Summary of #18 - Will Happer: Demonizing CO2 is “the craziest thing I ever heard”

00:00:00 - 00:50:00

Will Happer, a prominent climate change skeptic, discusses how demonizing carbon dioxide is "the craziest thing he ever heard." He goes on to say that the CO2 levels fluctuate a lot and that the High Altitude Observatory is "particularly good" at measuring CO2 levels. He also says that he doesn't know why Bill Nirenberg is vilified, but he does think that CO2 levels are beneficial for the world.

• 00:00:00 This physicist discusses his background in climate science and how he became interested in the topic. He discusses the politicization of climate science in the 1990s and how this led to his firing from his position at the Department of Energy. He goes on to say that he does not believe that climate science should be treated differently than other fields of science, and that the experience helped him develop a stricter standard for scientific evidence when evaluating climate change claims.
• 00:05:00 In this video, Will Happer discusses how he believes that many climate scientists are "brainwashed" and that they are not looking at the evidence objectively. He also says that it is hard to recruit good students to climate science because of the controversy around the topic.
• 00:10:00 Will Happer discusses how CO2 levels have always fluctuated and how this is not indicative of an impending apocalypse caused by CO2. He also discusses the importance of measuring CO2 levels in a cornfield to get an accurate idea of the current CO2 level.
• 00:15:00 Will Happer says that demonizing carbon dioxide is "the craziest thing I ever heard." He says that the CO2 levels fluctuate a lot and that the High Altitude Observatory is "particularly good" at measuring CO2 levels. He says that he doesn't know why Bill Nirenberg is vilified, but he does think that CO2 levels are beneficial for the world.
• 00:20:00 Will Happer explains that while CO2 levels have been decreasing for the last 80 million years, the trend appears to be reversing due to human activities. He argues that the data is clear and that humans are not solely responsible for the increase in CO2 levels.
• 00:25:00 Will Happer discusses the idea that CO2 levels have been falling for a long time and that Humanity may have saved life on Earth due to this. He also mentions a recent paper that suggests sequestering carbon into the ground by cutting down trees and burying them.
• 00:30:00 Will Happer discusses the motivation behind demonizing CO2, saying that some people believe this is done to help the oil industry. He also discusses the physics of an asymptotic series, and how climate science has not followed this model closely. He says that Freeman Dyson was a close friend of Will Happer's and that Dyson was skeptical about climate change. Happer says that if we burned all the fossil fuel reserves, we would only cause a 1-degree temperature increase.
• 00:35:00 Will Happer, a physicist and climate scientist, discusses how CO2 is ineffective in causing climate change and how the public is easily fooled by organizations that claim there is a climate crisis. He believes that third-party scientists should try to publish results that challenge the mainstream view on climate change.
• 00:40:00 Will Happer, a prominent climate change skeptic, discusses how the idea of a "100 authors against Einstein" is a reference to when the Nazis were coming to power and how Einstein's views on relativity were unpopular in some circles. He notes that although Planck was a strong supporter, the book was mainly focused on special relativity and that when Einstein found out, he said that all they needed was one good paper pointing out the law. Happer believes that when the present politicians are out of office, they will be put on trial for their actions. He thinks that when this happens, the idea of climate change will be discredited and those perpetuating it will be held accountable.
• 00:45:00 Will Happer discusses how demonizing carbon dioxide is "the craziest thing he ever heard." He advises skeptics to use arguments that are most effective in convincing people of the harm done by policies to address an imaginary threat. He notes that utilities are motivated to profit from policies that would eliminate reliable power sources, and praises the efficiency of combined cycle gas plants. He also points out that battery technology has been around for years and is not experiencing a "quantum leap."
• 00:50:00 Dr. Will Happer discusses the potential for electric vehicles to one day replace gasoline and diesel engines, and how future technology might make synthetic hydrocarbons a feasible option.