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Articles tagged as: Alarmist definition
Claim that human civilization could end in 30 years is speculative, not supported with evidence
in IFLScience, by James Felton
“The report this article is based on describes a scenario which is unlikely, but several aspects of what is included in the report are likely to worsen in coming decades, such as the occurrence of deadly heatwaves. The conclusion of a high likelihood that human civilisation will end is false, although there is a great deal of evidence that there will be many damaging consequences to continued global warming over the coming decades.”
— 09 Jun 2019
Grist article on an “Ice Apocalypse” mostly accurate, but doesn’t make the likelihood of that apocalypse clear enough to readers
in Grist, by Eric Holthaus
“The article has a bias, emphasizing the high end scenarios of ice sheet behavior, avoiding scrutiny of model assumptions. The concept of marine ice cliff instability and how unusual it is as a mechanism today on the vast coastline of Antarctica or Greenland is ignored.”
— 28 Nov 2017
Scientists explain what New York Magazine article on “The Uninhabitable Earth” gets wrong
in New York Magazine, by David Wallace-Wells
“While it is clear that ongoing warming of the global climate would eventually have very severe consequences, the concept of the Earth becoming uninhabitable within anywhere near the timescales suggested in the article is pure hyperbole. The author has clearly done very extensive research and addresses a number of climate threats that are indeed major issues, but generally the narrative ramps up the threat to go beyond the level that is supported by science.”
— 12 Jul 2017
Analysis of “Next year or the year after, the Arctic will be free of ice”
in The Guardian, by Robin McKie
“before propagating a marginal view, one should ensure having a very strong argumentation; in this interview no argumentation is put forward to support Peter Wadhams’ central claim. Wadhams’ alarmism is potentially harmful, because when such spectacular predictions are not realized some people may perceive the whole scientific community or science itself as untrustworthy.”
— 25 Aug 2016
Analysis of “Scientists warn of ‘global climate emergency’ over shifting jet stream”
in The Independent, by Gabriel Samuels
“This article makes little sense. It uses scientific jargon, such as in the last paragraph, to make it sound “scientific”, but uses it so loosely that it has no meaning. I do not see any logic behind these wild claims, there are no connections with established research, and there is no discussion of statistical certainty. Moreover, wild attributions to anthropogenic climate change are made without any backing.”
— 06 Jul 2016
Analysis of “The Point of No Return: Climate Change Nightmares Are Already Here”
in Rolling Stone, by Eric Holthaus
“The article rightly communicates the urgency and seriousness of human-induced climate change, […] However, by the title, subtitle, and overall framing, it is likely to give an impression that some current events can be attributed to human influence for which the scientific evidence supporting such an attribution is either weak or non-existent.”
— 12 Aug 2015