Power Hour with Alex Epstein

Obama administration physicist explains why climate catastrophism is unscientific

04.22.2021 - By Alex EpsteinPlay

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On this week's Power Hour, Alex Epstein interviews Steve Koonin, a highly accomplished physicist and author of the new bestselling book "Unsettled: What Climate Science Tells Us, What It Doesn't and Why It Matters"

In 2014, Koonin, who had worked in the Obama administration, began to question climate catastrophism when he led a panel of physicists assessing the current state of climate science.

In his new book he summarizes what he regards as the actual state of climate science--which does not support claims of climate catastrophe at all.

In this interview, Koonin discusses:

- His conclusion that "Humans exert a growing, but physically small, warming influence on the climate."

- Why "The net economic impact of human-induced climate change will be minimal through at least the end of this century."

- Why "Government and UN press releases and summaries do not accurately reflect" scientific research reports.

- How the US National Climate Assessment manipulated data to create an extreme heat pattern in the US that doesn't exist.

- Why "the working scientists are often embarrassed by the way the IPCC winds up describing the state of the science."

- Why "many of the senior climate scientists think that by the time now we've gotten to the sixth [IPCC] assessment report, it's no longer the A team that is preparing the reports."

- How Koonin's career has enabled him to do a deep dive both into climate science and into energy economics.

- The private response Koonin has gotten from other scientists.

- What Koonin thinks of Bill Gates's book ("I think Bill wrote a pretty good energy book...but I think Bill's discussion of the climate is wrong and I would relish the chance to point out to him at some point.")

- Why Koonin is eager to debate any climate scientists who disagree with him.

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