Understanding Climate Change - for the Non-Scientist

Want to understand the climate but don't want to go back to school, pay tuition, and watch the folks in front of you post Facebook updates while the professor is lecturing? Here's your chance!

The professor is Dr. David Archer from the University of Chicago and he wrote the book on Global Warming - literally. He's lecturing in harmony with his text Global Warming - Understanding the Forecast.

Here's his website at the university:
http://geosci.uchicago.edu/people/archer.shtml

Here's a full list of lectures - all available for download in MP4 format:
http://geoflop.uchicago.edu/forecast/docs/lectures.html

Here's a page of computer models to 'play with' - including a peak oil model:
http://geoflop.uchicago.edu/forecast/docs/models.html

Edit... It appears the lectures are no longer on YouTube. The are still available in MP4 format to view in a browser or download.
http://geoflop.uchicago.edu/forecast/docs/lectures.html
/edit

The lectures are also on YouTube. Here's the intro:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jdMJbFmAcZs[/youtube]

Chapter 2.1 - Heat and Light (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LozupEYKzeI)
Chapter 2.2 - Blackbody Radiation and Quantum Mechanics (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VyafkKxTv8w)

Chapter 3.1 - Our First Climate Model (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zm9wsTd8pAc)
Chapter 3.2 - The Greenhouse Effect (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uqXT734Tbo0)

Chapter 4.1 - What Makes a Greenhouse Gas (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x9Ofz6VW1qw)
Chapter 4.2 - Greenhouse Gases in the Atmosphere (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TwI0PqIv0Os)

Chapter 5.1 - What Holds the Atmosphere Up (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fkFRV5GhQS0)
Chapter 5.2 - Why It's Colder Aloft (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vfoBaqOvdic)

Chapter 6 - Wind, Currents, and Heat (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=96qke2-i_Sc)

Chapter 7.1 - Ice and Water Vapor Feedbacks (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8oGB3mKF3dI)
Chapter 7.2 - Clouds (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y3i-88ForWc)

Chapter 8.1 - The Weathering CO2 Thermostat (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ccAhXqYCD8)
Chapter 8.2 - Lungs of the Carbon Cycle (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v68jVK_vIxk)

Chapter 9.1 - The Battery of the Biosphere (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QFJXAd8YZvU)
Chapter 9.2 - Coal and Oil (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0D4tik3R_V4)
Chapter 9.3 - Oil and Methane (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=90SSasWlF7w)

Chapter 10.1 - The Carbon Cycle Today (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cVkhjl3dBWI)
Chapter 10.2 - The Long Thaw (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TwsilD5x8X8)

Chapter 11.1 - The Smoking Gun (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FZBaniKDrdg)
Chapter 11.2 - The Present in the Bosom of the Past (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=chw_N4dYvKI)

Chapter 12 - Six Degrees (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DS89C0-UKKM)

Chapter 13 - Hot, Flat, and Crowded (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vuJbHW7HBPE)

Grab your iClicker and a pencil - class is in session!

You know, we think the science on climate change has been settled, and we still have questions about Einstein's Theory or Relativity, and that has been settled for 100 years... with tremendous amounts of evidence. If this stuff keeps going on I'm going to reconsider Creationism.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/science-news/8783011/Speed-of-light-broken-by-scientists.html#disqus_thread" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Herm said:

You know, we think the science on climate change has been settled

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Not really settled, because as time goes by it turns out the problem is worse than originally thought, and happening more quickly than originally thought. For example, "Global Warming May Cause Far Higher Extinction of Biodiversity Than Previously Thought":

http://thinkprogress.org/romm/2011/09/20/323639/global-warming-extinction-of-biodiversity/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Herm said:

You know, we think the science on climate change has been settled, and we still have questions about Einstein's Theory or Relativity, and that has been settled for 100 years... with tremendous amounts of evidence. If this stuff keeps going on I'm going to reconsider Creationism.

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Anyone that suggests that science is ever finished is misinformed. It's a very conservative system that builds on a bedrock of understanding, not the house of cards the denialists suggest.

Einstein's well proven theory will not be overturned by a single test from CERN.

edit...typo

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=06R-qTXfVYE[/youtube]

Herm said:

You know, we think the science on climate change has been settled, and we still have questions about Einstein's Theory or Relativity, and that has been settled for 100 years... with tremendous amounts of evidence. If this stuff keeps going on I'm going to reconsider Creationism.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/science-news/8783011/Speed-of-light-broken-by-scientists.html#disqus_thread" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

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Herm - please watch this message from Frank Luntz - the Republican strategist that discovered that the term "Climate Change" polled better for Republicans than the term "Global Warming." This gent is one of the co-creators of the FAKE climate debate - and he admits he was wrong.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Yz8UwRsWPA[/youtube]

...Today I would not have that paragraph in a document I put out about the environment...

