Arguments
Video on Climate Change Lines of Evidence by the National Academy of Science
Posted on 26 January 2013 by John Cook
The U.S. National Academy of Science have produced a series of videos providing a basic overview of climate science - the series is called Climate Change: Lines of Evidence. The 7 chapters covered are:
Chapter 4: Increased Emissions
You can also watch the entire series in a single YouTube video.
The information is also available in booklet form which can be ordered from the National Academies Press in sets, at just $1 per set (which IMHO is a steal) plus shipping and handling. There are two options: (1) a set of 2 booklets + 1 DVD and (2) a set of 3 booklets
The booklet summarizes the current state of knowledge about climate change, explains some impacts expected in this century and beyond and examines how science can help inform choices about managing and reducing climate risks. The booklet has lots of great figures, freely available for redistribution.
The video series was recently featured on Real Climate and there was a quite vigorous discussion where RC readers accused the videos of not having enough passion. This is the NAS perspective on what their videos are meant to achieve:
Keep in mind that the National Academy of Sciences and the National Research Council are not in the business of advocacy but rather providing objective scientific information. Thus, the narration is intentionally evenly toned.
The videos provide an overview of how we know what we know based on the lines of evidence that were covered in Advancing the Science of Climate Change (NRC 2011), which is part of the America’s Climate Choices series of reports. It was cut into chapters so the public and educators can learn about some of the major lines of evidence that show climate change is human caused.
We hope that people can use this objective information to advance their own understanding. An accompanying booklet has additional text and figures for those who are looking for a bit more in-depth information.
This movie is only a summary of 'some' of the basics of climate science pertaining to how we know what we know. Climate science is complex and there are many more lines of evidence not included in this video. We hope that these videos will be useful in helping more people understand Climate Change and its Lines of Evidence.
The only inaccurate (to my liking) detail is:
- the suggestion that the current total energy imbalance due to all forcings is 1.6Wm-2. That's is incorrect, because the temps has risen by .6C, therefore increasing the heat loss due to IR by ~1Wm-2 since preindustrial, therefore the current imbalance is 0.6Wm-2 and that (rather than 1.6Wm-2) is the equivalent of 2HBsec-1 they are talking about thereafter.
For further information you may have a look at:
E-Seminar "Transformation" [WBGU, english]
I did notice, however, at about 11.5 minutes in, there was a small discussion about atmospheric methane that includes the assertion that its concentration has "leveled-off." The chart shown terminates at 2006. It should be noted that since 2006, atmospheric methane concentrations have increased steadily. More data here: http://www.esrl.noaa.gov/gmd/aggi/
Unfortunately, there are too FEW of these available. Why is that? In my opinion, the climate change collegiate are, sadly, a dis-organized crew (understandably because their agenda isn't based on contrived cooked information). But, a little more organization would still help a lot. That's what makes this SkS site so good (a clear organized light in the abundant sea of conflicting messages).
One obvious omission is a conservative (low-end) projection to 2100 based on BAU, or better yet, a moderate reduction in GH emissions (starting in say 2025). Even a conservative projection like this would be a big eye-opener for many. ... I will be sharing the youtube site. ... Thanks for sharing here!