GLOBAL WARMING IS HAPPENING FACT MYTH FALLACY

Our planet has continued to “Global warming stopped in Cherry picking: looking at one build up heat since 1998 - 1998.” region or a short period ignores global warming is still hap- the full picture. pening.

Global warming is like rigging “It's cold outside, so global Impossible Expectations: the weather dice, making it warming must have stopped.” global warming doesn't mean more likely to get hot days. no more cold weather, just fewer cold days compared to hot days.

Overall, glaciers across the “Glaciers around the world are Cherry picking: picking a globe are shrinking at an increasing, disproving global handful of growing glaciers accelerating rate, threaten- warming.” ignores the vast majority of ing water supplies for millions glaciers that are shrinking. of people.

Greenland on the whole is “Greenland Ice sheet is thick- Cherry picking: looking at the losing ice, at a rate of over 2 ening in the middle so it must whole ice sheet shows it's Mount Everests worth of ice be gaining mass.” thickening in the middle but every year ice loss at the edges is accel- erating.

The West Antarctic ice sheet “Antarctic sea ice is on the Over simplification: A number is losing hundreds of billions increase and casts doubt on of factors may contribute to of tonnes of ice every year, global warming.” the increase in sea ice - but in making it a major contributor no way does it change the to global sea level rise. fact that climate change is happening.

We can measure temperature “The thermometer record is Jumping to conclusions: just in many ways and they all say unreliable.” because measurements have the same thing - our planet is uncertainty doesn't mean it's warming. unknowable. The uncertainty is smaller than measured global warming.

Urban heat has had minimal “Urban development is Jumping to conclusions: just effect on the climate record, responsible for much of because urban heat might with much warming happen- global warming over the last affect the climate record ing where there is little urban century.” doesn't mean it does. Scientists development. have confirmed it has neglible effect.

Slowing jet stream is caus- “Record cold winters Jumping to conclusions, cherry ing Arctic cold air to leak disprove global warming.” picking: a cold winter doesn't down into Europe and disprove global warming, you North America, like an need to look at the big open fridge leaking cold air picture. into the kitchen

Climate change and global “They changed name from Misrepresentation: they didn't warming have both been ‘global warming’ to ‘climate change the name. used for decades. change’.” WE’RE CAUSING GLOBAL WARMING FACT MYTH FALLACY

For thousands of years, our “Human CO2 emissions are tiny Over-simplification: considers atmosphere has been in compared to natural CO2 only natural CO2 emissions balance. Humans have emissions so our influence is and ignores natural CO2 sinks. upset the balance. negligible.”

Human emissions are respon- “Volcanoes produce more Jumping to conclusions: sible for all of the increase in CO2 than humans.” volcanoes do produce CO2, CO2 in the air over the past but over recent centuries the two centuries. amounts are too small to account for the observed changes in the air.

If we stopped emitting CO2, it “CO2 has a residence time of Red herring: how quickly a would take thousands of only 4 years so CO2 levels CO2 molecule moves around years for the atmosphere to would fall quickly if we the climate system is different return to pre-industrial levels. stopped emitting.” to how long it takes CO2 level to return back to normal.

Greenhouse gases are like a “Greenhouse effect violates Misrepresentation: 2nd law blanket. They trap heat, the 2nd law of thermody- talks about net flow of energy sending it back down to Earth namics.” and doesn't forbid some flow where we measure it. from cool to hot.

Emitting more CO2 means “The greenhouse effect is Over-simplification: considers more heat is being trapped saturated so adding more atmosphere as a single layer high up in the atmosphere CO2 won't affect it.” when it's multiple layers. where the air is thinner.

Ice cores tell us warming “CO2 lagging temperature False dichotomy: it's not one or causes the ocean to emit means greenhouse effect is the other but both. CO2 causes more CO2. Combined with minimal.” warming and warming causes greenhouse effect, this is a CO2 to rise. reinforcing feedback.

One human fingerprint is a “One fingerprint of Red herring: hot spot is irrele- cooling upper atmosphere human-caused global vant to greenhouse warming. with a warming lower atmos- warming is the tropospheric phere. Satellites have meas- hot spot which hasn't been ured this pattern. observed.”

Satellites measure the warm- “CO2 is a trace gas so it’s Red herring: trace amounts of ing effect from CO2 - the warming effect is minimal.” substances can have a strong increased greenhouse effect effect and this is irrelevant to is an observed reality. the warming potential of CO2.

