Published

1 year ago

January 8, 2024

Alice Rush

Climate activists talk a lot about following “the science” around climate change. What actually is the science and how is it calculated? Read more here: https://econ.st/3ci07Qy

Find our school briefings series here, including our recent climate explainers: https://econ.st/2Zeo7kV

Sign up to receive The Economist’s fortnightly newsletter to keep up to date with our latest coverage on climate change: https://econ.st/3dZrKz6

Find The Economist’s most recent climate-change coverage here: https://econ.st/2X74b0w

Covid-19 presents an opportunity for countries to flatten the climate curve: https://econ.st/3em6YKn

Read about the pressure to make the post covid-19 rebound green: https://econ.st/2XA7NbF

Why the world urgently needs to expand its use of carbon prices: https://econ.st/2ZJdtmu

Humans’ dependence on fossil fuels is heating up the planet at an unprecedented rate. Governments and policymakers must take urgent action. That action is guided by what science says about the impact of climate change on the Earth.

This is how it’s calculated.

This is Vilhelm Bjerknes. At the end of the 19th century he devised formulas which linked the flow of heat, water and air. 50 years later his ideas were the basis of the first computer model of the atmosphere. And modern-day weather forecasting was born

Today’s climate models are the highly evolved descendants of that original, except the computers are some 25trn times faster. Here’s how it works

Scientists divide the Earth’s atmosphere into a grid of hundreds of thousands of cells, in stacks like a skyscraper.
The model used by the Met Office, Britain’s national weather service for example, uses stacks which are 85 cells high

The models then calculate how energy, air and water vapour flow through each cell over a given time period. While weather forecasting takes a snapshot of the atmosphere at a given time and predicts what will happen over the next few days

Climate models consider the atmosphere’s behaviour over years and years simulating either the world as it is or the world as it might be.

For all their complexity, these models have limitations.

This means the models often struggle to capture details like cloud cover.

And clouds play a key role in climate.

As greenhouse gases make the atmosphere warmer they change the amount of water vapour it can hold and how air rises and falls. That in turn changes the amount and character of cloud cover. Depending on where clouds form, they can either trap sunlight which warms the planet, or reflect it back into space, cooling it. And some processes which govern cloud formation work on a very small scale.

Dozens of these models exist, run by teams all over the world

Every few years the models are brought together fed standardised questions and then their results are compared.

This helps scientists understand the strengths and weaknesses of different climate models, and improves them. Of course, it’s impossible to assess the models’ future projections.

But what researchers can do is compare the success of models from previous decades. A recent report compared the models from the 1970s to the 2000s.

The climate models are getting increasingly complicated capturing more aspects of the Earth.

But there is one element that is impossible to model. And it is the biggest contributor to climate change.

Instead, scientists take simplified results from these climate models and run them through economic models.

In 2013 scientists used these models to examine the effect of different climate policies on the future temperature of the planet.

The first looked at what would happen if there was continued large-scale use of coal. The second, if there was continued use of fossil fuels but some use of renewable energy. The third, if there was a much higher uptake of renewable energy. And the fourth if there was a lot of use of carbon-capture technology and more land to grow biofuels.

Climate models don’t predict the future and they’re not perfect. There is a long way to go before they fully represent all of Earth’s intricate processes. But for now they are the only way that scientists have of understanding how damaging an increase in carbon dioxide will be for the planet.
Ultimately, the solution to climate change won’t lie inside models but rather what humans choose to do with the information they provide

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fSGorwtY-zM

Related Topics:calculated keywords: climate activists the science

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Why politicians have failed to tackle climate change

Alice Rush

Climate Change Videos

“finally a president who follows science”

Published

2 months ago

April 26, 2025

Alice Rush

I feel like I’m losing my mind. Watch my video summarising 2025 climate news next week on Nebula: https://go.nebula.tv/simonclark

My previous Nebula exclusive, a chat with PhD researcher Jordan Harrod on AI and climate: https://nebula.tv/videos/simonclark-ai-and-climate-in-conversation

The Trump White House put out a press release to celebrate Earth day, touting what the administration was doing for the environment. Let’s dive in to what they’re saying, and how aligned it is with reality.

