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All IPCC definitions taken from Climate Change 2007: The Physical Science Basis. Working Group I Contribution to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Annex I, Glossary, pp. 941-954. Cambridge University Press.

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Climate Scientists Explain

Skeptical Science has a number of contributors, both scientists and laypersons. This has enabled the website to produce a broad range of content, rebutting skeptic disinformation with an emphasis on educating the public on climate science. To expand on this, a series of "Climate Scientists Explain" articles are planned. Given the scientific demands facing climatologists, the series will seek to have a maximum impact with the public while being a logical extension of the scientists' ongoing research and outreach to non-scientific audiences. The idea is climate scientists write a guest article/comment about their area of expertise, either describing their research or writing rebuttal to a specific climate skeptic argument. The goals are:

1. Provide a permanent resource

Each article will be a permanent online resource that people can link to in blogs, forums and online debates. If appropriate, the article will also be used as a rebuttal to a specific skeptic argument (in order to reach a broad audience, each rebuttal features a basic, intermediate and advanced version - here's a good example).

2. Reach as many people as possible

The goal is communicate the science to as many people as possible. Each article will be posted on the homepage (400,000+ visitors per month) and all new blog posts are sent to the Skeptical Science iPhone app (60,000+ downloads). Each article is tweeted, facebooked & sent to the Skeptical Science mailing list.

Rebuttals are also included in the list of skeptic arguments on the iPhone, Android and Nokia apps. The goal is to provide definitive and authoratitive climate science information that is disseminated quickly and broadly through new media.

3. Build trust between climate scientists and the public

An important element to climate outreach is building trust between climate scientists and the public. As well as imparting information, the 'Climate Scientists Explain' series is an opportunity to "humanise" scientists (an approach taken in the UCS Curious for Life campaign). Each blog post would be accompanied by a photo, bio and possibly a pic of the scientist plying their trade (eg - standing on an ice shelf, diving in a coral reef, taking samples, etc).

It's recommended that after posting an article, the scientists be available to respond directly to selected comments and questions from readers. This can have just as much impact as the article itself, both educationally and in building bridges. To ensure civil, productive discussion, all comments will be vetted and the comments thread will be closed after a certain interval.

Currently Involved Scientists

The following scientists have agreed to post articles in the Climate Scientists Explain series.

  • Ove Hoegh-Guldberg, Coordinating Lead Author of the "Open Oceans" chapter of the IPCC 5th Assessment Report, will write about ocean acidification.
  • Kevin Judd, climate modeller at University of W.A., writing on the uncertainty and reliability of model forecasts.
  • John Bruno, Associate Professor of Marine Ecology at the University of North Carolina, will write articles on the impacts of climate change on marine ecosystem.
  • Craig Cogger, Soil Management Scientist at Washington State University, on the impacts of climate change on agriculture.
  • Timothy Link, Professor of Forest Hydrology, on U.S. snow trends, ENSO and vegetation regrowth.
  • Jonathan Koomey, Consulting Professor in Civil and Environmental Engineering at Stanford University.  His focus is on climate solutions, and he'll write about the case for urgent action.
  • Paul N. Edwards, Professor of Information and History at the University of Michigan, on the reliability of climate models and on how scientists use historical climate data


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