The first Australians clearly learned how to live in tune with the land, understanding and respecting the great cycles of planet Earth that provide the goods and services that support human life. Six months ago, I had a long argument, standing at the reception of my institute, with a colleague about how general a set of experiments were. Parents who would leap between a bear or lion and a child – live in ignorance, confusion, or at best, fear. I get excited, frustrated, disappointed, delighted and exhausted by turns. I was the kid whose bedroom was full of jars and boxes of things that crawled and slithered and hopped. Why would a gallium compound be fluorescent? We understand that people want to hear messages of hope. Apply for a fellowship and start some new research in developmental neuroscience focusing on human adolescence?". The area where I am now focused is on communicating climate science to the broad public. It is painful to see such a large number of our people, especially children, going hungry to bed for several days. That special interests and those who shill for them would readily mortgage the health of our planet for future generations for the sake of short-term profit angers me. I was convinced right then that this would very likely grow into a serious problem. We have to present our data, analysis and interpretation in a way that allows another scientist to understand each detail. That keeps me awake at night. Each step logically follows on from the next. I can be very emotional about my science. We have the plans, policies and technology to fix this. Climate scientists debate a flaw in the Paris climate agreement. Then it slowed down even more, to a dull plod, as I checked and rechecked that this was the best I could do. I am absolutely resolved to do whatever I can to inform and alert people about the many facets of climate change. Next, you write. It seems to me now that we are following these scenarios of ever-increasing greenhouse gas concentrations. Fifteen years ago, scientists detected a 1000-foot-wide asteroid named Apophis, which early calculations suggested had a more than 2 percent chance of colliding with Earth on Friday, April 13, 2029. We are not facing a career ladder asking us to concentrate on research and publications. It was the summer I worked at Cold Spring Harbour Laboratory, a leading molecular biology institute half hidden in a leafy, turn-of-the-century clutch of wooden houses along the north shore of Long Island, New York. I am both fascinated by and frustrated by climate change. They might feel more rewarded if the manager appointed people to lead individual projects, giving them a greater sense of control. There is so much noise around the issue that I often feel compelled to be outraged by our own inability as a species to response to the challenge climate change poses. It’s frustrating that we seem to be in possession of all the understanding ad solutions to change our destructive ways and deal with the consequences of them, but there is a collective lack of will to do it. There is hope. It is easy to see why progress has been so inadequate. Ask how if you need. I’m lucky to have been a marine biologist for the last 20 years. This is happening, it’s not a story from a science fiction book, or a Hollywood movie. We knew that, either way, whether it was a lot or a little, it would still be interesting, but we weren't sure we'd set up the analysis right to get a result. Rapid action on climate change will save many lives and prevent enormous property losses globally, and in your town. There’s a sense of wonder and respect. Knowing how much is at stake, knowing that I am one of the few people who understand the magnitude of the consequences and then realizing that most of the people around me are oblivious. Yet when I look at photos from the generation before me, I also realise that things have been in decline for some time. But inaction is not a long-term solution for this. - Home. I wish that climate change were not real. Talk Sense 11. But I am an optimist by nature and I like to think there is a lot we can do as scientists to reframe the dialogue between providers and users of climate information and present our collective knowledge in a way that is both more relevant and usable by us as a species. Experiments can take a very long time – sometimes years – and it's often impossible to be emotionally detached from the outcome. "Watch this," she said. ... a fact that scientists established back in 1994. One question that started to nag at me was why the onset of schizophrenia – a devastating mental disorder characterised by hallucinations – occurs at the end of adolescence. (It's a lot, by the way.). Sometimes however, I am caught by surprise by a new result that at first appears counter-intuitive. But then there's the sinking feeling when you just can't make an idea fit. Why do I feel bemusement? I have no idea how to start to talk to them about this. Step back from our planet and observe our species and its (lack of) governance. I take the train a lot more. 2050 (the year Denmark aims to become carbon neutral) is no longer impossibly distant to imagine but my children will be only a little older than I am now. How will the rest of the world deal with these challenges? Nervous anticipation: listen to the science, or to nature. Why not, indeed? I don’t want to become the generation that future children talk of as having destroyed the planet. We are changing our climate. The unexpected turns up in little ways in day-to-day research and each time a miniature brainstorming session ensues, where small adjustments are made to the research direction. I have a glimpse of the possible environment they will likely experience and it is sobering. But my whole lifestyle is still a kind of aberration of the natural systems we evolved in. It's always a nice feeling. So our challenge this century is to build win-win solutions that tackle these multiple challenges. I feel concern, bemusement, frustration, disgust, anger, and hope. The most vociferous opposition to action comes from politicians in the pay of fossil fuel special interests. Within the first five minutes of his talk, the speaker had already been asked to go back and explain a graph that was – in the opinion of the questioner – far too complex for the point he was trying to make. Addressing simultaneously