Prof. Ben Santer - Climatologist and Lead Author of the IPCC AR2 in 1995 -
Speaks at UC Santa Cruz
This talk, held in the Astronomy / Physics building ISB 221, was both a detailed review of how the "human fingerprint" was uncovered in the climate record, and also a historical relating of the drama that went with that announcement, for himself, for his family, for scientists, at the hands of the climate denialists I got a chance to have a long talk with him afterwards on teaching points I've made for my own Astro 7 "Planetary Climate Science" course, and his thoughts and recommendations on proposals I've made in public and in class, for how scientists should plan for future IPCC assessment reports. It was a rich experience - very glad I recovered from my recent bug well enough to get to this.
Below are some iPhone shots I took during his Presentation. I have one more image I can send, if requested, to the Dean at Cabrillo to prove my attendence here, but since it shows a pretty haggard image of me, I'll spare the casual viewers my embarrasment by not linking it here.
The talk lasted from 1pm to 2:30pm. And I had a good post-talk one-on-one with Ben which lasted till 3pm.
Here is former Astro 7 "Planetary Climate Science" student and UCSC lecturer Derede Arthur's excellent mail-out to the UCSC community...
I
f you don't know who (and how important) Ben Santer is, and what fossil fuel industry agents did to him, spend the weekend watching Merchants of Doubt,.
This is a unique and historic opportunity, and you please encourage your students to attend!
PS -- the following week, CAN and EFI are bringing to campus another climate science luminary, Zeke Hausfather (afternoon talk on Thurs 1/22, stay tuned!).
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Hi folks,
Some news in science and theatre for you. Climate scientist Dr. Ben Santer will be giving the ENVS seminar on Monday 1/12 in ISB 221 at 1pm which is open to the public.
Ben Santer is a climate scientist. In September 2021, he retired from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) after 30 years of service. He now continues to study natural and human “fingerprints” in observed climate records, and is an honorary Professor in the School of Environmental Sciences at the University of East Anglia in England. Ben’s early research contributed to the historic 1995 conclusion of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change: “the balance of evidence suggests a discernible human influence on global climate”. He served as lead author of the IPCC chapter in which this conclusion was reported. Since 1995, Ben has identified human fingerprints in many different aspects of the climate system, including atmospheric temperature and water vapor, ocean heat content, and sea surface temperature in hurricane formation regions.
Also notable: He recently reached a new pinnacle in science communications with a new play, Kyoto, that includes him as a character. It got rave reviews in the UK, where it premiered at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre and then in London's West End; and also at its first US production at Lincoln Center in NYC in November. The play and Ben's role are nicely covered in this UCS blog:
