Unsettled
What Climate Science Tells Us, What It Doesn't, and Why It Matters
by Steven E. Koonin · first published 2021
65% recommend25% neutral10% critical
Why HN recommends it
Physicist and former Obama energy official questions climate headlines and consensus messaging, with context on the data (e.g. heat extremes in chapter 6). Suits readers wanting a skeptical, hype-cutting view.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
"Surging sea levels are inundating the coasts." "Hurricanes and tornadoes are becoming fiercer and more frequent." "Climate change will be an economic disaster." You've heard all this presented as fact. But according to science, all of these statements are profoundly misleading. When it comes to climate change, the media, politicians, and other prominent voices have declared that "the science is settled." In reality, the long game of telephone from research to reports to the popular media is corrupted by misunderstanding and misinformation. Core questions—about the way the climate
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…technology so we can avoid deaths from natural disasters. That's good but if we are causing natural disasters to be worse and the sea level to rise that's still something we should seek to avoid. I found Unsettled, [1] by former Caltech provost Steven Koonin to be much more compelling. The approach is rigorous and scientific. The author is not partisan. He did work for BP but also served in the Obama administration.…
on “Young People Are Anxious About Climate Change, Say Governments Are Failing Them” ↗…You're clearly influenced by the outputs of a propaganda industry, not the outputs of credible independent research. See what I did there? I'll even one-up you with some links: https://www.amazon.com/Unsettled-Climate-Science-Doesnt-Matt... https://www.amazon.com/Apocalypse-Never-Environmental-Alarmi... https://www.amazon.com/Fossil-Future-Flourishing-Requires-Ga...
on “UK: Food inflation rises to 18.2% as it hits highest rate in over 45 years” ↗1. Look at https://www.amazon.com/Unsettled-Climate-Science-Doesnt-Matt... It may alleviate some of your worries. 2. You say "climate change" "keeps me up at night". Do you believe that is a rational state of mind to have? Shouldn't you open…
on “80% of developers are unhappy. The problem is not AI, nor is coding” ↗I found the book Unsettled quite interesting https://www.amazon.com/Unsettled-Climate-Science-Doesnt-Matt... He was high up in Obama admin
on “Contrarian climate assessment from U.S. government draws pushback” ↗It’s ok to disagree. Disagreement isn’t verboten here. In fact, I’ve been reading the book Unsettled by Stephen E. Koonin which calls into question the consensus on climate change and the author makes some great points.
on “'Point of no return': New Orleans relocation must start now due to sea level” ↗…like war, natural phenomena, changing climate and its ramifications and more. Get some books on the subject - Michael Shellenberger's "Apocalypse Never", Bjørn Lomborg's "False Alarm", Steven Koonin's "Unsettled" and read up on the facts and fictional narratives around the subject of the changing climate. If you are not in panic-mode they are far less likely to be pulled into the fable of a climate-induced eschaton.…
on “Reducing the risk of nuclear war should be a key concern of our generation” ↗…fees? So then tax payers of developed nations take the hit and have their own economic output lowered while countries ignoring carbon fees move ahead. It's a death spiral. Have a look at Steven Koonin's "Unsettled". He was an Obama DOE appointee and Provost of Caltech (he's a physicist). He makes convincing arguments that the climate change models are highly unreliable. It's not Fox News garbage, he's legit. The…
on “54% of Portugal’s electricity is now generated by renewable energy” ↗Recommended reading for those interested is "Unsettled: What Climate Science Tells Us, What It Doesn’t, and Why It Matters" by Steven Koonin. Presents a great deal of context around climate science and reporting which is helpful when processing headlines…
on “World Now Likely to Hit Watershed 1.5 °C Rise in Next 5 Years” ↗I don't think your quote really changes the facts that we aren't seeing more extreme heat events. Read chapter 6 in Steve Koonin's new book "Unsettled". He does a great job of going through all the real data on heat over the last century.
on “The U.S. Military Emits More CO2 Than Many Industrialized Nations (2019)” ↗The book 'Unsettled: What Climate Science Tells Us, What It Doesn't, and Why It Matters' by Steven Koonin is worth a read if you get interested in learning more from a knowledgeable source that tries to cut through the hype.…
on “Young People Are Anxious About Climate Change, Say Governments Are Failing Them” ↗…e.g. Schellenberger's Apocalypse Never: Why Environmental Alarmism Hurts Us All, Lomborg's False Alarm: How Climate Change Panic Costs Us Trillions, Hurts the Poor, and Fails to Fix the Planet, Koonin's Unsettled: What Climate Science Tells Us, What It Doesn't, and Why It Matters just to name a few. Read them critically (as in "using your critical facilities", not "through the lens of critical theory") but keep…
on “Dodge Is Cancelling the Hemi V8” ↗Unsettled by Dr Steven Koonin, Obama’s undersecretary for science. Of course, it’s not popular with climate alarmists.
on “Ask HN: What is the best book on the climate problem and solutions?” ↗…Schellenberger's Apocalypse Never: Why Environmental Alarmism Hurts Us All, Björn Lomborg's False Alarm: How Climate Change Panic Costs Us Trillions, Hurts the Poor, and Fails to Fix the Planet and Steve Koonin's Unsettled: What Climate Science Tells Us, What It Doesn't, and Why It Matters. These give a far better view over what climate change entails and how it can be dealt with than the breathless fear-mongering as seen…
on “World’s largest battery maker announces major breakthrough in energy density” ↗…him. He’s also still writing new books that are still popular: https://www.amazon.com/False-Alarm-Climate-Change-Trillions/... In fact, others have realized there’s a market: https://www.amazon.com/Unsettled-Climate-Science-Doesnt-Matt...
on “Climate change is not the end of the world” ↗…https://www.amazon.com/Apocalypse-Never-Environmental-Alarmi... False Alarm: How Climate Change Panic Costs Us Trillions, Hurts the Poor, and Fails to Fix the Planet by Bjorn Lomborg https://www.amazon.com/False-Alarm-Climate-Change-Trillions/... Unsettled (Updated and Expanded Edition): What Climate Science Tells Us, What It Doesn't, and Why It Matters by Steven E. Koonin https://www.amazon.com/Unsettled-Updated-Expanded-Climate-Sc...
on “'Point of no return': New Orleans relocation must start now due to sea level” ↗