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Last Update:
01.05.12
This page provides reference
information that is very useful to the understanding of climate science
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Reports, Booklets and Whitepapers
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Climate Change for Policymakers and Business Leaders
February 2010, PDF file,
11 pages
Co-authored by PG&E
Corporation Chairman, CEO and President Peter Darbee and Carnegie
Institution climate change expert
Dr. Christopher Field. "This
paper, the product of a partnership between a science leader and a
business leader, provides an interesting illustration of how science
and policy interact. Science discovers facts and elucidates trends;
it provides a window for understanding what is (e.g., the present
climate and how it is changing), as well as a framework for
projecting what will be (future climate change and associated
risks). The policy decisions made by businesses and governments are
based on science, but also on economic and human factors that are
beyond the realm of science. This paper represents a merging of
policy-relevant scientific information with policy conclusions based
on that information and judgments about acceptable risks."
Also see PG&E website
Environment / Global Climate Change
Climate
Stabilization Targets: Emissions, Concentrations, and Impacts over
Decades to Millennia
July 2010
This National Research Council report was prepared by a group of 15
distinguished Climate Scientists led by Dr. Susan Solomon. Based on
the best and most recent scientific research, the report analyzes
the impacts upon the Earth and human society for a range of levels
at which the CO2 concentration in our atmosphere is stabilized and
the associated range of the resultant increase in global
temperatures. The entire report may be downloaded free of charge by
going to Prepublication PDFs, but the entire document is very long.
I suggest you only download the
Executive Summary, which gives a clear picture of the
conclusions of the full report.
The Copenhagen Diagnosis: Updating the World on the Latest
Climate Science 2009
November 2009,
PDF file,
64 pages
Prepared by 26 authors.
This booklet does exactly what the subtitle suggests. The 2007 IPCC
report reviewed the scientific literature on climate change through
2005. Since 2005 there have been significant advances in all aspects
of climate science. This report, put together by an international
team of 26 of the world's leading climate scientists, updates these
scientific advances, accompanied by some beautiful photographs.
Readers of either the Mann & Krump book or those reading the lessons
in the Tutorials in this website should be able to understand most
of this material.
The Scientific Guide
to Global Warming Skepticism
December 2010, PDF, 16 pages
This 16 page booklet might better be titled "The
Scientific Guide to Talking to Global Warming Skeptics".
It addresses the most common misconceptions about
climate science, with clever and useful illustrations.
It is intended especially for high school and college
science teachers, but is recommended for everyone.
Understanding and Responding to Climate Change -
Highlights of National Academies Reports - 2008
PDF file, 28 pages
A comprehensive and
easy-to-read analysis of findings and recommendations
from National Academies reports on climate change.
Dire Predictions: Understanding Global Warming
by Michael E. Mann and Lee R. Kump
DK Publishing Inc., July 2008
ISBN 978-0-7566-3995-2
This book is an "illustrated guide to the findings of the IPCC" and
is written by two climate scientists carrying out forefront
research. It is designed for readers with no formal background in
science and explains in clear language not only the basic science of
climate change but the projected impacts of climate change and steps
that can be taken to deal with them. Highly recommended.
Review by Penn State
/
Amazon.com
If readers know of short videos illustrating
important climate science concepts, please send them to me.
Climate Change Basics by Dr. Ray Weymann 50 minutes
In March 2011 I gave a talk on Climate Change at the Atascadero
Association of Retired People's building. It was one in a
series of forums on issues of general public interest sponsored by
the Atascadero Democratic Club. Mr. Walt Reil recorded the
talk on video and I have done some editing by inserting the actual
PowerPoint slides where appropriate. While some further
editing still needs doing, several people have asked me about this
video so I am making it available now rather than wait for further
editing. Although nearly one year has elapsed since I gave the
talk, the basic science is essentially unchanged. I hope
viewers will find it useful and I will be happy to respond to
comments sent to
ray.climate (@
sign) charter.net .
Dr. John Abraham
Response to a speech by Lord Christopher
Monckton
Christopher Monckton is one of the more prominent 'climate
skeptics', though he has no scientific training. In June 2010,
numerous assertions in a speech he gave at Bethel College,
Minnesota, in October 2009, were dissected in detail in a convincing
and entertaining way by Dr. John Abraham, an expert in heat transfer
and fluid mechanics and a member of the faculty at St. Thomas
University, also in Minnesota. Abraham's response to Monckton has
attracted a great deal of attention. The link above consists of a
series of short video clips. The entire series runs quite long, but
you can step through the slides at your leisure. I highly recommend
it. I suggest clicking on the little video camera icon so you can
easily scroll down the list of slides. Have your computer's
volume turned up to hear the presentation.
EARTH:
The Operators' Manual
04.18.11 National Science Foundation, On-line, 54 minutes
Host Richard
Alley –
a geologist, contributor to the United Nations panel on climate
change and former oil company employee whom Andy Revkin of the New
York Times once called "a cross between Woody Allen and Carl Sagan"
– leads the audience on this engaging one-hour special about climate
change and sustainable energy, premiering during Earth Month 2011.
