Persist - 347

 When I started writing this column 347 weeks ago, I aimed to share as much climate science information from reputable sources as possible. Since I can only share a little more, I will list a few science magazines from which you can get honest information.  I have regularly subscribed to the Scientific American, National Geographic, New Science, and Science.

Remember, your local libraries can subscribe to these and save you money. Libraries tend to buy books and subscriptions considered "popular." Suppose you and some friends let the libraries know science is popular. In that case, they will buy books and subscriptions related to science.

Since the anti-science Trump government is attempting to undermine our Constitution, our science-based government organizations like NOAA, NASA, NCAR, and NSIDC may be compromised. It will be interesting to see if they can remain science based.

Our National Academies of Science was created in 1863 by Abraham Lincoln and Congress. It was deliberately designed as an independent scientific advisory institution. The intent was to insulate it from political intrigue. Thus, it should remain a good source of information.

Science organizations like the American Meteorological Society and the American Geophysical Union stand independently of the current government, so they should remain good sources of climate science, untainted by the machinations of the current anti-science government.

There are some news analysis sites I respect. My favorite place to get free general news is Heather Cox Richardson. She is a patriotic historian who teaches at Boston College. I thought I had a good handle on American History. Still, when reading her "Letters from an American,"  I have been humbled. Her letters are wonderfully engaging. If you want an excellent history education with implications for the present, check out her archives. The publication is called Substack.

The "Contrarian" is another part of the Substack's publication network worth investigating. If recent developments have concerned you about our democracy, the Contrarian claims, "Unflinching Journalism in Defense of Democracy."

Regarding the critical climate juncture we are at today, the last ten years have been the warmest on record. We expected 2023 to be warm and be a record hot year because it was an El Nino year.  2024 was not  expected to be a record setting year but it set new heat records, even though it was supposed to be a cooler La Nina year. And it hasn't stopped. Jan 2025 was the hottest January on record.

While we have been experiencing cold temperatures here, other parts of the globe, especially the Arctic regions, are experiencing very warm temperatures. These areas are so warm our Earth is still setting new records almost every day.

And with this warmth comes extreme weather, which burns forests, floods communities, erodes coastlines, and just plain kills people with heat.  

Climate change is simply a matter of connecting the dots; the scientific community has done that for us. Add more carbon dioxide or methane to the atmosphere, and more heat is trapped. The Earth warms, especially the oceans. Dry areas get drier, wet regions get wetter, and extreme weather grows more common. People, animals, and plants that cannot adapt, suffer and die.

To obstruct the efforts of humanity to protect us from needless death and destruction is psychopathic. 

People who do not have the intellectual or moral courage to face climate facts often refer to those who support solutions as "radicals." They intend to be derogatory, but here is the definition: "Radical refers to something fundamental or extreme, often involving significant change or departure from traditional views. In politics, it describes individuals or ideas that advocate for drastic reforms or revolutionary changes." Hmmm, it sounds like George Washington and the Founding Fathers. Or, if I might be so bold, Jesus Christ! Jesus was, hands down, the bravest and most influential Radical in all history.

Without a doubt, climate scientists and climate activists support the fundamental switch in how we harness power.  Yup, that is radical. We are radicals, but we are certainly not psychopaths.

Psychopathic personality, on the other hand, is a personality construct characterized by impaired empathy and remorse. These people display a pattern of lying, manipulating, and exploiting others. They may lack moral bearing and a sense of responsibility. They often exhibit traits of egocentrism. These traits are often masked by superficial charm and immunity to stress, which create an outward appearance of apparent normalcy.

Only through hard mental work can we differentiate between those who feed us misinformation (lies) versus those who bring us truth. Only by our hard work to be critical thinkers can we make good decisions and reject psychopaths.