Published

2 years ago

July 10, 2024

Alice Rush

It’s us, hi. We’re the problem. It’s us. Get better at solving problems with free access to Brilliant for 30 days: https://www.brilliant.org/simonclark

Tree planting initiatives! Politicians, activists, and YouTubers love them, but the scientific literature is much more ambivalent. Failure rates are high. Damage is done to the local (and sometimes the global) environment. Is it possible to plant trees and have a positive impact? Absolutely! But there is another, arguably better way…

Justdiggit: https://justdiggit.org/

REFERENCES
1. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/rec.12492
2. https://apps.worldagroforestry.org/downloads/Publications/PDFS/WP20001.pdf
3. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/jan/30/most-of-11m-trees-planted-in-turkish-project-may-be-dead
4. https://e360.yale.edu/features/phantom-forests-tree-planting-climate-change
5. https://www.wetlands.org/case-study/mangrove-restoration-to-plant-or-not-to-plant/
6. https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4907/11/9/938
7. https://www.vox.com/down-to-earth/22679378/tree-planting-forest-restoration-climate-solutions
8. https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.aba8232
9. https://www.cam.ac.uk/research/news/local-water-availability-is-permanently-reduced-after-planting-forests
10. https://terravidaacademy.com/the-environmental-perils-of-monoculture-tree-planting-2/
11. https://www.jamhoor.org/read/2018/2/8/marginalized-by-conservation-the-billion-trees-tsunami-project
12. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-024-46577-1
13. https://www.science.org/doi/full/10.1126/science.aax0848
14. https://academic.oup.com/bioscience/article/70/11/947/5903754
15. https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/forests-and-global-change/articles/10.3389/ffgc.2024.1372409/full
16. https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.aba8232

PATREON

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

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

Threads – https://www.threads.net/@simonoxfphys
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.

When tree planting goes wrong. How can tree planting hurt the climate? Does planting trees help fix climate change? Will Team Trees actually help the climate? In this video I talk through how tree planting initiatives often fail and can damage the local and global environment. Fortunately scientists have worked out guidelines for such projects to follow to make a positive impact.

Huge thanks to my supporters on Patreon:
Norm Zemke, David Mann, Ben Thayer, Eric A Gentzler, Glen Monks, Daniel Chen, Gary Stark, dryfrog, Marcus Bosshard, Peter Reid, bitreign33 .

Bastian Pranzas, Lucas Johnston, Jeffry ., Whitefang, Marius Kießling, Jon Arlov, Pawel Piwek, Matze, Artem Plotnikov, Paul H and Linda L, Dan Sherman, Andy Hartley.

Claudia Kapp, Cy ‘kkm’ K’Nelson, Baerbel Winkler, OldGreyWolf, Oscar Hoffmann, Steamrollerman , Andy Parr, Ricky Jones, Guy Markey, Nicholas Hamdorf, Katharina Hartmuth, Mark Phillips, Jor Eero Raico Svederic, KJ Xiao, Martin Sinclair, Matt Beer DFC, Tschäff Reisberg, Tobias Ahsbahs, James Gaskell, Denis Kovachev, Michael Thomas, Victor Gordan, Joona Mäkinen, Tanner , Dominik Rihak, Nico Casal, Laura Glismann, Mark Harper, Ryan, Inten, Tyler Schwartz, John, James Haigh, Rick Kenny, Bailey Cook, Sergio Diaz, Command Chat, Aisolon, Christopher Mullin, I’m stuck in a PhD and I blame Simon., Joseph , Nicklas Kulp, Thomas Newman, Anže Cesar, Josef Probst, Kevin B, Phineas, Ishaan Shah, AngryPanda, Circuitrinos, Mark Richardson, Brian Moss, Hampus Sandell, Thomas Miller, Knut Nesheim, Dajeni, AYS , Forever Bulking, Kim Parnset, Crisan Talpes, Ted CLAY, Mike, Seb Stott, xawt, Diederik Jekel, Fuzzy Leapfrog, Jan-Willem Goedmakers, Samat Galimov, Ashley Hauck, Nico, Thibault , GGH, FireFerretDann, Ciotka Cierpienia, Sam, szigyi, Marcin Wrochna, Tom Painter, Phil Saici, Tom Marsh, 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, Quinn Sinclair, Ebraheem Farag, 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, Matthew Powell, Adrian Sand, Morten Engsvang, Haris Karimjee, Alex, The Cairene on Caffeine, Cody VanZandt, Casandra “Kalamity Kas” Toledo, Igor Francetic, Daniel Irwin, Sean Richards, Michael B., Thusto , Lachlan Woods, Dan Hanvey, Andrea De Mezzo, Real Engineering.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J9k-22Lv9bU

