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Daniel Swain
Climate Scientist, University of California, Los Angeles
Expertise: Climate change, Extreme weather, Drought, Floods, Atmospheric rivers
Details:
Hypothesis handle: dlswain
Qualifying publication(s): see criteria
http://advances.sciencemag.org/content/2/4/e150134
ARTICLES REVIEWED
PragerU video on climate change repeats a range of misleading claims by Steven Koonin
in PragerU, by Steve Koonin
— 29 Nov 2021
"The author of this video, Dr. Steven Koonin, says he is following the scientific reports published by the UN and US government, but by subtly changing wording and choosing not to ..
Wall Street Journal article repeats multiple incorrect and misleading claims made in Steven Koonin’s new book ’Unsettled’
in The Wall Street Journal, by Mark P. Mills
— 03 May 2021
Scientists who reviewed the article found that it builds on a collection of misleading and false claims. For instance, Koonin states that “Greenland’s ice sheet isn’t shrinki...
Breitbart article makes numerous false claims about the impacts of climate change, based on Global Warming Policy Foundation post
in Breitbart, by James Delingpole, Dr. Indur Goklany
— 12 Feb 2021
"The article’s scientific credibility is very low. The author cherry-picks data, makes broad generalizations and characterizations based on incomplete or flimsy reasoning, and re..
Article by Michael Shellenberger mixes accurate and inaccurate claims in support of a misleading and overly simplistic argumentation about climate change
in Forbes, by Michael Shellenberger
— 06 Jul 2020
"Shellenberger’s article promoting his new book “Apocalypse Never” includes a mix of accurate, misleading, and patently false statements. While it is useful to push back agai..
Claim that human civilization could end in 30 years is speculative, not supported with evidence
in IFLScience, by James Felton
— 09 Jun 2019
"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 t..
Washington Post story puts recent weather extremes in accurate climate change context
in The Washington Post, by Joel Achenbach, Angela Fritz
— 31 Jul 2018
"This article accurately describes the broader climate context of recent heat extremes throughout the Northern Hemisphere. There are a couple spots where specific claims are somewh..
Daily Mail correctly reports that climate change leads to more severe heatwaves, but explanation of recent weather is off the mark
in Daily Mail, by Joe Pinkstone
— 07 Jul 2018
"Mostly this article is accurate in its reporting of the recent heat over North America and Eurasia. However, there are a few misleading statements, including the headline, that ex..
Breitbart article on California fires misleads by omitting explanation of climate’s influence
in Breitbart, by Joel Pollak
— 19 Dec 2017
"The Breitbart article provides a poorly reasoned and misleading view of how climate change has contributed to recent fires in California and the rest of the western USA. The most ..
New York Times’ “straightforward answers” to common climate questions are accurate, too
in The New York Times, by Justin Gillis
— 28 Sep 2017
This article in The New York Times serves as a primer by briefly answering seventeen basic questions about the cause and consequences of—and possible solutions to—climate chang...
Scientists explain what New York Magazine article on “The Uninhabitable Earth” gets wrong
in New York Magazine, by David Wallace-Wells
— 12 Jul 2017
"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 t..
CLAIMS REVIEWED
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
In popular video, Dan Peña falsely claims humans aren’t causing climate change
CLAIM
Fifty-five thousand years ago the whole world was 2°C warmer than it is today[...] It's all cyclical; [human-caused greenhouse gas emissions are] not a fart in the wind. Sea level rise is not going to happen.
SOURCE: Dan Peña, "Ivanka_Trump" Facebook account
Published: 07 May 2019
VERDICT
President Trump’s claim that water supply policy has worsened California wildfires is baseless
CLAIM
California wildfires are being magnified & made so much worse by the bad environmental laws which aren’t allowing massive amounts of readily available water to be properly utilized. It is being diverted into the Pacific Ocean.
SOURCE: President Donald Trump, Twitter
Published: 07 Aug 2018
VERDICT
Some extreme weather events are clearly becoming more common, in contrast to Lord Lawson’s claim
CLAIM
The IPCC, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which is sort of the voice of the consensus, concedes that there has been no increase in extreme weather events.
SOURCE: Nigel Lawson, BBC
Published: 10 Aug 2017
VERDICT
Global warming has not “ceased”, as Heartland Institute report falsely claims
CLAIM
global warming ceased around the end of the twentieth century and was followed (since 1997) by 19 years of stable temperature
SOURCE: Craig Idso, Robert Carter, S. Fred Singer, Heartland Institute
Published: 29 May 2017
VERDICT
Global sea level rise is accelerating, despite Heartland Institute report’s claims otherwise
CLAIM
Best available data show sea-level rise is not accelerating. Local and regional sea levels continue to exhibit typical natural variability—in some places rising and in others falling.
SOURCE: Craig Idso, Robert Carter, S. Fred Singer, Heartland Institute
Published: 08 May 2017
VERDICT
Claim that Arctic warming is already influencing mid-latitude weather correct but still under investigation
CLAIM
The jet stream meanders more, with big loops bringing warm air to the frozen north and cold air into warmer southern climes.
SOURCE: Damian Carrington, The Guardian
Published: 21 Dec 2016
VERDICT
