The Historical Development of Climate Science and Why You Should Believe It.
About the Lecture
Scientists have been working on the physics of climate for nearly 200 years. In that time, a sophisticated and robust understanding of the climate system has emerged — along with the realization that humans are now the dominant long-term driver of climate. In this talk, I will review the history and science of climate change and explain why scientists are so convinced yet there is such a heated debate in the public sphere.
About Andrew Dessler
Andrew Dessler is a climate scientist who studies both the science and politics of climate change. His scientific research revolves around climate feedbacks, in particular how water vapor and clouds act to amplify warming from the carbon dioxide that humans emit. In 2012, he received the AGU’s Ascent Award from the atmospheric sciences section to reward exceptional achievement by a mid-career scientist. During the last year of the Clinton Administration, he served as a Senior Policy Analyst in the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. Based on his research and policy experience, he has authored two books on climate change: The science and politics of global climate change: A guide to the debate (Cambridge University Press, 2006, 2010, co-written with Edward Parson), and Introduction to modern climate change (Cambridge University Press, 2012). This latter book won the 2014 American Meteorological Society Louis J. Battan Author’s Award. In recognition of his work on outreach, in 2011 he was named a Google Science Communication Fellow. Prior to his work on climate, his research focused on stratospheric photochemistry. He authored the book The chemistry and physics of stratospheric ozone depletion (Academic Press, 2000) about his work on that subject.
