Kate Marvel
@DrKateMarvel
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Climate scientist @NASAGISS , soon @projectdrawdown . Writing HUMAN NATURE @eccobooks . Chapter lead, #NCA5 . Let's fix stuff.
New York City
Joined February 2014
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Scientific uncertainty is not ignorance. We don't know everything! But we don't know nothing. Thank you for coming to my TED talk.
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The IPCC report is coming out tomorrow. As a climate scientist, I’d like you to know: I don’t have hope.
I have something better: certainty.
We know exactly what’s causing climate change. We can absolutely 1) avoid the worst and 2) build a better world in the process.
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Lots of people ask me how to inspire young girls to study math and science so here are my simple steps for that:
1) burn the patriarchy to the ground
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The number of people yelling "it's arson!" at me like that somehow changes the molecular structure of carbon dioxide is truly wild
#AustralianWildFires
climate denial claims, "it's arson! it's been warmer before! fire's natural!" The truth? Human-induced climate change is a threat multiplier. It takes existing risks + amplifies them beyond imagining, affecting every living thing on this planet: including us.
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HUMANS PROBABLY WON'T GO EXTINCT BECAUSE OF CLIMATE CHANGE BUT WE SHOULD SHOOT FOR SOMETHING BETTER THAN "NOT EXTINCT" COME ON PEOPLE RAISE YOUR STANDARDS
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Climate scientists are too alarmist, say people who claim a carbon tax will destroy the economy, crush freedom, and turn the US into a communist dictatorship
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Me to my students: for the love of god please just call me Kate
Students: yes Doctor Professor Empress HRH Marvel, First Of Her Name, Mother Of Knowledge
Me to Internet randos trying to explain climate science to me: please call me Dr. Marvel
Randos: ok kiddo
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Rules for life:
1) don't live too far from the nearest star
2) or too close
3) have liquid water
4) and carbon
5) and nitrogen
6) phosphorus?
7) evolution needs time
8) also luck
9) keep climate stable
10) and sea level
11) leave fossil fuels in the ground
12) NO big asteroids
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For
#WorldOceansDay
let’s commit to throwing into the sea:
❌ LESS plastic
❌ LESS carbon dioxide
❌ LESS heat
✅ MORE statues of historical racists
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as a scientist I can confidently say that if I was going to perpetuate a massive hoax it would be a LOT more fun than this
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This will be replied to and quote-tweeted with so much cynicism, misanthropy, and negativity. Please remember: giving up helps no one but those invested in delay and denial. I refuse to subscribe to a lie they promote.
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Tomorrow, if you live in a democracy, please call your representatives and tell them how much a livable climate matters to you. If you’re in the US, you can call the Senate at (202) 224-3121
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Hi friends! Please don’t explain to me that “the climate models don’t include feedback loops” because as a scientist studying feedback loops in climate models it hurts my feelings.
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I understand the frustration. I get the despair and the anxiety. No one is saying this is going to be easy. But it is possible. The biggest uncertainty by FAR in climate projections is what humans we’ll do. Let’s get to work.
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Removing your lungs could slow the growth of lung cancer
Spraying chemicals into the atmosphere could slow global warming by reflecting sunlight back into space. -
@NBCNewsMACH
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One of the hardest lessons I’ve learned as a climate scientist is that being clearly, factually correct about a problem is never enough to fix it
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Shoutout to the alarmist scientists using confusing math and imperfect models to push for unpopular policies that will save millions of lives
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When this is all over, I would like to invite the epidemiologists to have a very strong drink with us climate scientists
Making the climate denialism - Covid trutherism connection explicit.
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How scared I am of:
Permafrost bomb going off RIGHT NOW 0/10
Strong reinforcing climate feedbacks 8/10
Social fabric unable to cope with even a little climate disruption 10/10
Unchecked lying as a successful political strategy 11/10
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Maybe I'm biased because I'm a scientist, but I don't find a tiny minority of loud, angry people who don't understand science to be particularly interesting
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How much of the observed global warming trend is due to humans?
Our best estimate:
ALL
OF
IT
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I've been off social media because global pandemic+ schools closed + full-time job etc. Just popping back to say that climate justice and racial justice are the same thing, and we'll never head off climate catastrophe without dismantling white supremacy.
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Scientists: there is a zombie outbreak
Think tanks: The zombies are a natural cycle
Politicians: I’m not a zombie expert
Business: click here to calculate your personal footprint
#walkingless
Media: Let’s listen to this zombie denier! (undisclosed: he eats brains)
Public: *eaten*
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Asking climate scientists about climate policy is like asking a plumber to build a house. You definitely need them involved, but you’re probably going to need more expertise than that
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On one hand, being a vocal climate science communicator can be detrimental to your academic job prospects
On the other hand, the past 5 years were the hottest on record, Mozambique and Nebraska are underwater, and California fire season is now year-round
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Scientific journals insist on this weird passive voice like “the analysis was done” and guys who do you think DID the analysis it was ME and it took FOREVER
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My thoughts on geoengineering:
1. We should study it
2. We should not do it
3. We should definitely not tell billionaires they can do it
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"Kate, why don't people understand the scientific consensus on climate change?"
