Science Topics
But what specifically do scientists agree about? The 97% and similar figures come from various surveys. What were the survey questions that were actually asked? What exactly are the actual agreements?
Temperatures in the Antarctic are practically unchanged over at least the last 40 years, so changes in sea ice and the Antarctic ice sheet have been minimal. The Arctic appears to be warming faster than the rest of the world, and there has been a significant decline in summer sea ice over the last 20 years. The Greenland ice sheet has shown some decline in mass.
California suffers from great weather variability, caused primarily by the El Nino/La Nina cycles. This variability is a significant cause of Californina’s problems with wildfires
Numerous and massive changes have occurred in the earth’s climate over the years due to natural forces, which demonstrates the importance of natural variability. The climate is always changing.
About 10,000-11,000 years ago the Holocene Interglacial, the earth’s present geological period, began. There is a surprising amount of disagreement among scientists about important climate issues over this period of time up to the present.
There are massive amounts of naturally occurring CO2 in the world. Atmospheric CO2 levels have varied dramatically over the years. These and other facts about CO2 are discussed.
Analysis of Earth’s Energy Budget shows the importance of clouds to the climate. Since scientists do not understand cloud formation, it shows the limitations of our present understanding of the climate, and, in particular, shows the uncertainty of our understanding of what has caused the global warming over the last 150 years.
Species are going extinct, and it is a serious concern. But the number of extinctions is relatively small compared to what would amount to a Sixth Mass Extinction. Polar bears and coral populations are not threatened. Most extinctions today are being caused by factors other than climate change.
The earth warmed at a relatively consistent and modest rate of about 1 C since the preindustrial period. The sharp increase in human CO2 emissions in the 1950s did not cause any increase in the rate of temperature rise. How much is CO2 contributing to the warming? How much warmer will it get by 2100?
The media rarely discusses the benefits of rising CO2 (plant food) and the benefits of moderate warming (such as longer growing seasons for crops). The world as a whole is becoming significantly greener. Food production is growing faster than the rapidly growing world population, so the risk of death from famine is at an all time low. Rain is increasing slightly, which is beneficial. Drought and floods, if anything, are trending slightly downward.
Methane (CH4) is a greenhouse gas, and so rising levels of atmospheric CH4 cause global warming. But how strong is the CH4 warming effect? How does its strength as a greenhouse gas compare to the strength of CO2? What is the significance of rising CH4?
One of the most important issues on which scientists disagree is the amount of the post-industrial (post about 1880) global warming that has been caused by the sun.
2023 was the warmest year on record. What caused the warming from May to October 2023? What is the significance? The effect of warming (good or bad) depends on where and when the warming occurs. The world has many different climate regions, and so the effects must be evaluated region by region.
What are Tipping Points? What Tipping Points are supported by the latest IPCC Assessment Report? What are the Paris Agreement Goals? To what extent are they supported by science? What is the connection between the Paris Goals and Tipping Points?
How tornadoes form. Where they form – Tornado Alley in the US midwest. When they strike. The data shows that the frequency and intensity of tornadoes has been declining.
Wildfires are trending downward globally but are increasing in particular regions, such as California and Hawaii. What causes wildfires? What can be done to reduce the death and destruction resulting from wildfires?