Speaker at OU takes aim at climate-change denial

An acclaimed and often controversial critic of climate-change denial spoke at Ohio University last Wednesday about the issue “in the age of Trump.”

Professor Michael Mann. 

Dr. Michael Mann, a distinguished professor of atmospheric science at Penn State University, delivered his speech at OU’s Templeton-Blackburn Alumni Memorial Auditorium. The whole title: “A Return to the Madhouse: Climate Change Denial in the Age of Trump.”

Mann co-authored the Intergovernmental Panel Climate Change report that earned the Nobel Peace Price in 2007. He’s often a target of groups and politicians who argue that even if climate change is happening, there’s insufficient evidence to conclude that humans are causing it.

During his talk Wednesday, Mann explained that global temperatures have been steadily rising, hitting new maximums in 2014, 2015, and 2016. “Oceans have been warmer than they’ve ever been,” said Mann. This causes water to evaporate over the ocean’s surface, creating a layer of warm air that energizes hurricanes and makes them bigger and faster, he said.

Read The Athens News story by Becca King - “Speaker at OU takes aim at climate-change denial.”