.
Lauren Simkins
Assistant Professor, University of Virginia
Expertise: Antarctic Ice Sheet, Glacial geology, Coastal processes
Details:
Hypothesis handle: lsimkins
Qualifying publication(s): see criteria
ARTICLES REVIEWED
Wall Street Journal op-ed by Steven Koonin publishes misleading claims about how climate change influences Greenland ice melt
in Wall Street Journal, by Steve Koonin
— 24 Feb 2022
Human-caused climate change is already accelerating Greenland’s melting and is predicted to continue to accelerate it in the future. In addition to Greenland, most glaciers aroun...
Article in The Sun misrepresents Antarctic discovery and misplaces it on map
in The Sun, by Charlotte Edwards
— 10 Mar 2020
This article in The Sun describes the chance discovery of a small island in Antarctica’s Pine Island Bay, which seems to have appeared in the last decade. But the article sensati...
New York Times op-ed claiming scientists underestimated climate change lacks supporting evidence
in The New York Times, by Eugene Linden
— 18 Nov 2019
"Most of the specific facts and statistics in this op-ed are correct, but the overall effect is significantly misleading. The author’s central point is that scientists have been ..
New York Times series accurately describes research on Antarctic ice sheets and sea level rise, but highlights uncertain studies
in The New York Times, by Justin Gillis
— 23 May 2017
"Generally scientifically sound, but caution should be displayed before basing discussion solely on a single modeling study, especially when it incorporates fundamentally different..
Analysis of “Scientists have just detected a major change to the Earth’s oceans linked to a warming climate”
in The Washington Post, by Chris Mooney
— 19 Feb 2017
"Changes in ocean chemistry, temperature, and circulation have significant consequences for marine life and can initiate positive feedbacks to accelerate ocean and atmosphere warmi..
Analysis of “Australia’s Great Barrier Reef has worst coral die-off ever”
in USA Today, by Doyle Rice
— 30 Nov 2016
"This article is mostly accurate ... the frequency of massive bleaching events is increasing, will continue to increase in the near future, and these events do not need to occur an..
Analysis of “The Phony War Against CO2”
in The Wall Street Journal, by Rodney Nichols and Harrison Schmitt
— 03 Nov 2016
"The article speaks about scientific questions under an "opinion" banner—as if questions about the role of CO2 in the Earth system could be a matter of opinions. For the major fi..
Analysis of “About Those Non-Disappearing Pacific Islands”
in The Wall Street Journal, by Bjorn Lomborg
— 17 Oct 2016
"This article is very interesting because it exemplifies a highly-misleading rhetorical practice that is effective, frequently used, but not easily recognized by the public: "palte..
Analysis of “James Lovelock: ‘Before the end of this century, robots will have taken over’”
in The Guardian, by Decca Aitkenhead & James Lovelock
— 07 Oct 2016
"Extraordinary claims demand extraordinary evidence, and Lovelock has not even come up to the standards of providing what the scientific community would consider to be ordinary evi..
Analysis of “Greenland’s huge annual ice loss is even worse than thought”
in The Guardian, by Damian Carrington
— 26 Sep 2016
"I find the headline accurate and supported by the article. The article explains the novelty and impact of the research accurately for the general readership and in particular the ..
CLAIMS REVIEWED
Simple measurements demonstrate that CO2 is a greenhouse gas contrary to claim in online blogs
CLAIM
CO2 is not a greenhouse gas.
SOURCE: Tim Ball, Technocracy.news
Published: 14 Jan 2020
VERDICT
CO2 caused warming during past climate changes, notably as a feedback amplifying other factors
CLAIM
CO2 does not cause climate change, it RESPONDS to it [...] temperature always changes first, and CO2 follows
SOURCE: Robert W. Felix, William Happer, Ice Age Now
Published: 14 Aug 2019
VERDICT
Blaze article badly misrepresents study of Greenland’s Jakobshavn Glacier
CLAIM
[O]ne of the previously fastest shrinking glaciers in the world is growing again, calling into question the narrative that rapid climate change [...] poses a significant threat to the existence of the human race
SOURCE: Chris Enloe, The Blaze
Published: 29 Mar 2019
VERDICT
CO2 is a greenhouse gas that caused warming during past climate changes, notably as a feedback amplifying other factors
CLAIM
Increases in atmospheric CO2 followed increases in temperature. Therefore, CO2 levels could not have forced temperatures to rise.
SOURCE: Craig Idso, Robert Carter, S. Fred Singer, Heartland Institute
Published: 26 May 2017
VERDICT