossil fuel combustion or capturing and storing emissions. [1] In the context of climate change, “mitigation” can be a very dirty word for conservatives because it implies more government intervention […]

Given all the back and forth on climate change out there, it can be hard to know what to think. It’s also a complicated subject, so much of the information is distributed all over the place or in huge tomes. Below I’ve put together a fairly quick overview that I’ve […]

Summary of initial comments (paraphrases and quotes) [updated 4/28/14]: Dr. Andreas Schmittner: “Climate scientists don’t predict catastrophic impacts. They project impacts.” There’s an important difference. “Given the forcings climate scientists can project climate change for the future” but whether it is “catastrophic change [or] benign change [is a] valuation up to […]