You can support the channel by becoming a patron at http://www.patreon.com/simonoxfphys
My concert: https://bathboxoffice.org.uk/whats-on/618//so-sweet-a-life

1. https://www.whitehouse.gov/articles/2025/04/on-earth-day-we-finally-have-a-president-who-follows-science/
2. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/oct/04/exported-liquefied-natural-gas-coal-study
3. https://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/epa-launches-biggest-deregulatory-action-us-history
4. https://x.com/USTradeRep/status/1914668721949356258
5. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/aug/20/brazil-amazon-deforestation-report-bolsonaro-climate
6. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-67962297
7. https://www.greenpeace.org/usa/coca-cola-slides-backwards-again-plans-to-expose-americans-to-more-toxic-plastic-bottles/
8. https://skepticalscience.com/sabin33-19-are-wind-turbines-a-major-threat-to-wildlife.html
9. https://www.theenergymix.com/trump-plans-earth-day-assault-on-u-s-climate-non-profits-tax-status/
10. https://climate.law.columbia.edu/content/climate-backtracker
11. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/feb/04/trump-climate-change-federal-websites
12. https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/noaa-braces-mass-layoffs-fueling-concerns-lifesaving-weather/story?id=119730398
13. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jan/20/trump-executive-order-energy-emergency
14. https://www.europarl.europa.eu/thinktank/en/document/EPRS_ATA(2025)767230
15. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/mar/19/trump-epa-pollution-regulation-cuts
16. https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/international/us/anti-donald-trump-protests-erupt-in-us-ahead-of-earth-day-over-environmental-rollbacks-days-after-50501-protest/articleshow/120490752.cms?from=mdr
17. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/commentisfree/2025/apr/23/climate-action-public-support
18. https://www.climatepolicydashboard.org/
19. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/apr/09/trump-climate-state-laws-executive-order

———- II ———-

More about me – https://www.simonoxfphys.com/
My second channel – https://www.youtube.com/simonclarkerrata
My book – https://geni.us/firmament

Bluesky – https://bsky.app/profile/simonoxfphys.com
Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/simonoxfphys
Twitch – https://www.twitch.tv/drsimonclark

———- II ———-

Music by Epidemic Sound: http://nebula.tv/epidemic
Some stock footage courtesy of Getty.
Edited by Luke Negus.

This Earth Day, President Trump posted a laundry list of what his administration was doing on environmental issues. What is President Trump doing on climate change? What is the USA doing about the environment?

Huge thanks to my supporters on Patreon:

Dave Teare, Eric A Gentzler, Glen Monks, Gary Stark, dryfrog, Marcus Bosshard, Peter Reid, bitreign33.

Bastian Pranzas, Jeffry ., Marius Kießling, Jon Arlov, Artem Plotnikov, Paul H and Linda L, Andy Hartley.

Cameron Hicks, Yorick Droz, Ian Hamilton, Kristopher Sicari, Mercure, j51t, David Stone, Daniel Cooney, Richard Swain, Duffman, Claudia Kapp, Cy ‘kkm’ K’Nelson, Martin, Nick Humphries, Baerbel Winkler, OldGreyWolf, Hannarrrr, Andy Parr, Guy Markey, Nicholas Hamdorf, Katharina Hartmuth, Mark Phillips, KJ Xiao, Tschäff Reisberg, Faficzek, Tobias Ahsbahs, James Gaskell, Denis Kovachev, Victor Gordan, Tanner , Dominik Rihak, Nico Casal, Mark Harper, Ryan, Inten, John, James Haigh, Bailey Cook, Sergio Diaz, Christopher Mullin, I dropped out of my PhD, & I might forgive Simon., Joseph , Nicklas Kulp, Thomas Newman, Anže Cesar, Josef Probst, Kevin B, Phineas, Ishaan Shah, Circuitrinos, Mark Richardson, Brian Moss, Knut Nesheim, AYS , Forever Bulking, Crisan Talpes, Pawel Piwek, Ted CLAY, Mike, Seb Stott, Diederik Jekel, Jan-Willem Goedmakers, Samat Galimov, Ashley Hauck, Nico Kempe, Thibault , GGH, FireFerretDann, Ciotka Cierpienia, Sam, szigyi, Marcin Wrochna, Tom Painter, Phil Saici, Ashley Steel, Simone, Tomás Garnier Artiñano, Steffan , Adam Gillard, Christopher Hall, Miguel Cabrera Brufau, Sylvus , Florian Thie, James Gurney, Clemens, Andy Giesen, Jacob Speelman, Jean-Marc Giffin, Cifer, Felix Winkler, Christian Weckner, Thomas Charbonnel, Sekhalis, Mark Moore, Philipp Legner, Zoey O’Neill, Justin Warren, Heijde, streetlights, Gabriele Siino, David Mccann, Leonard Neamtu, James Leadbetter, Rapssack, Dan Sherman, Adrian Sand, Morten Engsvang, Haris Karimjee, Alex, Cody VanZandt, Igor Francetic, Sean Richards, Michael Belde, Thusto , Lach, Dan Hanvey, Andrea De Mezzo, Real Engineering.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6CeZqdZQBls

Climate Change Videos

How much progress have we made on climate change?

