Resources
The following websites are thorough and physical science-based sources about climate change and global warming.
Global Warming website/blog:
Founder: Dr. Roy Spencer
“Roy W. Spencer received his Ph.D. in meteorology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1981. Before becoming a Principal Research Scientist at the University of Alabama in Huntsville in 2001, he was a Senior Scientist for Climate Studies at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center, where he and Dr. John Christy received NASA’s Exceptional Scientific Achievement Medal for their global temperature monitoring work with satellites. Dr. Spencer’s work with NASA continues as the U.S. Science Team leader for the Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer flying on NASA’s Aqua satellite. He has provided congressional testimony several times on the subject of global warming.”
[Source: About Dr. Roy Spencer Page on his website]
This is the website where I get monthly reports of Dr. Roy Spencer’s and Dr. John Christy’s global temperature monitoring efforts. These reports provide authenticated temperature data, ranging from the layer nearest to the surface of the Earth (the “Lower Troposphere”) upward through the “Lower Stratosphere” layer. This satellite-based, radiometric temperature dataset is presented in a regional and global format. And, the unique thing about this dataset is that it covers the entire globe, unlike traditional ground, balloon, and sea-based thermometers that only cover a small fraction of the globe.
The website also provides interesting, easy-to-read, and current commentary on global warming that is tailored for scientists and laypersons, alike. Most impressively, Dr. Spencer is fearless. And unlike many, he readily admits when he is wrong about his explanations of this highly complex topic of global warming, and he follows up with corrections and reasons why, accordingly.
CO2 Coalition, Arlington, VA:
Founder and Chair: William Happer, Ph.D.
“The CO2 Coalition was established in 2015 for the purpose of educating thought leaders, policy makers, and the public about the important contribution made by carbon dioxide to our lives and the economy. The Coalition seeks to engage in an informed and dispassionate discussion of climate change, humans’ role in the climate system, the limitations of climate models, and the consequences of mandated reductions in CO2 emissions. In carrying out our mission, we seek to strengthen the understanding of the role of science and the scientific process in addressing complex public policy issues like climate change. Science produces empirical, measurable, objective facts and provides a means for testing hypotheses that can be replicated and potentially disproven. Approaches to policy that do not adhere to the scientific process risk grave damage to the economy and to science.”
[Source: About the CO2 Coalition Website]
1-minute video clip on “The Key to Science”:
Speaker: Richard P. Feynman, Ph.D.
Richard Feynman is a physicist and educator who taught at Cornell and Caltech back in the 1950-80s. He was a member of the “Manhattan (Atomic Bomb) Project,” and he shared the Nobel Prize in physics in 1965 for his work in quantum electrodynamics.
Richard Feynman also played a notable role on the Presidential Rogers Commission that investigated the 1986 Space Shuttle Challenger disaster. In a televised hearing, he demonstrated that brittle (frozen) O-Rings were the cause of that disaster. His analysis revealed startling NASA “groupthink,” exemplified by his statement that “For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for nature cannot be fooled.”
This video clip is about the time-honored scientific method, and it is the correct way to do real science to this day—not consensus or groupthink as I discuss in Chapter 3 of my book. I use this simple, yet timeless and profound, video clip in all of my speaking engagements.
Watts Up With That (WUWT):
Founder: TV and Radio Broadcaster, and Internet Blogger, Anthony Watts.
The award winning WUWT is the most viewed, and arguably the most well-known, website in the world on global warming and climate change. Its purpose is to make known “…the untold story of the climate debate from the skeptic side.”
[Source: FAQs About Watts Up With That Website]
This website provides wide-ranging reports and studies about global warming and climate change that are “peer-reviewed” by the best of all groups of people—namely everyone and anyone, including physical scientists, educators, and lay-persons, alike.
The Heartland Institute, Chicago, IL:
Founders: David H. Padden and Joseph L. Bast
The Heartland Institute is a leading nonprofit think tank that focuses on a variety of social and economic topics, including environment and climate. It is one of my favorite places to go for discussion of the latest and greatest climate information because of the impressive climate-related qualifications of their Board of Directors, Senior Fellows, and Policy Advisors.
Don’t Be Afraid of Climate Change:
“Climate change alarmism is causing anxiety and depression in children, teens, and adults. This book was written to be a concise resource helping to separate climate fact from climate fiction. Full color illustrations feature a wolf named “Climate Change”, and, like most big, bad wolves, he would rather be scary than entirely truthful. Each illustration pairs him with a common climate-related fear, and then the facts behind those fears. Readers are likely to realize that climate change isn’t so scary after all.”
I like this book because it not only alleviates children’s fears, it also creates the framework for climate discussion as they grow older.
