#14 Gavin Schmidt - Climate Science, Projections, Measurements, Denialism

In this week's episode, David is joined by climate scientist Dr Gavin Schmidt, Director of the NASA Goddard Institute of Space Studies (GISS) and co-founded of the RealClimate blog.

[Henchman]

This was an excellent interview showing the complexities of climate science & the humanity of the people behind the calculations. Gavin is the kind of scientist I enjoy listening to. He's enjoys his job because it challenges him, not because he has an axe to grind. Keep up the good work Cool Worlds ‼️

[slysynthetic]

Dr. Schmidt truly is The Wizard of Oz! We are lucky to have him as the keeper of the temperature data. I know that I get excited every time there's a new GHCN version.

[markj.miller]

For me, what started as a mundane video ended in grand excellence. The power & strength of the climate modeling is well demonstrated. Unknowns are usually emphasized if not controlling in so many other discussions. The false sowing of doubt by those seeking to protect their unprecedented profit and power, the robustness of the science-based climate predictions, & our agency to do something is crystal clear in this interview. Glad I kept watching!

[critiqueofthegothgf]

god, this was amazing. I cant overstate how much of an inspiration gavin serves for me as an aspiring climate scientist, and I need to mention how great of an interviewer you are. it'd be hard to count how many times you asked a question that piqued my interest, either because it was something I didn't know myself or was deeply interested in knowing Gavin's thoughts on the matter. 

the ending segment on astrobiology and exoplanets is something I view as a light at the end of the tunnel. for lack of better words, assuming we do get our ducks in a row and effectively deal with climate change, the study of exoplanets, other atmospheres, tech/bio signatures, etc. will be the future of climate science and that excites me to no end.

[KrisV]

This is a brilliant conversation. Well spoken and deep with knowledge. Thanks for this.

[flinxsl]

Nice guest. It's interesting to hear from the people making the models and what their view is like. I use models a lot in my work (transistors) and it's not quite the same language.

[loneranger]

Great conversation! As a retired engineer, I see climate change as a great opportunity for innovation and technological advancement that will result in a better world with fewer environmental risks. It's the politicalization of this issue that presents the biggest barriers to making these advances possible. Even so, I still feel that we'll figure out how to either curb the problem or adapt to it.

[floryda]

Superb interview!!! I especially liked the but about how a model encourages synergies across multiple disciplines of science. With AI becoming more and more powerful and important, I wonder what will be possible in the field of climate science next...

[joehopfield]

Section about public perception starting at 40: to is superb. Well asked a series of questions.

[mrrecluse]

Gavin sugarcoats nothing, and it's just what we all need.

[beefandbarley]

Thanks for this informative discussion. Viva Science!

[nathanbigler]

My concern about warming is the effect on crops. Heat, droughts and floods destroy crops. We're seeing a lot of those effects this year. That's dangerous for our society, especially since it will get worse each year

[dukie]

I was just speaking with my good friend, a known maga anti-vexer about his very adorable dog, Jackson. Jackson is due for his periodic shots, which his owner obviously has no problems with. Because It’s for his beloved Jacky boy, and of course Jackson’s doggie booster vaccines are quite safe. You see this is the problem, if they, all the anti-vexer/conspiracy theorists/maga can’t see through their own contradictions and hypocrisies how can we get through to them individually, let alone as a whole?

[jaymacpherson]

On the topic of disagreements. I had a coworker claim temperatures are actually cooling because the NASA Huntsville scientist for whom he did house renovation told him that the atmosphere is actually cooling. We argued intensely. Turns out that NASA Huntsville had been calculating the inverse due to a math error.

[allenaxp]

Climate science does utilize statistical methods to analyze data, detect trends, and project future impacts. However, the core understanding of climate change — that human activities like burning fossil fuels are causing global warming — is based on established scientific principles. Excellent conversation!

[asianamericanadvice]

Please post the clips about the tipping points we are about to hit.

[mawkernewek]

4:00 You cannot just walk into Mordor! (look up the PhD as LoTR analogy if you don't get it)

[mikeharrington]

After 35 mins I took a break as the discussion revolved around the accuracy of climate modelling, & I am thinking what about self-reinforcing feedbacks & the size of the data grids? Will resume later ..

[joehopfield]

The average American house is 39% larger since 1985. Resilience also means reducing the cost of rebuilding when it has to happen. Coastal residents are easy marks for people pushing engineered solutions (army corps flooded New Orleans, not Katrina).

[grindupBaker]

It takes right around 1.0 ppmv of H2O or CO2 "greenhouse" gas in Earth's air mixture to make the same LWR energy per second as the solar SWR energy that Earth absorbs per second.