Category Archives: Science

Can climate sensitivity be really high?

Posted on June 13, 2020 by

The answer to the question in my post title is – unfortunately – yes. The generally accepted likely range for equilibrium climate sensitivity (ECS) is 2oC – 4.5oC. This doesn’t mean that it has to fall within this range, it … Continue reading →

Posted in Climate change, Climate sensitivity, Research, Science, The philosophy of science | Tagged , , , , | 36 Comments

Some thoughts about science advice

Posted on March 24, 2020 by

I hope everyone is keeping well and listening to all the advice which, in the UK, is basically to stay at home and to only go outside for food, some exercise, or to go to work (where this cannot be … Continue reading →

Posted in Philosophy for Bloggers, Policy, Science, Scientists, The philosophy of science | Tagged , , , | 70 Comments

A couple of highlights

Posted on March 8, 2020 by

Since I haven’t had much chance to write anything recently, I thought I would briefly advertise a couple of papers that may be of interest to my regular readers. One is by Clare Marie Flynn and Thorsten Mauritsen and is … Continue reading →

Posted in Climate change, Climate sensitivity, Global warming, Research, Science | Tagged , , , , | 19 Comments

Listen to the (political) science

Posted on December 30, 2019 by

I’ve been meaning to post a review of 2019, but wanted to first comment on something else. I quite often see criticism of how some people approach the issue of climate change. For example, in the Guardian yesterday, there was … Continue reading →

Posted in Carbon tax, Climate change, Policy, Politics, Science, Scientists | Tagged , , , , | 78 Comments

Science and Technology Studies podcast – part 2

Posted on December 20, 2019 by

There’s a post I’ve been thinking of writing, but I thought I might first comment on something else. I wrote a post about a Science and Technology Studies podcast that I’d listened to. This is a topic I find interesting, … Continue reading →

Posted in Philosophy for Bloggers, Science, Scientists, The philosophy of science, The scientific method | Tagged , , , , , | 67 Comments

Depolarising the debate?

Posted on November 7, 2019 by

I’ve always been a little puzzled by the (mostly) social scientists who seem to argue that to develop effective climate policy we should stop using labels, be depolarizing the debate, and should prioritise civil disagreements. It’s not that I object … Continue reading →

Posted in advocacy, Climate change, Environmental change, Policy, Science | Tagged , , , , | 172 Comments

Statistical versus mathematical modelling

Posted on August 31, 2019 by

There’s a short comment by Andrea Saltelli in Nature Communications on Statistical versus Mathematical Modelling. The general premise is that, like statistics, there is also a crisis in mathematical modelling. However, there isn’t the same sense of crisis about mathematical … Continue reading →

Posted in Research, Science, Sound Science (tm), The philosophy of science, The scientific method | Tagged , , , , | 153 Comments

A little knowledge

Posted on August 7, 2019 by

There is apparently a paper from a couple of years ago that is currently doing the rounds and that argues that the Molar Mass Version of the Ideal Gas Law Points to a Very Low Climate Sensitivity. The suggestion is … Continue reading →

Posted in Climate sensitivity, Greenhouse effect, Pseudoscience, Science, The scientific method | Tagged , , , , , | 26 Comments

Vienna

Posted on June 30, 2019 by

I’m spending a couple of weeks in Vienna while attending a workshop on planet formation. Spent yesterday doing a bike tour, and wine tasting, in the Wachau Valley, and then spent today visiting some of the attractions in Vienna. The … Continue reading →

Posted in Climate change, ClimateBall, Philosophy for Bloggers, Science, Scientists, The philosophy of science | Tagged , , , , , , | 21 Comments

Extreme weather event attribution

Posted on June 11, 2019 by

This is a joint post between myself and Eric Winsberg, Professor of Philosophy at the University of South Florida. Eric has just published, together with Naomi Oreskes and Elisabeth Lloyd, a paper called Severe Weather Event Attribution: Why values won’t … Continue reading →

Posted in advocacy, Climate change, Research, Science, The philosophy of science, The scientific method | Tagged , , , , , , , | 184 Comments