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As for those that think there is any debate on climate change:

AAAS Board Releases New Statement on Climate Change


The following statement on global climate change was released today during the AAAS Annual Meeting in San Francisco. The statement was approved by the board on 9 December 2006.

The scientific evidence is clear: global climate change caused by human activities is occurring now, and it is a growing threat to society. Accumulating data from across the globe reveal a wide array of effects: rapidly melting glaciers, destabilization of major ice sheets, increases in extreme weather, rising sea level, shifts in species ranges, and more. The pace of change and the evidence of harm have increased markedly over the last five years. The time to control greenhouse gas emissions is now.

The atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide, a critical greenhouse gas, is higher than it has been for at least 650,000 years. The average temperature of the Earth is heading for levels not experienced for millions of years. Scientific predictions of the impacts of increasing atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases from fossil fuels and deforestation match observed changes. As expected, intensification of droughts, heat waves, floods, wildfires, and severe storms is occurring, with a mounting toll on vulnerable ecosystems and societies. These events are early warning signs of even more devastating damage to come, some of which will be irreversible.

Delaying action to address climate change will increase the environmental and societal consequences as well as the costs. The longer we wait to tackle climate change, the harder and more expensive the task will be.

History provides many examples of society confronting grave threats by mobilizing knowledge and promoting innovation. We need an aggressive research, development and deployment effort to transform the existing and future energy systems of the world away from technologies that emit greenhouse gases. Developing clean energy technologies will provide economic opportunities and ensure future energy supplies.

In addition to rapidly reducing greenhouse gas emissions, it is essential that we develop strategies to adapt to ongoing changes and make communities more resilient to future changes.

The growing torrent of information presents a clear message: we are already experiencing global climate change. It is time to muster the political will for concerted action. Stronger leadership at all levels is needed. The time is now. We must rise to the challenge. We owe this to future generations.

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http://www.aaas.org/news/releases/2007/0218am_statement.shtml

Re-read this part while remembering it was from a statement penned in late 2006 and approved by the scientists that devote their lives to understanding how our planet works:

The average temperature of the Earth is heading for levels not experienced for millions of years. Scientific predictions of the impacts of increasing atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases from fossil fuels and deforestation match observed changes. As expected, intensification of droughts, heat waves, floods, wildfires, and severe storms is occurring, with a mounting toll on vulnerable ecosystems and societies. These events are early warning signs of even more devastating damage to come, some of which will be irreversible.

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Considering record high and low temperatures, floods, hurricanes, tornadoes, droughts, wildfires, and crop losses of the past few years, does it suggest that the scientific community might understand how things work?

For a great summary of the most recent scientific evidence, see this post:

"An Illustrated Guide to the Science of Global Warming Impacts: How We Know Inaction Is the Gravest Threat Humanity Faces"

http://thinkprogress.org/romm/2011/09/28/330109/science-of-global-warming-impacts/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I want to pose a question- Ask any person who understands scientific reasoning and ask them to make a valid conclusion for a data set that is 3 billion in size and they must use 100 consecutive units to prove a theory. That's global warming. People looking out for their own government funding by creating hysteria. Al Gore is pissed because no one wants to buy all of the carbon credits he owns.

Love my Leaf because it will put OPEC out of business and keep capital working for our family. Purchasing the Tesla S next year to support America.

No, that is not it.

jsolto said:

I want to pose a question- Ask any person who understands scientific reasoning and ask them to make a valid conclusion for a data set that is 3 billion in size and they must use 100 consecutive units to prove a theory. That's global warming. People looking out for their own government funding by creating hysteria.

Click to expand...

jsolto said:

I want to pose a question- Ask any person who understands scientific reasoning and ask them to make a valid conclusion for a data set that is 3 billion in size and they must use 100 consecutive units to prove a theory.

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Thank you for that fact-free analysis... and your first post here is to dispute the scientific work done over the last 100 years?

NASA: It Rained So Hard the Oceans Fell http://thinkprogress.org/romm/2011/10/02/332364/nasa-rained-so-hard-oceans-fell/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The pseudo-conservatives opposing climate science are leading us into a decidedly radical future, In my opinion.

With political action on curbing greenhouse gases stalled, a bipartisan panel of scientists, former government officials and national security experts is recommending that the government begin researching a radical fix: directly manipulating the Earth’s climate to lower the temperature....

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/04/science/earth/04climate.html?hp" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

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Link to PDF of the full report here:

http://www.bipartisanpolicy.org/library/report/task-force-climate-remediation-research" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;