© 2025 Connecticut Public

FCC Public Inspection Files:
WEDH · WEDN · WEDW · WEDY
WEDW-FM · WNPR · WPKT · WRLI-FM
Public Files Contact · ATSC 3.0 FAQ
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

National Academy: Earth's Cimate History Mixed

The National Academy of Sciences weighs in on a feud over global warming. At issue is a study that found the earth is hotter now than it's been in a thousand years. Some use that as an argument that global warming has already pushed the world into extreme climate territory.

The academy panel does not dispute that humans are changing the climate, but it said the Earth's climate history isn't as certain as it is sometimes portrayed.

The focus of the debate is a graph, which has become an icon in the political fight over global warming. It's called the hockey stick, because that's what it's shaped like. It starts out as a long straight line, the handle, and then it turns steeply upwards as temperatures rise in the 20th Century. But the Academy today looked askance at that long handle.

Committee chair Gerald North of Texas A&M says they have high confidence that the last few decades have been the warmest in 400 years. But if you ask whether the past few decades have been the warmest in a thousand years, the committe uses a much weaker word: "plausible."

And "plausible" is another way of saying it doesn't meet the scientific standards of certainty. That's because it's also possible there were major warm periods long ago that don't show up in the hockey stick data.

Members of Congress called upon the National Academy of Sciences to assemble an expert panel to review the science. The committee's report was released today.

Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Award-winning journalist Richard Harris has reported on a wide range of topics in science, medicine and the environment since he joined NPR in 1986. In early 2014, his focus shifted from an emphasis on climate change and the environment to biomedical research.

The independent journalism and non-commercial programming you rely on every day is in danger.

If you’re reading this, you believe in trusted journalism and in learning without paywalls. You value access to educational content kids love and enriching cultural programming.

Now all of that is at risk.

Federal funding for public media is under threat and if it goes, the impact to our communities will be devastating.

Together, we can defend it. It’s time to protect what matters.

Your voice has protected public media before. Now, it’s needed again. Learn how you can protect the news and programming you depend on.

SOMOS CONNECTICUT is an initiative from Connecticut Public, the state’s local NPR and PBS station, to elevate Latino stories and expand programming that uplifts and informs our Latino communities. Visit CTPublic.org/latino for more stories and resources. For updates, sign up for the SOMOS CONNECTICUT newsletter at ctpublic.org/newsletters.

SOMOS CONNECTICUT es una iniciativa de Connecticut Public, la emisora local de NPR y PBS del estado, que busca elevar nuestras historias latinas y expandir programación que alza y informa nuestras comunidades latinas locales. Visita CTPublic.org/latino para más reportajes y recursos. Para noticias, suscríbase a nuestro boletín informativo en ctpublic.org/newsletters.

The independent journalism and non-commercial programming you rely on every day is in danger.

If you’re reading this, you believe in trusted journalism and in learning without paywalls. You value access to educational content kids love and enriching cultural programming.

Now all of that is at risk.

Federal funding for public media is under threat and if it goes, the impact to our communities will be devastating.

Together, we can defend it. It’s time to protect what matters.

Your voice has protected public media before. Now, it’s needed again. Learn how you can protect the news and programming you depend on.

Related Content