Why a Center for Climate Change Communication?

Five important facts provide the rationale for why we created our center:

 

Temperature data from four international science institutions. All show rapid warming in the past few decades and that the last decade has been the warmest on record. Data sources: NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies, NOAA National Climatic Data Center, Met Office Hadley Centre/Climatic Research Unit and the Japanese Meteorological Agency.

Temperature data from four international science institutions. All show rapid warming in the past few decades and that the last decade has been the warmest on record. Data sources: NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies, NOAA National Climatic Data Center, Met Office Hadley Centre/Climatic Research Unit and the Japanese Meteorological Agency.

 

 

 

 

1. Climate change is real   Learn More

 

 

 

 

 

A stylized representation of the natural greenhouse effect. Most of the sun’s radiation reaches the Earth’s surface. Naturally occurring heat-trapping gases, including water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide, do not absorb the short-wave energy from the sun but do absorb the long-wave energy re-radiated from the Earth, keeping the planet much warmer than it would be otherwise. Right: In this stylized representation of the human-intensified greenhouse effect, human activities, predominantly the burning of fossil fuels (coal, oil, and gas), are increasing levels of carbon dioxide and other heat-trapping gases, increasing the natural greenhouse effect and thus Earth’s temperature. (Figure source: William Elder, National Park Service)

In this stylized representation of the human-intensified greenhouse effect, human activities, predominantly the burning of fossil fuels (coal, oil, and gas), are increasing levels of carbon dioxide and other heat-trapping gases, increasing the natural greenhouse effect and thus Earth’s temperature. (Figure source: William Elder, National Park Service)

 

 

 

 

 

2. Climate change is caused by human actions   Learn More

 

 

 

 

 

 

Scientific Agreement

Scientific consensus on human-caused global warming as compared to the expertise of the surveyed sample. There’s a strong correlation between consensus and climate science expertise. Illustration: John Cook. Source: Skeptical Science.

 

 

 

 

3. More than 97% of the experts agree   Learn More

 

 

 

 

 

 

Graphic: NOAA

Graphic: NOAA

 

 

 

4. Climate change is harming us   Learn More

 

 

 

 


 

 

Source: Energy.gov

Source: Energy.gov

 

5. We can solve this problem, if we work at it Learn More

 

 

 

 

 

Actually, #5 is more of an imperative than a fact. In December 2015, the nations of the world came together at the COP 21 meeting in Paris and pledged to work collaboratively to limit global warming to at most 2 degrees (Celsius), or ideally to 1.5 degrees.  This is not an easy goal, yet it must be achieved.

To reach the goal, some of what must be achieved is technological – for example, improving clean energy production, storage and constancy – and some is economic, reducing the costs of clean energy production and distribution, and increasing the costs of emitting heat-trapping pollution.  We already have most, if not all, of the necessary technology and economic policy options, but we lack sufficient public and political will to implement them – as well as helpful climate change adaptation policies – fast enough.

Therefore, the overarching question we are attempting to answer – and the defining rationale for creating our center – is: How can sufficient public and political will be created, fast enough, to limit the Earth’s warming to less than 2.0 degrees Celsius (3.6 degree Fahrenheit), and to protect people with sensible climate change adaption measures?