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Climate Misinformation by Source: Bob Carter

Bob Carter was a geologist specializing in palaeontology, stratigraphy, marine geology, and environmental science (1942-2016).

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Favourite climate myths by Bob Carter

Below are many of the climate myths used by Bob Carter plus how often each myth has been used.

Climate myths by Carter What the Science Says Usage
"CO2 is not a pollutant"

Through its impacts on the climate, CO2 presents a danger to public health and welfare, and thus qualifies as an air pollutant

 6
"It hasn't warmed since 1998"

Every part of the Earth's climate system has continued warming since 1998, with 2015 shattering temperature records.

 5
"Climate's changed before" Climate reacts to whatever forces it to change at the time; humans are now the dominant forcing. 4
"There's no correlation between CO2 and temperature"

There is long-term correlation between CO2 and global temperature; other effects are short-term.

 4
"It's cooling"

All the indicators show that global warming is still happening.

 4
"CO2 limits will make little difference"

If every nation agrees to limit CO2 emissions, we can achieve significant cuts on a global scale.

 4
"There's no empirical evidence"

There are multiple lines of direct observations that humans are causing global warming.

 3
"It's not bad"

Negative impacts of global warming on agriculture, health & environment far outweigh any positives.

 3
"Models are unreliable"

Models successfully reproduce temperatures since 1900 globally, by land, in the air and the ocean.

 3
"CO2 is plant food"

The effects of enhanced CO2 on terrestrial plants are variable and complex and dependent on numerous factors

 3
"There is no consensus"

97% of climate experts agree humans are causing global warming.

 2
"Climategate CRU emails suggest conspiracy"

A number of investigations have cleared scientists of any wrongdoing in the media-hyped email incident.

 2
"It's a natural cycle"

No known natural forcing fits the fingerprints of observed warming except anthropogenic greenhouse gases.

 2
"Hockey stick is broken"

Recent studies agree that recent global temperatures are unprecedented in the last 1000 years.

 2
"It's not happening"

There are many lines of evidence indicating global warming is unequivocal.

 2
"CO2 limits will harm the economy"

The benefits of a price on carbon outweigh the costs several times over.

 2
"Al Gore got it wrong"

Al Gore's book is quite accurate, and far more accurate than contrarian books.

 1
"It cooled mid-century" Mid-century cooling involved aerosols and is irrelevant for recent global warming. 1
"It warmed before 1940 when CO2 was low"

Early 20th century warming is due to several causes, including rising CO2.

 1
"It's Urban Heat Island effect" Urban and rural regions show the same warming trend. 1
"Temp record is unreliable" The warming trend is the same in rural and urban areas, measured by thermometers and satellites. 1
"1934 - hottest year on record"

1934 was one of the hottest years in the US, not globally.

 1
"It's the sun"

In the last 35 years of global warming, sun and climate have been going in opposite directions

 1
"Antarctica is gaining ice"

Satellites measure Antarctica losing land ice at an accelerating rate.

 1
"Hurricanes aren't linked to global warming"

There is increasing evidence that hurricanes are getting stronger due to global warming.

 1
"Sea level rise is exaggerated"

A variety of different measurements find steadily rising sea levels over the past century.

 1
"Greenland is gaining ice"

Greenland on the whole is losing ice, as confirmed by satellite measurement.

 1
"Arctic icemelt is a natural cycle"

Thick Arctic sea ice is undergoing a rapid retreat.

 1
"Animals and plants can adapt"

Global warming will cause mass extinctions of species that cannot adapt on short time scales.

 1
"Oceans are cooling" The most recent ocean measurements show consistent warming. 1
"It's not us"

Multiple sets of independent observations find a human fingerprint on climate change.

 1
"Global warming stopped in 1998, 1995, 2002, 2007, 2010, ????"

Global temperature is still rising and 2010 was the hottest recorded.

 1
"Earth hasn't warmed as much as expected" This argument ignores the cooling effect of aerosols and the planet's thermal inertia. 1
"It's not urgent"

A large amount of warming is delayed, and if we don’t act now we could pass tipping points.

 1
"It's internal variability"

Internal variability can only account for small amounts of warming and cooling over periods of decades, and scientific studies have consistently shown that it cannot account for the global warming over the past century.

 1
"CO2 limits won't cool the planet"

CO2 limits won't cool the planet, but they can make the difference between continued accelerating global warming to catastrophic levels vs. slowing and eventually stopping the warming at hopefully safe levels.

 1
"It's El Niño"

El Nino has no trend and so is not responsible for the trend of global warming.

 1
"Climate sensitivity is low"

Net positive feedback is confirmed by many different lines of evidence.

 1

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