Published

4 months ago

March 3, 2025

Alice Rush

Progress is happening all over the world. I couldn’t fit the entire world into my studio though, so built a model. See how I did that with a Nebula subscription: https://go.nebula.tv/simonclark

You can support the channel by becoming a patron at http://www.patreon.com/simonoxfphys

REFERENCES
It turns out the reference list was longer than the maximum length of a video description allowed by YouTube, so they are listed here: https://www.simonoxfphys.com/blog/2025/2/28/references-for-how-much-progress-have-we-made-on-climate-change

———- II ———-

More about me https://www.simonoxfphys.com/
My second channel – https://www.youtube.com/simonclarkerrata

Bluesky – https://bsky.app/profile/simonoxfphys.com
Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/simonoxfphys
Twitch – https://www.twitch.tv/drsimonclark

———- II ———-

Music by Epidemic Sound: http://nebula.tv/epidemic
Some stock footage courtesy of Getty.
Edited by Luke Negus.
Research assistance by Leonard Neamtu.

Have we actually made progress against climate change? Have emissions decreased? How much warming will we see by 2100?

Huge thanks to my supporters on Patreon:

Dave Teare, Norm Zemke, Eric A Gentzler, Glen Monks, Gary Stark, dryfrog, Marcus Bosshard, Peter Reid, bitreign33 .

Bastian Pranzas, Jeffry ., Marius Kießling, Jon Arlov, Artem Plotnikov, Paul H and Linda L, Andy Hartley.

Kristopher Sicari, Mercure, j51t, David Stone, Daniel Cooney, Richard Swain, Hernando de Sá Silva, Zr0w3n, Duffman, Claudia Kapp, Cy ‘kkm’ K’Nelson, Martin, Nick Humphries, Baerbel Winkler, OldGreyWolf, Hannarrrr, Steamrollerman , Andy Parr, Guy Markey, Nicholas Hamdorf, Katharina Hartmuth, Mark Phillips, KJ Xiao, Tschäff Reisberg, Faficzek, Tobias Ahsbahs, James Gaskell, Denis Kovachev, Victor Gordan, Tanner , Dominik Rihak, Nico Casal, Mark Harper, Ryan, Inten, Tyler Schwartz, John, James Haigh, Bailey Cook, Sergio Diaz, Christopher Mullin, I dropped out of my PhD & I might forgive Simon., Joseph , Nicklas Kulp, Thomas Newman, Anže Cesar, Josef Probst, Kevin B, Phineas, Ishaan Shah, Circuitrinos, Mark Richardson, Brian Moss, Knut Nesheim, AYS , Forever Bulking, Crisan Talpes, Pawel Piwek, Ted CLAY, Mike, Seb Stott, Diederik Jekel, Jan-Willem Goedmakers, Samat Galimov, Ashley Hauck, Nico Kempe, Thibault , GGH, FireFerretDann, Ciotka Cierpienia, Sam, szigyi, Marcin Wrochna, Tom Painter, Phil Saici, Ashley Steel, Simone, Tomás Garnier Artiñano, Steffan , Adam Gillard, Christopher Hall, Miguel Cabrera Brufau, Sylvus , Florian Thie, James Gurney, Eddy Torres, Clemens, Andy Giesen, Jacob Speelman, Robin Anne McDuff, Jean-Marc Giffin, Cifer, Felix Winkler, Christian Weckner, Thomas Charbonnel, Sekhalis, Mark Moore, Philipp Legner, Zoey O’Neill, Justin Warren, Heijde, Trevor Berninger, streetlights, Gabriele Siino, David Mccann, Leonard Neamtu, James Leadbetter, Rapssack, Dan Sherman, Adrian Sand, Morten Engsvang, Haris Karimjee, Alex, Cody VanZandt, Igor Francetic, Sean Richards, Michael B., Thusto , Lach, Dan Hanvey, Andrea De Mezzo, Real Engineering.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h1jOqyjcO4g

Climate Change Videos

The liars who just arrived in the UK

Published

5 months ago

February 2, 2025

Alice Rush

The worst arrival in Britain since the British. Try Brilliant for free for 30 days at https://www.brilliant.org/simonclark

Last month one of the most evil organisations expanded its operations into the UK, seeking to get a foothold in Europe. It’s time we talked about them, who’s paying them, and why they matter.

Thanks to @NandovMovies and @NotJustBikes for lending me their voices!