Climate Change Videos

Why British summers are the worst

Published

2 days ago

August 11, 2026

Alice Rush

British summers are truly the worst. But why? Well, two big reasons…

This video was funded by the Wellcome Trust.

Thanks to Professor Mitchell and the team at Bristol for their help with this video. You can learn more about their research here: https://www.bristol.ac.uk/cabot/what-we-do/climate-health/

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

REFERENCES
1. https://www.calculator.net/heat-index-calculator.html?airtemperature=28&airtemperatureunit=celsius&humidity=90&ctype=1&x=Calculate
2. https://climate.copernicus.eu/why-are-europe-and-arctic-heating-faster-rest-world
3. https://www.theccc.org.uk/publication/progress-in-reducing-emissions-2026-report-to-parliament/
4. https://www.theccc.org.uk/publication/a-well-adapted-uk/
5. https://www.reuters.com/business/environment/europe-recorded-10000-excess-deaths-during-late-june-heatwave-data-show-2026-07-12/
6. https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/adcbc5
7. https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/adcbc5
8. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41558-018-0222-x
9. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41558-018-0222-x
10. https://www.bmj.com/content/393/bmj-2026-100088
11. https://journal-buildingscities.org/articles/10.5334/bc.541
12. https://journal-buildingscities.org/articles/10.5334/bc.541
13. https://www.cape.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/GBI-Rapid-Evidence-Assessment.pdf
14. https://apps.london.gov.uk/cool-spaces/
15. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c5yj8ew1pnlo
16. https://ukhsa.blog.gov.uk/2026/06/01/what-is-west-nile-virus-and-is-it-found-in-the-uk/
17. https://ukhealthalliance.org/flooding/
18. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38766924/
19. https://www.gov.uk/guidance/adverse-weather-and-health-plan
20. https://www.gov.uk/guidance/heat-health-alerting-system

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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.
Research by Amelia Jabry.
Tarot cards designed by Amelia Jabry and Miralia Jabry.

Huge thanks to my supporters on Patreon:
bitreign33 , Dave Teare, Eric A Gentzler, Gary Stark, Glen Monks, Marcus Bosshard.

Artem Plotnikov, Ben Curtis, David TLR, Jeffry ., Jon Arlov, Marius Kießling, Paul H and Linda L, Peter Reid, TheKeeperOfPie, Tom Oldfield.

