Climate Science
There is no better source for climate science than the reports released by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the United Nations body for assessing the science related to climate change. Main assessment reports are released every 6 years, with the most recent being Assessment Report 6, or AR6. Each assessment report includes the work product from 3 working groups:
- Working Group I – The Physical Science Basis
- Working Group II – Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability
- Working Group III – Mitigation of Climate Change
A final synthesis report for the 6th assessment cycle is being worked on to summarize all the findings. If the work of any of these working groups is particularly interesting to you, perhaps start with the summary for policymakers for the respective working group.
In addition to assessment reports every 6 years, the IPCC will occasionally produce interim special reports, such as the special report on a 1.5 degree world released in 2018, which will be included in the final synthesis report.
If you are interested in responding to your climate-skeptic uncle at your next Thanksgiving, it’s hard to beat the website Skeptical Science.
A Conversation with James Hansen
Dr. James Hansen, directing the Program on Climate Science, Awareness and Solutions of the Earth Institute at Columbia University, is considered by many to be the foremost climatologist in the world. From his New York City office, he spoke with Climate Crisis Coalition Coordinator Tom Stokes, on May 10, 2008, about the science of climate change, the urgency of enacting effective climate legislation and why he is speaking out about it.
Dr. Hansen believes that we should enact a carbon tax with the revenue recycled back to the people, rather than a cap-and-trade system.