Impact of Climate Change - Google Earth for Educators. CO2 Now | CO2 Home. Project on Climate Change Communication. April 09 2014 | Research Reports New Commentary Urges Climate Scientists to “Set the Record Straight” We just published a commentary in Earth’s Future, a new online, open-access journal published by the American Geophysical Union. The commentary is entitled: “Climate Scientists Need to Set the Record Straight: There is a scientific consensus that human-caused climate change is happening.” In the commentary, we argue that the climate science community needs to do more to communicate the scientific consensus because: (a) most Americans don’t know there is a scientific consensus on this point; (b) this lack of awareness undermines people’s engagement in the issue; and (c) research by our team – and others – has shown that simple messages that communicate this basic scientific conclusion are highly effective, especially with political conservatives.
We encourage you to download the commentary and join the effort to set the record straight. Continue reading Continue reading Continue reading Topics. Climate Resource Center. Featured Resources › back to top This website is produced by the Earth Science Communications Team at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory / California Institute of Technology Site Editor: Amber Jenkins Site Manager: Randal Jackson Communications Specialist: Laura F.
Tenenbaum. Climate | Spark. Key Series: To What Degree? IPCC - Working Group I. Material from a violent volcanic eruption is projected far above the highest cloud, these aerosols typically influence the climate for about a year or two before falling into the troposphere and being carried to the surface by precipitation. Major volcanic eruptions can thus cause a drop in mean global surface temperature of about half a degree celsius that can last for months or even years. Some man-made aerosols also significantly reflect sunlight. The energy that is not reflected back to space is absorbed by the Earth’s surface and atmosphere. This amount is approximately 240 Watts per square metre (W m–2). To balance the incoming energy, the Earth itself must radiate, on average, the same amount of energy back to space.
The reason the Earth’s surface is this warm is the presence of greenhouse gases, which act as a partial blanket for the longwave radiation coming from the surface. Sunlight strikes the atmosphere at a lower angle. Bill Nye tries to prove climate change exists. Yes, seriously. In the most unlikely of political talk show face-offs, Bill Nye ("The Science Guy") will debate Tennessee Republican Rep. Marsha Blackburn Sunday on climate change and what's up with recent weather in Sochi, Russia and the United States (not a joke). Bill Nye (Michael Okoniewski/AP) The exchange on "Meet The Press" promises the familiar spectacle of controversy. Nye advocates action to address climate change and is fresh off a high-profile debate with a creationism proponent Ken Ham, while Blackburn is a vocal skeptic and vice chair of the House Energy and Commerce Committee. But the meeting also puts in stark relief how much the scientific community has failed to communicate their message on global climate change.
Perhaps Nye -- who has perfected communicating complex subjects to children -- will have more success. On a core issue, scientists have consistently struggled to convince the public that they (scientists) agree humans are causing global warming. More on climate change politics: Explore climate change in Google Earth.