We've deleted an earlier tweet and updated a sentence in our article that implied that only "some experts" view the ingestion of household disinfectants as dangerous. To be clear, there is no debate on the danger.
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“Do you have hope society can address climate change” is a little like asking “do you have hope you can wash the dishes in the sink” I mean it’s pretty clear what to do, it’s just a question of making the effort
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We are not *his* scientists
🚨 On climate change, Trump disavows his own scientists, government
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best case scenario
1. I tell everyone climate change will be very bad
2. We do something about it
3. As a result, it’s not that bad
4. I am remembered forever as the idiot who thought climate change would be bad
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How to fix climate change in 2 easy steps:
1. Don't vote for people who don't get it
2. Organize for people who do
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Just did a search for “ok doomer” and I have to say I am very disappointed in Climate Twitter
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Polite request to stop running vaccine news stories alongside photos of giant terrifying needles
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how can I be capable of brainwashing millions of teenagers when I can’t get my own friends to stop believing in astrology
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As a scientist who studies clouds: no, there is no silver lining
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Got an email calling me an airhead which I have to admit is a pretty good way to say atmospheric scientist
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Australia has warmed by ~1C since records began in 1910.
This makes heat waves & fires more likely.
It's not the sun.
It's not volcanoes.
It's not "natural cycles".
There is no explanation for this- none- that makes sense besides emissions of heat-trapping gases.
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truly shocked that the people who don’t think CO2 is a greenhouse gas also don’t think pepper spray contains chemicals
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We’re still here! You could always start now!
“Should have listened to the scientists” is quickly becoming a motto for this century.
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Fossil fuels do not spark joy
CO2 sticks around in the atmosphere for about 100 years. The lag time of ocean heating is about 2,000 years.
Oceans act as a massive storage system to retain that heat over very long timescales. Our actions are effectively permanent.
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I have empathy for people who struggle to accept science because I too believe in things that don’t exist, like a level of education or achievement that will stop men from explaining things to me
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I have an evil plan to punish climate deniers by making them live happily on a healthy and thriving planet, don't tell anyone
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My take-home message from the Alison Roman/Chrissy Teigen feud is that the global mean temperature anomaly for April 2020 was 1.16°C above the 1951-1980 April average
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I need to stop crying at my desk so I can finish this paper on *checks notes* catastrophic climate change
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Honestly mystified by the notion that generating energy by setting fire to ancient dead stuff represents some pinnacle of human achievement and creativity
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me, on climate change: No problem is too big to solve! I have confidence we can come together as a species to create a just transition to a better world
me, on my email inbox: This problem is too big to solve! I must sever all social bonds and move to a bunker in the wilderness
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Can you imagine how much scarier it would be if climate change was actually being caused by something beyond our control?
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Honestly did not anticipate the extent to which adulthood would involve looking up to teenagers
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The scariest thing about climate change is what it will make us do to each other. My piece on lost cities, fairy tales, and the uncomfortable legacy of past change
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In five billion years when the Sun fuses all the hydrogen in its core and dies, yes
Bezos: "A very fundamental long range problem is that we will run out of energy on Earth."
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It’s Earth Appreciation Day, a holiday I just made up because everything is terrible and sad. Please tell me your favorite fact about this lovely planet!
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Please stop asking me if there’s any hope that we can avoid the worst-case climate scenario. I don’t hope we can.
I *know* we can. Let’s get to work.
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The combustion engine has contributed to a 45% increase in atmospheric CO2, a 1C rise in temperature, and a 7” rise in sea level.
Fossil fuels have literally changed the world.
What invention do you think has changed the world most drastically?
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I am willing to marry into the British royal family if that's what it takes to get you people to talk about science
ABC, NBC, and MSNBC did not air a single prime-time mention of the major new U.N. biodiversity report warning of ecosystem collapse. The new royal baby got airtime, though. By
@theodorejay
.
#CoverClimate
#CoveringClimate
#ClimateCoverage
#EndClimateSilence
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This is the only planet known to have whisky 🥃
Question for Twitter: What is the argument for caring about climate change that *you personally* find most compelling?
(This could be different from the argument you think is most likely to persuade others. For many people, these might not be the same!)
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My favorite part of Lord Of The Rings is when no one bothers to take the Ring to Mordor because we’re all doomed and it doesn’t matter anyway
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Climate deniers have been pushing the idea that unless we can prove a sentient CO2 molecule personally murdered someone, we can’t know whether climate change caused excess mortality. Sending solidarity to the epidemiologists 💪
COVID deniers have been pushing the idea that we don’t know whether someone who died *with* COVID really died *from* COVID.
But can we ever really know what a cause of anything is? Maybe not. But we *can* estimate causal effects. Staying home works.
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Petition to hire a full time anger translator for climate scientists
Trump doesn’t understand climate change and
@ronnychieng
is sick of explaining this s**t.
