Climate Feedback
Verifying the credibility of claims related to climate change, the environment and Earth sciences.
Latest reviews
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Incorrect
Claim that current climate change can be explained satisfactorily by natural cycles and volcanic activity does not have scientific support
Claim:
The cyclical activity of the Sun as well as other variations in solar and earth activity, and NOT anthropogenic CO2 emissions, are responsible for climate change
Source: Twitter, Social media users, 2023-09-02 -
Incorrect
CLINTEL group inaccurately represents climate science in its declaration of “no climate emergency” once again
Claim:
Global warming is just the end of the Little Ice Age; Warming is slower than climate models forecasted; Carbon dioxide is beneficial to Earth; Global warming is not intensifying or increasing the frequency of natural disasters
Source: The Epoch Times, Clintel, Benoit Rittaud, Christopher Monckton, Naveen Athrappully, Viv Forbes, Richard Lindzen, Patrick Moore, Ian Plimer, Guus Berkhout, 2023-08-19 -
Incorrect
Nearly three decades on, the chemtrail-HAARP geoengineering conspiracy theory remains popular despite lack of evidence and no scientific basis
Claim:
Global weather is controlled by secret geoengineering programs using chemtrails and ionosphere heating facilities.
Source: Facebook, Facebook users, 2023-08-07 -
Incorrect
Magnetic poles reversals are not cataclysmic events as claimed in the ‘Adam and Eve’ theory discussed on Joe Rogan podcast
Claim:
Magnetic poles reversals involve the Earth flipping vertically and momentarily stopping its rotation, causing cataclysmic events during 6 days.
Source: Spotify, TikTok, The Joe Rogan Experience, Joe Rogan, Jimmy Corsetti, 2023-01-18 -
Inaccurate
Temperatures on Earth are increasing and the rise is drastically outpacing previous natural changes in the planet’s climate
Claim:
“We have been cooling down for the past 4000 years”; the Earth has cooled since the ‘medieval warming’, “It’s all about when you start the measurements”
Source: Media Research Center, Ian Plimer, 2023-05-02 -
Inaccurate
The Antarctic’s ice coverage is not increasing to record levels, nor is the continent getting colder, contrary to Curry and Easterbrook claims in CFACT movie
Claim:
Antarctic sea-ice extent is increasing to record levels. Antarctica is getting colder; its sea ice and ice cap are not melting
Source: Instagram, CFACT, Judith Curry, Don Easterbrook, 2023-04-16
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Insights
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Authorities undertaking climate action targeted by viral “Climate lockdowns” narrative on social media
The increasing number of measures to limit greenhouse gas pollution that can be expected in the future will certainly present opportunities for future weaponization and misrepresentation. Writers, editors, and journalists should be aware of these manipulation tactics when discussing the aftermath of COVID-19 restrictions or future climate policies, knowing that some actors are trawling for any evidence to boost the manufactured ‘climate lockdown’ outrage.
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What’s in a number? The significance of the 1.5°C warming threshold and reporting on its possible breach in popular media
These findings were widely covered by popular media outlets, including in articles published by The Guardian, CNN, and BBC, which all reported that this temperature increase would represent a breach of the key IPCC threshold. However, this is missing some important context.
“A single year above 1.5°C does not mean the world has passed that particular warming level”, said Zeke Hausfather. Such nuance was better captured by articles published in Reuters and Axios, which both correctly did not report that these new temperature projections, if realized, would constitute a breach of the threshold. -
How much of a climate solution can technologies such as carbon capture and storage be?
Science has shown consistently that adding CO2 to the atmosphere is changing the climate in various ways, including raising the…