Claim reviews
Climate change can make it harder for the Amazon rainforest to grow back from deforestation, but that does not mean 40% of it will now turn into a savanna
CLAIM
“Amazon near tipping point of switching from rainforest to savannah”
SOURCE: Fiona Harvey, The Guardian
Published: 14 Oct 2020
VERDICT
Climate change, forest management and several other causes contribute to wildfire severity and total area burned in the western United States
CLAIM
“Forest fires are caused by poor management. Not by climate change.”
SOURCE: Anonymous, Facebook
Published: 16 Sep 2020
VERDICT
Western US wildfires are not the result of widespread arson
CLAIM
a distressing number of the [West coast] fires are not accidents, and willful arson is the cause.
SOURCE: Glen Morgan, We The Governed
Published: 14 Sep 2020
VERDICT
Planting trees can help mitigate some aspects of climate change, but it cannot solve all environmental crises
CLAIM
“Trees provide a solution to almost all environmental crises we're facing. Trees reverse climate change by cleaning carbon from the air.”
SOURCE: Pamela Anderson, 8 Billion Trees
Published: 25 Aug 2020
VERDICT
The long-term survival of polar bears is threatened by loss of sea-ice due to global warming, new study confirms
CLAIM
"Global warming is driving polar bears toward extinction"
SOURCE: Henry Fountain, The New York Times
Published: 27 Jul 2020
VERDICT
Greenhouse gases cause global warming by trapping infra-red radiations, not by “causing more holes in the ozone layer”
CLAIM
Greenhouse gases emitted into the ocean are causing more holes in the ozone layer … “the ozone layer has holes in it causing global temperature to rise”
SOURCE: Otis Holland, Instagram
Published: 21 Jul 2020
VERDICT
Study evaluates natural and human causes of recent rapid warming rate at the South Pole
CLAIM
Surface air temperatures at the bottom of the world have risen three times faster than the global average since the 1990s.
SOURCE: Henry Fountain, The New York Times
Published: 06 Jul 2020
VERDICT
Climate scientists agree that human-caused greenhouse gas emissions are primarily responsible for climate change, contrary to claims in Clear Energy Alliance video
CLAIM
The scientific consensus on whether global warming is human caused is not 97 percent, it’s less than 1 percent. There is no way to measure the human impact on climate change.
SOURCE: Mark Mathis, Clear Energy Alliance
Published: 25 Jun 2020
VERDICT
Low solar activity has little effect on Earth’s climate, contrary to claim in The Sun
CLAIM
"The sun has gone into ‘lockdown’ which could cause freezing weather, earthquakes and famine, say scientists"
SOURCE: Chris Pollard, The Sun
Published: 20 May 2020
VERDICT
The global polar bear population is threatened by loss of sea ice, contrary to PragerU’s video claim
CLAIM
The polar bear population has been growing. Polar bears are thriving even where sea ice is diminishing.
SOURCE: Anonymous, PragerU
Published: 18 May 2020
VERDICT