You can support the channel by becoming a patron at http://www.patreon.com/simonoxfphys

REFERENCES
1. https://climate.nasa.gov/vital-signs/global-temperature/
2. https://keelingcurve.ucsd.edu/
3. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7757245/
4. https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/wg2/
5. https://www.theguardian.com/business/2023/jan/12/exxon-climate-change-global-warming-research
6. Merchants of Doubt – https://geni.us/merchantsofdoubt
7. http://conservativetransparency.org/
8. https://www.desmog.com/george-c-marshall-institute/
9. https://www.desmog.com/
10. https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2013/02/donors-trust-donor-capital-fund-dark-money-koch-bradley-devos/
11. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2025/01/15/tories-net-zero-2050-pledge-without-plan-kemi-badenoch/
12. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10584-013-1018-7
13. https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0315012
14. https://www.desmog.com/heartland-institute/
15. https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2213815120
16. https://www.nature.com/articles/ncomms8537
17. https://www.fire.ca.gov/
18. https://researchonline.lshtm.ac.uk/id/eprint/4671605/1/Lelieveld-etal-2023-Air-pollution-deaths-attributable-to-fossil-fuels.pdf
19. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/jan/15/farage-and-truss-attend-uk-launch-of-us-climate-denial-group-heartland
20. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2025/01/15/tories-net-zero-2050-pledge-without-plan-kemi-badenoch
21. https://www.desmog.com/2025/01/22/usa-climate-denial-group-heartland-institute-using-far-right-to-attack-eu-green-policies/

———- II ———-

More about me https://www.simonoxfphys.com/
My second channel – https://www.youtube.com/simonclarkerrata

Bluesky – https://bsky.app/profile/simonoxfphys.com
Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/simonoxfphys
Twitch – https://www.twitch.tv/drsimonclark

———- II ———-

Music by Epidemic Sound: http://nebula.tv/epidemic
Some stock footage courtesy of Getty.
Edited by Luke Negus.

Who are the Heartland institute? Why are people skeptical of climate change? Who are the Koch brothers? Who finances the climate denier movement? In this video essay on the expansion of the Heartland Institute into the UK we look at these questions and much more.

Huge thanks to my supporters on Patreon:

Dave Teare, Norm Zemke, Eric A Gentzler, Glen Monks, Gary Stark, dryfrog, Marcus Bosshard, Peter Reid, bitreign33.

Bastian Pranzas, Jeffry., Whitefang, Marius Kießling, Jon Arlov, Artem Plotnikov, Paul H and Linda L, Andy Hartley.

Mercure, j51t, David Stone, Daniel Cooney, Richard Swain, Hernando de Sá Silva, Zr0w3n, Duffman, Claudia Kapp, Cy ‘kkm’ K’Nelson, Martin, Nick Humphries, Baerbel Winkler, OldGreyWolf, Steamrollerman , Andy Parr, Guy Markey, Nicholas Hamdorf, Katharina Hartmuth, Mark Phillips, KJ Xiao, Tschäff Reisberg, Faficzek, Tobias Ahsbahs, James Gaskell, Denis Kovachev, Victor Gordan, Tanner , Dominik Rihak, Nico Casal, Mark Harper, Ryan, Inten, Tyler Schwartz, John, James Haigh, Bailey Cook, Sergio Diaz, Christopher Mullin, I dropped out of my PhD, & I might forgive Simon., Joseph , Nicklas Kulp, Thomas Newman, Anže Cesar, Josef Probst, Kevin B, Phineas, Ishaan Shah, Circuitrinos, Mark Richardson, Brian Moss, Knut Nesheim, AYS , Forever Bulking, Crisan Talpes, Pawel Piwek, Ted CLAY, Mike, Seb Stott, Diederik Jekel, Jan-Willem Goedmakers, Samat Galimov, Ashley Hauck, Nico Kempe, Thibault , GGH, FireFerretDann, Ciotka Cierpienia, Sam, szigyi, Marcin Wrochna, Tom Painter, Phil Saici, Ashley Steel, Simone, Tomás Garnier Artiñano, Steffan , Adam Gillard, Christopher Hall, Miguel Cabrera Brufau, Sylvus , Florian Thie, James Gurney, Eddy Torres, Clemens, Andy Giesen, Jacob Speelman, Robin Anne McDuff, Jean-Marc Giffin, Cifer, Felix Winkler, Christian Weckner, Thomas Charbonnel, Sekhalis, Mark Moore, Philipp Legner, Zoey O’Neill, Justin Warren, Heijde, Trevor Berninger, streetlights, Gabriele Siino, David Mccann, Leonard Neamtu, James Leadbetter, Rapssack, Dan Sherman, Adrian Sand, Morten Engsvang, Haris Karimjee, Alex, Cody VanZandt, Igor Francetic, Sean Richards, Michael B., Thusto , Lachlan Woods, Dan Hanvey, Andrea De Mezzo, Real Engineering.