
Power Hour with Alex Epstein
Obama administration physicist explains why climate catastrophism is unscientific
On this week's Power Hour, Alex Epstein interviews Steve Koonin, a highly accomplished physicist and author of the new bestselling book "Unsettled: What Climate Science Tells Us, What It Doesn't and Why It Matters"
In 2014, Koonin, who had worked in the Obama administration, began to question climate catastrophism when he led a panel of physicists assessing the current state of climate science.
In his new book he summarizes what he regards as the actual state of climate science--which does not support claims of climate catastrophe at all.
In this interview, Koonin discusses:
- His conclusion that "Humans exert a growing, but physically small, warming influence on the climate."
- Why "The net economic impact of human-induced climate change will be minimal through at least the end of this century."
- Why "Government and UN press releases and summaries do not accurately reflect" scientific research reports.
- How the US National Climate Assessment manipulated data to create an extreme heat pattern in the US that doesn't exist.
- Why "the working scientists are often embarrassed by the way the IPCC winds up describing the state of the science."
- Why "many of the senior climate scientists think that by the time now we've gotten to the sixth [IPCC] assessment report, it's no longer the A team that is preparing the reports."
- How Koonin's career has enabled him to do a deep dive both into climate science and into energy economics.
- The private response Koonin has gotten from other scientists.
- What Koonin thinks of Bill Gates's book ("I think Bill wrote a pretty good energy book...but I think Bill's discussion of the climate is wrong and I would relish the chance to point out to him at some point.")
- Why Koonin is eager to debate any climate scientists who disagree with him.