This week…
Activism in the climate community is based around projections of what a future might look like given the actions of society - an important tool in the push for urgent climate action. Today, I am joined by climate and policy scientist Roger Pielke Jr. to discuss the genesis and progression of such climate research and models. Just like with any other model, the assumptions and parameters can greatly shape the outcomes. By taking a closer look at how these models were created and how subsequent research used them thereafter, we can perhaps create a better framework for what is needed from climate policy, journalism, and activism.
Dr. Roger Pielke Jr. is a professor at the University of Colorado where he teaches environmental science and policy. A lifetime scholar with many interests, Roger researches and writes on subjects from understanding the politicization of science to decision making under uncertainty to policy education for scientists in areas such as climate change, disaster mitigation, and world trade. His most recent book, The Rightful Place of Science: Disasters and Climate Change takes a deeper look at the IPCC and climate science and how it is being interpreted in the media. Roger also oversees a popular Substack - The Honest Broker - where he is experimenting with a new approach to research, writing and public engagement. Roger holds degrees in mathematics, public policy and political science, all from the University of Colorado Boulder.
How has climate science been shaped by previous models and public perception? How did 2Cº come to be our common climate goal post? Are we anticipating the future within the most likely range of possibilities, or are we polarizing ourselves to the extremes of climate denial and climate doom?
In case you missed it…
Last Friday, I shared my 7 biggest fears. From the likelihood of nuclear war to how our human in/action harms innocent animals - compared to my childhood fear of [harmless] spiders, these feel much more complex. Can we be courageous and face our own fears head on, rather than feeling paralyzed by them?
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Probably worth taking a look at Roger Pielke’s entry on DeSmog. I think this person is a bad actor. https://www.desmog.com/roger-pielke-jr/
Haven’t listened to the podcast (and from some of the reactions I’ve seen, might be a good idea not to) but have you heard of Millan Millan Nate? He detailed how land use affected climate by seeing how the summer storms in the Mediterranean changed as urbanization increased. So back when he released his paper it was well known that there were two drivers of climate; CO2 and LAND USE. However the IPCC modelers couldn’t add land use to their climate models so it was sort of “dropped”.
This is a great 3-part essay explaining his work, you should interview him!!
https://open.substack.com/pub/theclimateaccordingtolife/p/millan-millan-and-the-mystery-of?r=fhgru&utm_medium=ios&utm_campaign=post