Meteorologist Joe Bastardi had a decidedly unscientific term for the effort to link Thursday’s frigid winter storm to human-caused climate change: “witchcraft.” “This is flat out insanity and deception now,” Mr. Bastardi said Thursday in a tweet. “To tell the public that events that have occurred countless times before with no climate change attribution, is now just that, is […]

There are signs of a more general backlash against the Somerset Island polar bear video. Even those scientists who are firm believers in man-made climate change have expressed disquiet. ‘These images might be shocking and disturbing, but if you talk to any kind of polar bear scientist they will tell you that this is not […]

Universities must “open minds, not close them” and face tough new penalties if they do not promote freedom of speech, Jo Johnson will warn today. Students should expect to encounter controversial opinions and “frank and rigorous discussions”, the universities minister will argue. His defence of open debate comes amid a row at Oxford University, where […]

Dr David Whitehouse interviews Prof Henrik Svensmark about his team’s new paper on the link between cosmic rays and climate change

For the first time scientists have directly observed living bacteria in polar ice and snow — an environment once considered sterile. “As microbial activity and its influence on its local environment has never been taken into account when looking at ice-core gas samples it could provide a moderate source of error in climate history interpretations.” […]

The impact of changes in solar activity on Earth’s climate was up to seven times greater than climate models suggested according to new research published today in Nature Communications. Researchers have claimed a breakthrough in understanding how cosmic rays from supernovas react with the sun to form clouds, which impact the climate on Earth. The […]

Earlier this year, climate-change activists claimed that there had been a dramatic increase in the sea level in the Indian Ocean. But a new study suggests that this may not be the case, and that the activists’ interpretation of data may have been based on ‘arbitrary’ adjustments. Researchers have now reinterpreted the data, and claim […]

Flawed, misleading research is costly to society because much of it is the result of poorly spent government funding, and it often gives rise to unwise regulation. Should we believe the USA Today headline, “Drinking four cups of coffee daily lowers risk of death”?  And what should we make of, “Mouthwash May Trigger Diabetes. . .”?  Should […]