You are browsing the archive for science education Archives - Page 2 of 26 - Dan's Wild Wild Science Journal.
21 September 2019
Straight Talk From an Expert on Climate Change
This is why Katherine Hayhoe got the UN Champion of the Earth Award this month. She deserved it. This is how you communicate science. From her Twitter feed on August 23rd: And the response when Dr. Hayhoe posts things like this: …and the truth of the matter is that those who claim it is not real are not basing their opinion on fact or evidence. It’s based on FEAR: …
18 September 2019
Arctic Sea Ice Melt May be 2nd Lowest On Record
The summer melt of the Arctic sea ice is nearly done and the numbers are flirting with being the 2nd lowest on record. 2012 is the lowest and this year will not be as low but still at alarming levels. The real change is the loss of the multi ice that lasts from year to year. This “old” ice is nearly gone and you can see it disappear in this …
16 May 2019
Who Is Doing a Good Job Covering Climate?
The NY Times and the Washington Post are among the few major media outlets that I would give at least a B grade on their climate coverage. Most deserve an F, but there are strong signs that this is about to change (See my previous post). This past Sunday the Washington Post magazine had 24 of their climate change covers and it is worth sharing. I talked to a group …
11 April 2019
Hey Kentucky, Your Congressman Thinks You’re Foolish
Former Sec. of State John Kerry ran into a climate denial time machine today in Congress. The clip from CNN is below. Watch it, and then I’ll explain what Kentucky Congressman Massie doesn’t seem to understand about Earth’s climate. The question I have is why did he didn’t just ask an atmospheric scientist?? I think I know the answer, so read on. Watch the clip: So here is the NOAA …
31 January 2019
Note to the Media: Getting Science/Weather Stories Right Matters Just As Much As Any Other
The cold hard scientific truth is that the polar vortex is 6 (plus) kilometers high and located south of Hudson Bay tonight. It never reached the American Midwest, and every story you’ve seen or read about it (except perhaps one or two notable exceptions) have been wrong. Indeed, the Washington Post is not the only one to post “polar vortex” headlines that were dead wrong this week. It’s turned into an …
29 January 2019
The Climate Threat is Much Worse Than You Think, But There’s Still Hope
I know a lot of people are tired of hearing the title of this post, but it’s true. The threat we face from climate change is a lot worse than you think it is. There is near unanimous agreement that we must strive to keep the Earth’s temperature from going above 2 degrees C from the pre-industrial times, and better yet would be holding it to 1.5 C. That’s not …
4 January 2019
Government Shutdown Impacts Biggest U.S. Atmospheric Science Meeting
The annual meeting of the American Meteorological Society starts Sunday in Phoenix. It’s the biggest meeting of the atmospheric science community in the U.S. and one of the biggest worldwide. In a normal year, thousands of meteorologists from NOAA (and other government agencies), many universities, and the private sector (including meteorologists in broadcasting like me) will share knowledge and listen to presentations from recent research. Most importantly, students who are …
4 December 2018
Why Those Snow Forecasts Online are Likely Wrong
I go weak in the knees when I see a science info-graphic that explains something really well in one picture. The image above from the NWS Kansas City is a really good one about long-range weather forecasts. Many forecasters in the Mid-Atlantic region and the Midwest are dealing with a possible winter storm beginning this weekend. We cannot say much more than that right now, and it’s tough to explain to the public …
29 November 2018
You heard about The National Climate Assessment, but did you read any of it??
You really should. For those of us who read the journal articles, there is really no surprises here. Climate change is not something in the future anymore, it is happening now and in most cases, the predictions made twenty years ago were too conservative. In short, it’s worse than expected. The changes we have seen with a rise of under a degree C are frankly alarming. So start by taking …
20 September 2018
Highly Polluted Water From Florence Flowing Into the Atlantic
Take a look at this image from the NASA Aqua satellite. Look closely and you can see what is likely a toxic stew pouring into the coastal waters. Much of this from coal ash storage areas and flooded pig farms.
Dan Satterfield has worked as an on air meteorologist for 32 years in Oklahoma, Florida and Alabama. Forecasting weather is Dan's job, but all of Earth Science is his passion. This journal is where Dan writes about things he has too little time for on air. Dan blogs about peer-reviewed Earth science for Junior High level audiences and up.