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Nobody deserves climate change. It’s not happening because humans are fundamentally bad, or because someone, somewhere, is having fun. It’s happening because atmospheric CO2 levels have increased over 45% since the industrial revolution.
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No one should ever be allowed to talk about the costs of climate proposals without mentioning the costs of doing nothing
"WHO: Health benefits outweigh costs of meeting Paris Agreement climate goals" |
@BusinessGreen
@michaelholder
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Gonna mute this now, but for the non-men AND men replying with support: thank you, and you’re invited to bonfire night 🔥
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do you hate climate scientists? we try to project what the planet will look like under high CO2 concentrations. we'll be SO disappointed if we never find out. if you cut emissions it will really hurt our feelings, I promise.
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Happy mother’s day to the most beautiful planet in the Universe!
(Find more at )
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Hollywood gets a lot wrong about science but the worst thing it’s done is to convince people “genius” = “unpleasant man who is very rude to others”
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anyone who thinks climate change is a well-organized hoax should spend a day in my shoes trying to get other scientists to JUST FOLLOW THE DIRECTIONS ALREADY
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We’re in the yellow. I never, ever want to find out what purple feels like.
How
#wildfire
risk increases with global warming. Summary graph from the
@IPCC_CH
special report on land, 2019: . Via
@rahmstorf
.
Note: The world has already experienced a global average temperature rise of ~ 1°C compared to pre-industrial times.
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Science is imperfect and doesn’t have all the answers but I have to say I prefer it to the alternative of just making stuff up
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If climate change was a hoax, an insurance company could undercut all the competition by offering lower rates. None of them do.
Thread:
1/ If you’re looking for the sort of thing that will actually make people and politicians sit up and suddenly start prioritising action to tackle and adapt to climate change, this might be one of them.
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Humans landed on Mars and didn’t break anything and took a picture so please stop telling me we’re doomed
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I cannot believe I have to say this, but no, there is no "silver lining" for the climate in a global pandemic.
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i must admit I did not have “frozen meat brand articulates things I’ve been trying to explain to universities for a decade” on my 2020 dystopia bingo card
one major roadblock in getting credible information to the masses is the divide between experts and communicators. most experts aren't communicators and most communicators aren't experts. this often results in research being spun with a narrative by the time it reaches the public
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The climate's changed before? YOU DON'T SAY??!!?!?!?!!?!
-the entire field of paleoclimate
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We won an award 🎊🎉 for a paper suggesting that warming is likely to be worse than we previously thought 😱😡
GISS scientists recently voted on the best research paper by institute staff published in 2018. Top honors went to "Internal variability & disequilibrium confound estimates of climate sensitivity from observations” by
@DrKateMarvel
,
@ClimateOfGavin
et al.
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Early career climate scientists who want to do public engagement/science communication work often ask me
1. Am I going to be harassed?
2. Is this going to hurt my scientific career?
I can't promise you the answer to either is no.
I think you should do it anyway.
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Still true
HUMANS PROBABLY WON'T GO EXTINCT BECAUSE OF CLIMATE CHANGE BUT WE SHOULD SHOOT FOR SOMETHING BETTER THAN "NOT EXTINCT" COME ON PEOPLE RAISE YOUR STANDARDS
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Ok to be fair burning down the patriarchy might not be carbon neutral
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The molecular structure of carbon dioxide, a heat-trapping gas released by the combustion of fossil fuels, remains unchanged.
The Trump administration is escalating its attack on climate science
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We can choose to take charge and rapidly cut emissions. We have a precious, wonderful, rare opportunity to create the future we want.
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Nature is not going to save us from climate change. Thank you for coming to my TED talk
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“The climate’s changed before” doesn’t mean humans aren’t responsible for observed changes. This is like telling a detective on the hunt for a serial killer that “people die of natural causes”
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Fact check: babies actually don’t have any good ideas for decarbonizing the economy
"This is the real solution to climate change: babies...the solution to so many of our problems at all times and in all places is to fall in love, get married, and have some kids." -
@SenMikeLee
on
@AOC
and
@SenMarkey
's Green New Deal
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I feel I should clarify that while there are uncertainties in climate projections, we’ve confidently ruled out “fabulous”
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I’m so excited to teach Introduction To Climate Dynamics and Variability. Here’s the syllabus:
☀️🌎☁️🌧💨🌊🏙📈🔥😱
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Scientists are trying to be honest in a post-truth world. But we’re not trained, incentivized, or rewarded for talking to the public. My latest:
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Best climate change movies, ranked:
1. Mad Max Fury Road
2. Sharknado
.
.
.
1045. The Day After Tomorrow
.
.
.
Infinity. Geostorm
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Not sure we need a special holiday to be scared this year, you guys
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In a climate model, you change CO2 by changing one number in the rundeck
In the real world, you change CO2 by having an industrial revolution, capitalism, colonialism, etc over 100s of years
Scientists can’t understand or solve this on our own. I’m learning to listen better ❤️
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