Adam Gillard, Adam Pazderka, Adrian Sand, Alex, Alex Hall, Andrea De Mezzo, Andy Hartley, Andy Parr, Anže Cesar, Ashley Hauck, Ashley Steel, Atkinson , AYS , Baerbel Winkler, Bastian Pranzas, Ben Blower, Bill Keydel, Brian Moss, Chris Laslett, Christian Weckner, Christopher Hall, Cifer, Ciotka Cierpienia, Circuitrinos, Clemens, Cody VanZandt, Crisan Talpes, Dan Hanvey, Daniel Andersson, Daniel Cooney, David Mccann, David Stone, Denis Kovachev, Dom, Dominik Rihak, Duffman, FireFerretDann, flakykilowatt, Florian Thie, Gabriele Siino, Hannarrrr, Haris Karimjee, Heijde, Ian Hamilton, idris, j, Jack Fretwell, Jacob Speelman, James Gaskell, James Gurney, James Haigh, James Leadbetter, Jan-Willem Goedmakers, Jean-Manuel Izaret, Jekel’s Climate Channel, Joachim Murat, John, Josef Probst, Katharina Hartmuth, Kevin B, Kirsten Athome, Knut Nesheim, Korbinian, Kristopher Sicari, Lach Woods, Leonard Neamtu, Marcin Wrochna, Mark Harper, Mark Moore, Mark Richardson, Matthew H, Mercure, Micael Batista, Michael Belde, Michelle Valentino, Miguel Cabrera Brufau, Mike, Mike T, Mikkel Kragh, Morten Engsvang, Nathan Rohrlach, Nick Humphries, Nico Kempe, OldGreyWolf, Peter Lee, Phil Saici, Philipp Legner, Rapssack, Real Engineering, Reid, Richard Bartlett, Richard Swain, Ryan, Sean Richards, Seb Stott, Sergio Alvarez, Sergio Diaz, Simone, Steffan , Sylvus , szigyi, Ted CLAY, Thibault , Thomas Charbonnel, Thomas Newman, Thusto , Tobias Ahsbahs, Tom Painter, Tom Wilson, Tomás Garnier Artiñano, Tony, Tschäff Reisberg, Ui, Victor Gordan, Yorick Droz, Youri Hubaut, Zoey O’Neill.

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

Climate Change Videos

What everyone misses about wildfires

Published

2 weeks ago

July 31, 2026

Alice Rush

Some thoughts on a surprising learning journey.
Get Nebula for 50% off: https://go.nebula.tv/simonclark
Ten Pound Traveller: https://nebula.tv/videos/jdraper-the-pirate-ship-docked-in-central-london-the-ten-pound-traveller?ref=simonclark

Key resources
– Carbon Brief debunking article: https://www.carbonbrief.org/factcheck-no-europes-heatwaves-are-not-being-caused-by-declining-air-pollution
– Heated article on Republicans: https://heated.world/p/the-fossil-fuel-money-behind-the
– World Weather Attribution study on French and Spanish wildfires: https://www.worldweatherattribution.org/climate-change-increases-likelihood-of-compounding-drivers-of-severe-wildfire-conditions-in-france-and-spain/
– World Weather Attribution study on European precipitation/temperature: https://www.worldweatherattribution.org/increasingly-hot-europe-faces-more-severe-droughts-and-growing-challenges-for-water-and-land-management/
– Copernicus data on wildfire carbon emissions: https://atmosphere.copernicus.eu/copernicus-global-biomass-burning-emissions-2026-their-lowest-level-2003
– Article expanding on Copernicus data: https://phys.org/news/2026-07-wildfires-extreme-europe-north-america.html
– UK wildfire data: https://www.moorlandassociation.org/post/2026-uk-wildfire-emissions-data
– Ayesha Tandon: https://www.youtube.com/@AyeshaTandon
– State of Wildfires: https://stateofwildfires.com/latest-report/
– How to prevent a wildfire: https://smileymovement.org/news/how-to-prevent-a-wildfire

Places to get good climate reporting
– Carbon Brief: https://www.carbonbrief.org/
– DeSmog: https://www.desmog.com/
– Heated: https://heated.world/
– Climate Brink: https://www.theclimatebrink.com/

Fire-related charities
– Fire Aid: https://www.fire-aid.org/
– One Tree Planted: https://onetreeplanted.org/products/wildfire-fund
– After the Fire USA: https://afterthefireusa.org/

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

———- 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.

Huge thanks to my supporters on Patreon:
bitreign33 , Dave Teare, Eric A Gentzler, Gary Stark, Glen Monks, Marcus Bosshard.

Artem Plotnikov, Ben Curtis, David TLR, Jeffry ., Jon Arlov, Marius Kießling, Paul H and Linda L, Peter Reid, TheKeeperOfPie, Tom Oldfield.