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Skeptical Science
Skeptical Science (occasionally abbreviated SkS) is a climate science blog and information resource created in 2007 by Australian former cartoonist and web developer, John Cook, who received a PhD degree in cognitive science in 2016. In addition to publishing articles on current events relating to climate science and climate policy, the site maintains a database of articles analyzing the merit of arguments put forth by those who question the scientific consensus on climate change.
After reading a 2007 speech by then US Senator Jim Inhofe, who maintains that global warming is a hoax, John Cook created Skeptical Science as an internet resource to counter common arguments by climate change deniers. The site hosts various articles addressing the merit of common objections to the scientific consensus on global warming, such as the claim that solar activity (rather than greenhouse gases) is responsible for most 20th and 21st century global warming, or that global warming is natural and/or not harmful to humans. Each article, referred to as an "argument", presents a quotation from a prominent figure who made a direct claim regarding global warming, and follows with a summary of "what the science says".
Rather than fully qualifying each claim, the site focuses on challenging it by citing counterexamples for why it is incorrect, and structuring the examples into a rebuttal of the original claim. The site primarily gains the content for these articles from peer reviewed scientific papers. Many articles have been translated into other languages, and are split into up to three levels of technical depth.
The Skeptical Science home page also features blog posts by regular and guest contributors, which may be new rebuttals of a certain argument or simply the blogger's view on a relevant climate news item. Like the rebuttals, the blog entries tend to hold a consistent tone that the scientific opinion on anthropogenic global warming is generally accurate.
In 2010, along with software development company Shine Technologies, Skeptical Science launched a free smartphone application that includes condensed summaries of most rebuttals featured on the site.
In addition to uncategorized blog posts, the site has published many multi-week features that serve to give a more in-depth analysis of a particular topic. Topics which have received special attention include a feature describing "climate 'myths" promoted by many US politicians, a feature examining the accuracy of past predictions made by scientists studying global warming, as well as individual features to evaluate the claims made by the most prominent individuals who reject evidence that supports human-caused global warming, including Richard Lindzen, John Christy, and Christopher Monckton.
In 2010, a comprehensive report called The Scientific Guide to Global Warming Skepticism was made available from Skeptical Science. Written by Cook and other authors, the report draws from various rebuttals published and summarizes the evidence for global warming and the flaws in many of the objections to the scientific consensus on climate change.
In May 2013, Cook and other contributors published a paper in Environmental Research Letters (ERL) examining the scientific consensus on global warming in peer reviewed papers published between 1991–2011. The paper was widely cited across hundreds of newspapers, magazines, blog posts, and scientific papers. It also ranked as the 11th most-discussed scientific paper of 2013. The paper was awarded the "Best article of 2013" prize by the editorial board of ERL.
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Skeptical Science
Skeptical Science (occasionally abbreviated SkS) is a climate science blog and information resource created in 2007 by Australian former cartoonist and web developer, John Cook, who received a PhD degree in cognitive science in 2016. In addition to publishing articles on current events relating to climate science and climate policy, the site maintains a database of articles analyzing the merit of arguments put forth by those who question the scientific consensus on climate change.
After reading a 2007 speech by then US Senator Jim Inhofe, who maintains that global warming is a hoax, John Cook created Skeptical Science as an internet resource to counter common arguments by climate change deniers. The site hosts various articles addressing the merit of common objections to the scientific consensus on global warming, such as the claim that solar activity (rather than greenhouse gases) is responsible for most 20th and 21st century global warming, or that global warming is natural and/or not harmful to humans. Each article, referred to as an "argument", presents a quotation from a prominent figure who made a direct claim regarding global warming, and follows with a summary of "what the science says".
Rather than fully qualifying each claim, the site focuses on challenging it by citing counterexamples for why it is incorrect, and structuring the examples into a rebuttal of the original claim. The site primarily gains the content for these articles from peer reviewed scientific papers. Many articles have been translated into other languages, and are split into up to three levels of technical depth.
The Skeptical Science home page also features blog posts by regular and guest contributors, which may be new rebuttals of a certain argument or simply the blogger's view on a relevant climate news item. Like the rebuttals, the blog entries tend to hold a consistent tone that the scientific opinion on anthropogenic global warming is generally accurate.
In 2010, along with software development company Shine Technologies, Skeptical Science launched a free smartphone application that includes condensed summaries of most rebuttals featured on the site.
In addition to uncategorized blog posts, the site has published many multi-week features that serve to give a more in-depth analysis of a particular topic. Topics which have received special attention include a feature describing "climate 'myths" promoted by many US politicians, a feature examining the accuracy of past predictions made by scientists studying global warming, as well as individual features to evaluate the claims made by the most prominent individuals who reject evidence that supports human-caused global warming, including Richard Lindzen, John Christy, and Christopher Monckton.
In 2010, a comprehensive report called The Scientific Guide to Global Warming Skepticism was made available from Skeptical Science. Written by Cook and other authors, the report draws from various rebuttals published and summarizes the evidence for global warming and the flaws in many of the objections to the scientific consensus on climate change.
In May 2013, Cook and other contributors published a paper in Environmental Research Letters (ERL) examining the scientific consensus on global warming in peer reviewed papers published between 1991–2011. The paper was widely cited across hundreds of newspapers, magazines, blog posts, and scientific papers. It also ranked as the 11th most-discussed scientific paper of 2013. The paper was awarded the "Best article of 2013" prize by the editorial board of ERL.