Resources for adults who think climate science is controversial

Climate scientists — the scientists who measure changes in the atmosphere, observe unprecedented melting in Greenland, and research Earth's past — have provided bounties of evidence that humans are driving rapid climate change.

To say climate science is a "matter of public debate" and to evade questions about the threats posed by climate change is a problematic stance for any adult who is likely to assume a position of great power and decision-making in the United States government. But that's exactly what Judge Amy Coney Barrett, an accomplished jurist who taught law at the University of Notre Dame, did during her confirmation hearing for a lifelong appointment to the highest court in the land. She declined to answer exceptionally easy, rudimentary questions about climate science. Importantly, the Supreme Court will hear a case next year involving oil giants (like Shell) getting sued for climate change damages.

While agreeing that coronavirus is infectious ("It's an obvious fact") and that cigarette smoking causes cancer ("Yes, every package of cigarettes warns that smoking causes cancer"), Barrett would not offer views on climate change during the hearing, telling Senator Kamala Harris that it's up to public debate, and therefore is debatable. To Barrett, the infectious nature of coronavirus and dangers of smoking are "uncontroversial," but climate change is "very contentious."

It, however, is not. Nearly all climate scientists, among thousands of peer-reviewed studies, have repeatedly concluded that humans, by releasing prodigious amounts of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere and dramatically altering the way land is used, have caused climate change. The same agencies (NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) who monitor hurricanes and the ozone layer also assess the climate. These premier U.S. researchers agree: Humans are driving climate change.

Yes, there will always be some debate among the public about most anything. That doesn't mean the main premises of climate science are factually debatable. People still debate whether or not the Earth is flat (you decide). You can't escape public debate, especially in a world rife with erroneous ideas posted on social media and TV pundits making absurd arguments. Such will be the case for any scientific field. 

"There's still a handful [of people] that deny plate tectonics," noted John Cook, a research assistant professor at the Center for Climate Change Communication at George Mason University. "Even 'flat earth' is making a comeback."

What follows are some leading, publicly available resources to familiarize anyone with climate science, whether they're a journalist, oil industry executive, or nominee for the United States Supreme Court.

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1. The National Climate Assessment

In 2018, the federal government released the fourth edition of the congressionally mandated National Climate Assessment, which provides the nation a thorough review of the "science of climate change and variability and its impacts across the United States, now and throughout this century." It's comprehensive, showing how climate change creates risk for U.S. communities, the economy, ecosystems, water, and our health.

"Earth’s climate is now changing faster than at any point in the history of modern civilization, primarily as a result of human activities," the report concludes.

2. NASA

NASA has a superb, visually engaging climate change website. Its "Facts" page is especially relevant. The agency provides evidence about the changing climate, causes, effects, and beyond.

"The current warming trend is of particular significance because most of it is extremely likely (greater than 95% probability) to be the result of human activity since the mid-20th century and proceeding at a rate that is unprecedented over decades to millennia," NASA wrote.

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3. NOAA

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration operates the climate.gov webpage. Among a plethora of maps and graphs, the agency has a "Global Climate Dashboard" showing trends in carbon dioxide, ocean heat, sea level, and beyond.

The ocean's increasing ocean heat content since around 1990. Credit: noaa

(For more on the NOAA graph above, here's a Mashable story on how the oceans are absorbing nearly unfathomable amounts of heat as the climate warms.)

4. Scripps CO2 Program

The Scripps Institution of Oceanography has a program that's measured the heat-trapping gas carbon dioxide in the atmosphere since the 1950s. The conclusion: atmospheric CO2 has been on a stark, accelerating rise since the mid-20th century, though CO2 began rising in the late-1800s as coal burning ramped up in the Western world.

The institute has measured CO2 in the atmosphere atop Hawaii's Mauna Loa for decades, providing one of the most important, long-term observations of Earth's changing atmosphere. The program's work can be found on its Scripps CO2 Program webpage.

Atmospheric carbon dioxide levels are the highest they've been in at least 800,000 years, but more likely millions of years.

Ever-rising CO2 in the atmosphere. Credit: scripps institution of oceanography

5. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is the United Nations' organization for assessing climate change science. They offer comprehensive, though at times technical, reports, every six or seven years. The reports are foundational assessments of the current state of climate science. The IPCC also issues separate, special reports, such as those on how climate change impacts the oceans and the effects of global warming at 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) above pre-Industrial levels (we're well on our way there).

You can find their reports here.

"Human influence on the climate system is clear, and recent anthropogenic emissions of greenhouse gases are the highest in history," the IPCC concluded in a succinct statement in their fifth big assessment report.