"EARTH: The Operators’ Manual" ("ETOM" for short) is a rigorously
researched, beautifully filmed and ultimately uplifting antidote to
the widespread "doom and gloom" approach to climate change. The
program opens with a thorough grounding in Earth’s climate history
and an overview of the current dilemmas, but its main thrust is an
upbeat assessment of our many viable sustainable energy options.
Oceans of
Climate Change
04.21.09 NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, On-line, 3.9 minutes
This short video, referred to in Lesson 5, and featuring
JPL
Oceanographer Dr. Joshua Willis, is a wonderful
demonstration of the difference between the ability of the ocean and
the atmosphere to store heat.
Secrets Beneath the Ice
12.28.10 PBS NOVA, On-line, 53 minutes
Almost three miles of ice buries most of Antarctica, cloaking a
continent half again as large as the United States. But when an
Antarctic ice shelf the size of Manhattan collapsed in less than a
month in 2002, it shocked scientists and raised the alarming
possibility that Antarctica may be headed for a meltdown. Even a 10
percent loss of Antarctica's ice would cause catastrophic flooding
of coastal cities unlike any seen before in human history. What are
the chances of a widespread melt? "Secrets Beneath the Ice" explores
whether Antarctica's climate past can offer clues to what may
happen.
Ray Weymann's Comments:
This is a wonderful program about the history and possible future of
the Antarctic Ice Sheet. It runs a bit less than one hour. The
Antarctic Ice sheet holds by far the largest amount of fresh water
on the Earth. It has been existence for tens of millions of years.
If it were all converted to water, the sea level would rise by
several hundred feet. The research described in this fascinating
video is beginning to reveal that the history of the Antarctic Ice
Sheet has been subject to more significant and rapid changes than
was believed to be the case until very recently. But the video also
shows something else: the enormous dedication of the men and women
who are carrying out this research in spite of very primitive and
potentially very dangerous conditions. HIGHLY recommended.
Taking Earth's Temperature
2009, NASA, 4 minutes
Earth's climate is changing at an unprecedented rate. This video
explores climate modeling and other tools that NASA scientists use
to take the Earth's temperature.
Climate
Science Rapid Response Team
The Climate Science Rapid Response Team is a
match-making service to connect climate scientists with
lawmakers and the media. The group is committed to
providing rapid, high-quality information to media and
government officials. Climate Science Rapid
Response team member scientists are chosen to cover a
wide array of topics related to Climate Science. They
have been selected based upon their publications in
professional peer-reviewed scientific journals.
NASA Climate Kids
NASA's Eyes on the Earth
A great NASA website for children.
NASA Global Climate
Change NASA's Eyes on the Earth
Major research efforts in climate science are conducted
at many of the laboratories of the National
Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). This
website is especially valuable for information on
climate research currently being carried out by
satellites launched by NASA.
If you click on the yellow "3D" letters at the top of
that page it will take you to the "Eyes
on the Earth 3D"
page. Then click on the ENTER button in the middle
orange panel and you will see the orbits of the 15 NASA
satellites devoted to studying various aspects of the
earth's climate system. You can click on any individual
satellite to learn in more detail what aspect of the
climate that satellite is studying. Readers should be
aware that while NASA has responsibility for launching
these satellites, there are thousands of scientists
participating in the resulting science from many
universities in the U.S. and in foreign countries as
well.
National Center for Atmospheric Research NCAR
A broad range of climate science research is conducted
here including powerful computer simulations of the
climate to enhance understanding of the earth's complex
climate system.
NOAA Climate Services
A "one stop shop" for scientists, researchers, teachers,
students and the public of data, information and
predictions of Earth's climate. This wonderful
website is a plethora of informative and fascinating
information.
NOAA
Climate Program Office - Education
This National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration
website is highly recommended, especially for science
teachers.
RealClimate
If
you want to read commentary about climate science from
the professionals who really know what they are talking
about, you can do no better than go to RealClimate.
However, some of the discussion may be somewhat
technical for readers. My advice is to stop at the
posts themselves rather than read through all the
comments, since it is sometimes difficult to separate
the 'wheat' from the 'chaff'. However, the posts
themselves are written by real experts."
Skeptical
Science
Anyone who is involved in communicating with the general
public about climate science will quickly run into the
same 'myths' over and over again. On the
Misperceptions page
I am writing about a few of the ones I have encountered
here on the California Central Coast. But, there
are many, many more, and it takes a great deal of effort
to research the peer-reviewed literature and respond to
these myths. Fortunately, this "Skeptical
Science" website does an admirable job of doing
exactly that and is an invaluable resource. I highly
recommend it.
Dr. Ray Weymann
ray.climate (@
sign) charter.net
Webmaster Walter Reil
walter.climate (@
sign) gmail.com
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