A deep conversation discussing a bit of paleoclimatology, the current state of the planet and what it would take for humanity to save itself and how that just isn’t going to happen.
The first part of this conversation focuses on CO2-equivalent and the challenges of getting this number right. tl;dw: CO2e is somewhere in the range 530 – 540ppm. The second part is wide ranging and includes monthly global temperatures, heatwaves, 1.5°C, blue ocean event, AMOC, Antarctic and global sea-ice, and the the collapse of global industrial civilization.
If a calculation is correct, then all roads should lead to the same answer. That is, unless the road is a ditch, a dead-end or a cliff. And so, let us begin our pothole-filled journey together on the road to computing the current value of CO2e, otherwise known as CO2-equivalent, the current atmospheric level of the totality of greenhouse gasses, […]
Please enjoy the latest update to my “Windows of Opportunity” video, now including 2023 & 2024. And, in case you missed it, here is a link to my essay “The Steel Door of Doom is Welded Shut.”
Surprise! CNN International invited me back for my third appearance, which was taped last night. The journalist doing the interview was Anna Coren. I was overjoyed to say “yes.” In the 8 hours leading up to the interview, I watched previous climate change reporting by Coren and I was very impressed. I made some notes, but eventually just decided it […]
You’ve got to know which side I’m on. I’m an old-school environmentalist, coming of age in the late 1960’s and early 1970’s. More environmental f&%kery happened during my youth and more meaningful environmental policy was enacted in my youth than at any time or any place in modern industrial civilization’s history. When I hear the youth of today complain about […]
Okay, the ‘world’ will go on. Planet X is not going to come crashing into Earth anytime soon, scattering debris into a new asteroid belt. And yes, eventually the planet will heal itself of the human virus (Homo Ecophagus), and life will go on in some form after humans have consumated their planetary extinction event. I’m using ‘end of the […]
A wide-ranging conversation, including the history and evolution of Earth Day and a robust Q/A session. Enjoy!
It was a great honor to be a guest on this show, aptly titled “Chaos in the Climate Casino.” Thank you to everyone at the Climate Emergency Forum for this opportunity.
Inspired by Sam Mitchell of Collapse Chronicles, here is my “Ain’t Gonna’ Happen” list, also known as AGH. This list arose from the almost daily onslaught of “we must”, “we should”, “we have to”, “if only we” and “if we don’t” aspirational rhetoric that floods mass media, climate journalism and social networks. This list is also inspired by Michael Dowd’s […]
My third appearance on ‘Santa Barbara Talks’ with Josh Molina. We started off talking about the extreme rain event that was happening that very moment, but quickly went off-topic into a deep and at times unexpected discussion about doomerism and the near-term fate of humanity and all life on this planet. Josh is one of my favorite interviewers, and we […]
Do you want to get frustrated by climate scientists? Just ask them what the current level of global surface warming is above the IPCC 1850-1900 pre-industrial baseline. In response, you’ll hear numbers ranging from 1.0°C up to about 1.3°C, depending on your source. The lack of rigor and consistency in reporting this all-important number is crazy-making. But this singular value […]
The rate at which Earth is heating up due to the rise in greenhouse gasses is best described by what’s known as the Earth Energy Imbalance (EEI). This is the difference between the amount of incoming solar radiation that heats the planet and the outgoing radiation of all types that escapes back into space. As James Hansen and a group […]
As everyone who pays attention knows, Michael Mann, the self-appointed media darling for climate science, is famous for attacking doomers as being worse than climate deniers. But what has become clear after reading the content of Mann’s attacks is his nearly complete ignorance of what it means to be a doomer. For example, here is what he wrote in this […]
Two years ago methane was the rising star on the hitlist of doomer messaging. And it was easy: the methane monster had so many different heads to chose from. From natural sources we had permafrost methane, East Siberian Arctic Shelf (ESAS) methane, methane bubbling up from lake and ocean bottoms and from an increase in termites. From anthropogenic sources we […]
Greg- you wrote a magnificent book on overpopulation & overshoot...but really my friend, let us all try to learn from…
I could not find your account on Twitter to unblock
I found a point you made with Leon about the future pie in the sky hydrogen economy fascinating - hydrogen…
My moment of doom today: The 2020 arctic ozone hole was the largest ever. http://atmosphere.copernicus.eu/cams-tracks-record-breaking-arctic-ozone-hole And space debris from SpaceX…
Thank you! Climate anxiety is real. So many bad news from all over the world. https://www.nasa.gov/earth/new-nasa-study-tallies-carbon-emissions-from-massive-canadian-fires/
The primary author as well as the entire site are b.s., and have been b.s. for a very long time.
Eliot, I’m appreciating your mathematical work. Can you please check this calculation? [redacted link] The author uses an exponential growth…
Methane decline ain’t gonna happen: https://www.carbonbrief.org/qa-why-methane-levels-are-rising-with-no-hint-of-a-decline/ We’re heading for +3C, sigh.