Kerby Anderson

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has issued its latest report and the media has dutifully raised the alarm level. The editors of the Wall Street Journal humorously described it this way: “The climate Apocalypse is nigh, humanity is to blame, and unless the world remakes the global economy, havoc and death are inevitable. Repent of your sins all ye who enter here.” They say that is only a mild overstatement of the media’s “fire-and-brimstone accounts” of this latest report. Dr. Steven Koonin worked for President Barack Obama in the US Department of Energy. He is best known these days as the scientist who wrote the book, Unsettled: What Climate Science Tells Us, What It Doesn’t, and Why It Matters. In a recent op-ed, he explains that often climate-assessment reports have misrepresented scientific research in the “conclusions” section of their reports. These are intended for policymakers and the media. He has also been critical of the dependency on climate models which he believes are deficient. For example, these models “don’t reproduce the global climate of the past. The models fail to explain why rapid global warming occurred from 1910 to 1940, when human influences on the climate were less significant.” If the computer models do not accurately model past temperatures, why should we assume they are accurate when they attempt to predict future temperature increases? He concludes by reminding us that, “Good science is characterized by detail, data, proven models and reasoned debate. That takes time. Meanwhile, we should be wary of the torrent of hyperbole that is sweeping the globe.” These are wise words from a scientist who isn’t convinced that all the science is settled and therefore warns us of climate change hyperbole.