Category: Climate Change
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2023 is an El Niño year, but what exactly is an El Niño year? Let’s discuss.
Most people understand the daily and weekly weather forecasts that we use regularly to plan our lives. However, the daily and weekly weather forecasts are only one part of the monitoring undertake by meteorological organisations. There are also longer patterns in our climate and weather that are monitored and forecasts made for months ahead, letting…
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Ice sheet ‘retreat’ vs ‘collapse’: what is the difference and why does it matter?
The ice sheets over Antarctica and Greenland are going to ‘collapse’, we have been told by scientists. What does it mean for an ice sheet to ‘collapse’, though? Is it not just drammatic language made for headlines? There is, however, a difference. To learn the difference, we need to study past ice sheet retreat preserved…
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Don’t misunderstand: China isn’t the begining and end of the climate debate
Global warming is China’s problem to fix. Their contributions to carbon dioxide emissions vastly outweigh anyone else’s. Even if the rest of the world de-carbonises, it won’t mean anything because China is building a new coal-powered power station every week. This is a familiar refrain whenever climate change is discussed. China has been cast as…
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Solar Panels are the epitome of renewable energy, but are they really worth it?
Solar panels are a well-established green technology in many places. For many years now, they have been used as a primary example of how an individual can both decrease their carbon footprint and their energy bills. But any piece of technology has advantages and disadvantages. Is solar power really worth it?
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10 Key Terms About Climate Science That You Need to Know
When it comes to climate change, there are some scientific terms that are thrown around without any explanation and often without context. This isn’t always that helpful. Even with a background in science, it can be easy to misunderstand unfamiliar scientific terms. Also, it isn’t just scientists with a right to know and understand how…
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The question of whether scientists agree on climate change is misleading. Here’s why.
Scientists don’t agree on the causes of climate change, certain parts of the internet will insist. How can we truly be expected to change our very way of life, if the science isn’t even certain at this stage? This is a fair question to ask, but it’s also misleading. The opinion of all scientists will…
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Is there really a connection between sunspots and global warming? Science has the answer.
If you go in search of the causes of modern-day global warming and climate change you are likely to find a great deal about emissions and carbon dioxide. These are, as climate scientists have stated time and again, the main causes of the ecological disaster awaiting us. However, digging below the obvious you might be…
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Climate change will make the tropical monsoon more extreme: but why?
Global warming is causing climate change, scientists have told us. But what does that mean? How is the climate changing, though? We know places are getting warmer, but apparently, they are also getting wetter and we’re getting more extreme weather events. Why? What does temperature have to do with rain and storms? The tropical monsoon…
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Are heat pumps really the ideal way to heat a home? The science can tell us.
There is a belief out there, when it comes to heat pumps, that they are inefficient, expensive and a symptom of the ‘climate change agenda’. But is this actually true? Heat pump technology is a proven technology, already used every day all over the world in air conditioning and refrigerators. However they are not perfect…
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IPCC Summary Simplified, Part 3: Near-Term Responses in a Changing Climate
The third and final part of the International Panel for Climate Change’s synthesis report looks at the choices we have to make this decade. It is, perhaps, the most important part of the entire summary report. With so many dire warnings of what our future holds, people want to know what we can do. They…