Changing patterns in the “The sun is causing global Cherry picking: ignores human yearly and daily cycle warming.” fingerprints and recent period confirm human-caused where sun and climate move in global warming, rule out the opposite directions. sun. PAST & FUTURE CLIMATE CHANGE FACT MYTH FALLACY

Past climate change tells us “Natural climate change in the Jumping to conclusions: past climate is sensitive to the past implies current climate climate change actually sends warming effect of CO2. change is also natural.” the opposite message than what the myth concludes.

Natural influences that “Current warming is just the Red Herring: the natural factors ended the Little Ice Age continuation of natural recov- that ended the Little Ice Age have been swamped by ery from the Little Ice Age.” are no longer significant. recent human activity.

In the past when the sun was “CO2 was higher in the past Cherry picking: ignores the cooler, CO2 was higher. The but the world didn't boil away role of the sun which was two roughly balanced each so the greenhouse effect is cooler in the past. other. We are now raising weak.” CO2 levels with a warmer sun.

While the Medieval Warm “The Medieval Warm Period Cherry Picking: For average Period saw unusually warm was warmer than current temperature over wide temperatures in some regions, conditions. This implies recent regions, the hot regions were globally the planet was warming is not unusual and cancelled out by other cool cooler than now. must be natural.” regions.

Models are based on funda- “Models are unreliable.” Impossible expectations: no mental physical principles. model is perfect but they are useful tools that can reproduce the past and provide insights into the future.

Models have made a “Models predictions have Impossible expectations: number of successful predic- failed, making them unrelia- climate models have had great tions. ble.” success at predicting long-term effects like greenhouse warm- ing.

Climate models simulate “Scientists can’t even predict Red herring: Confusing weather climate which is weather weather.” with climate distracts from the averaged over time. fact that short-term predictions have little relevance to long-term climate predictions.

In the 1970s, the majority of “In the 1970s, climate scien- Misrepresentation: confuses climate papers were predict- tists were predicting an ice mainstream media reports with ing warming. age.” scientific papers which over- whelmingly pointed towards warming.

Even if the sun fell to Maun- “We're heading into another Misrepresentation: overstating der Minimum levels, it would ice age because of the the role of solar activity on only delay global warming cooling sun.” climate - it actually has had by a decade. little effect.

The IPCC is 20 times more “Climate models and the Cherry picking: selectively looks likely to underestimate rather IPCC are alarmist.” at a few examples where the than exagerate climate IPCC overestimated climate impacts. change, ignoring the much larger number of examples of underestimation. CLIMATE IMPACTS FACT MYTH FALLACY

The amount of water vapor “Water vapor is the strongest Red herring: the fact that in the air depends on tem- greenhouse gas.” water vapor is a strong green- perature. Warming causes house gas means it amplifies water vapor to rise, which the warming from greenhouse causes further warming: a gases. reinforcing feedback.

Clouds provide a reinforcing “Clouds provide negative Oversimplification: acting as if feedback but the effect isn't feedback.” clouds only have a cooling strong . Clouds play a minor effect ignores that they can role in climate sensitivity. also warm.

Mass extinctions happen “Species can adapt to Jumping to conclusions: just when climate changes too climate change.” because species can adapt to fast for species to adapt. some climate change doesn’t Currently species are going mean they can adjust to the extinct at similar rates to past rapid climate change hap- mass extinctions. pening now.

Polar bears need sea ice to “Polar bear numbers have Oversimplification: one threat hunt so the shrinking of Arctic increased so they're in no (hunting) has been removed sea ice is endangering their danger from global warm- but replaced with an increas- populations. ing.” ing threat (melting sea ice).

Ocean acidity has increased “Ocean acidification isn’t Misrepresentation: ocean 30% and poses serious threats serious.” acidification means oceans are to coral reefs that are also decreasing in pH sothey are threatened by warming getting more acidic, even if oceans and bleaching. they are not actually acid.

Climate change is having “Global warming is good.” Cherry picking: this focuses on negative impacts on all parts a few good impacts of global of society. warming but ignores the overwhelming number of bad impacts.

A pollutant is any substance “CO2 is not a pollutant.” Red herring: quibbling over that disrupts the environment technical definitions of pollut- - CO2 does that by trapping ant is a distraction from the heat. realities of the negative impacts of global warming.

Climate change impacts “CO2 is plant food.” Oversimplification: CO2 fertilisa- agriculture through extreme tion is just one factor affecting weather: heat stress and plant growth. The full picture flooding. shows that negative impacts outweigh benefits.

Risk from extreme weather is “Extreme weather not linked Jumping to conclusions: just increasing, albeit some forms to global warming.” because extreme weather of extreme weather are happened in the past doesn’t more confidently linked to mean climate change isn’t global warming than others. having an influence now.