Renowned climate scientist Dr. Michael E. Mann joins us to discuss his new book,
Our Fragile Moment: How Lessons from Earth's Past Can Help Us Survive the Climate Crisis,
and to answer some of the hottest questions in climate science discussions today:
- Are we doomed?
- Is the world facing polar ice breakdown if we reach the same CO2 concentrations that existed in the geological past when the planet was free of ice?
- Is there evidence of “tipping points” in the climate system that will activate “feedback loops” of runaway warming?
- Will the planet keep warming after our carbon emissions go to zero?
- Was the Paris target breached when the world exceed 1.5°C of warming for some months of 2023?
- Are climate scientists using models that underestimate future warming?
- Is there a chance of limiting warming to only 1.5° or 2°C?
Dr. Michael E. Mann is Presidential Distinguished Professor in the Department of Earth and Environmental Science at the University of Pennsylvania, with a secondary appointment in the Annenberg School for Communication. He is director of the Penn Center for Science, Sustainability, and the Media (PCSSM).
His research interests include the study of Earth’s climate system and the science, impacts and policy implications of human-caused climate change. He was a Lead Author on the Observed Climate Variability and Change chapter of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Third Scientific Assessment Report in 2001 and contributed, with other IPCC authors, to the award of the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize. He has received numerous awards for his work as a science communicator.
Dr. Mann is author of more than 200 peer-reviewed and edited publications, numerous op-eds and commentaries, and six books including Dire Predictions: Understanding Climate Change, The Hockey Stick and the Climate Wars: Dispatches from the Front Lines, The Madhouse Effect: How Climate Change Denial is Threatening our Planet, Destroying Our Politics, and Driving Us Crazy, The Tantrum that Saved the World and The New Climate War: The Fight to Take Back Our Planet and Our Fragile Moment: How Lessons from Earth’s Past Can Help Us Survive the Climate Crisis.
On Twitter: @MichaelEMann
On Mastodon: @MichaelEMann@fediscience.org
On the Web: https://michaelmann.net/
Recording date: November 17, 2023
Air date: December 27, 2023
Geek rating: 8