issues of poverty, human capital, institutions and governance are equally important to ensure that food security, and as a consequent happiness and quality of life, increases for all. I feel concern that we will leave behind a fundamentally degraded planet for our children. You see, I feel several conflicting emotions. When this happens, I become distracted and frustrated; a small "thinking" frown on my face signals the start of a complete shutdown, when I have to close down all conversation around me (my wife is, needless to say, a saint) and concentrate on the problem. On the other hand, the pandemic has shown us that we are capable of making big improvements to our quality of life, especially the environment, if everyone works together. Gratitude: thanks for listening – and for acting. Only the most spectacular, outrageous or just plain salacious stories are able to gain traction amongst this noise. Some of us are retired, or partly retired, and we may simply have more time now to devote to activities such as speaking to journalists, informing politicians, and writing for non-technical audiences. I can remember the tingle up my spine as the "money" graph slowly plotted out on the screen and there was an answer to our question. Photograph: Dan Burn-Forti. We are currently creating a problem for them at an alarming rate – that is worrying. So the excitement of having a big new idea is only the first step. Please help! The principal role for climate scientists is to inform the public debate about the outcome of collective science efforts and the risks associated with the different trajectories of greenhouse gas emissions, not how they feel about it. Climate change is a complex and intimidating threat. My feelings about climate change are a mixture of awe, hope, despair, frustration and anger. I live in a small home, use green energy, turn off the lights, share my car and prefer my bike over it, eat meat only rarely, avoid packaging if I can, and so on. Pivotal moments in science can cause an outright physical reaction – a wave of giddiness when you realise you've backed the right idea. We are at our best when we work together on our grand challenges. Now that is scary. Bewildered: almost all the weather extremes are becoming more extreme due to a warmer atmosphere. In 1972 I ran into a little book, “Inadvertent Climate Modification”, that outlined the problem we face today. A proposal is a wonderful thing, bursting with potential and big plans. This is not what you write up in your scientific paper. I had frozen in front of a roundabout and apparently hadn't moved my car for a good three minutes. As a climate scientist I feel privileged to be alive when things are changing so fast. Things got pretty heated and harsh words were said. Months later, an email popped up to tell me it had all been worth it, that the piggy bank would fund my science. We must have been a sight: two geeks wildly gesticulating and laughing, happy to be friends after a virtual plate-throwing fight. In the last year I’ve become a mum and I’ve found myself looking at my son and wondering how I will justify the loss of so much beauty and diversity to him. However I see this century through the eyes of an optimist – as things are getting better for the majority of humanity though not nearly fast enough. Tea breaks came around surprisingly often. I am working with a partner, Susan Joy Hassol, an expert on communicating climate science. My name is Don Wuebbles. How One Anthropologist Reshaped How Social Scientists Think About Race In the 1900's, Franz Boas revolutionized anthropology by breaking out of racist conventional wisdom. One of my most vivid memories is of witnessing my first scientific debate at the age of 20. Yet there is still time to make the changes in behavior and policy necessary to avert the most dangerous climate change impacts. Why is that hard to understand? Some of the people are not only oblivious, they also do not want to understand. Angry: fossil fuels cause terrible pollution and climate warming that lead to millions of deaths every year, and many millions sickened. It is endlessly fascinating watching how the planet reacts to a changing climate and we are learning so much about the earth system. One point needs to be emphasized is that many of us are misled by a small headline global temperature rise of less than one degree Celsius so far. I hope that when the covid crisis has calmed down, people will realise how much better our lives are as a result of some of the changes we have made, and that world leaders will feel bolder to lead large-scale changes that they would previously have shied away from. And the amount of flying around the world has decreased massively, which will no doubt have a big impact (on) carbon dioxide levels, even if it’s only short-lived. I was taking a risk by moving into developmental work with so little experience, but Uta's encouragement made all the difference. I was unable to receive a hand written letter from Professor Mackey, but he kindly contributed the typed copy above. Aggregate data is securely shared with select scientists, doctors and public health professionals who are actively working to stop the spread of COVID-19. Their responses were truly moving. You can make it all the way through childhood and adolescence and then suddenly become afflicted. The morning after the Brexit vote, we checked in with some to see how they feel. What we do or not do trying to avoid catastrophic outcomes is a moral choice. My generation has the power to stop and even reverse this environmental demise, yet it is the next generation, my sons generation, who will bear the brunt of our choices and face the environmental and social consequences. The generation that worked out how to live in harmony with the planet – that generation! It is indeed better to light a candle than to curse the darkness. How can we redesign our economy to function in the zero growth environment that the Earth will force upon us? Joint Met Office Chair in Climate Change. The good things and comfort, we are addicted to and are deeply ingrained in our habitual patterns. Well that’s tough. I think that older climate scientists like myself are often well-suited to be public voices, speaking out about the accomplishments and findings of the science of climate change. Our observations suggest that may occur sooner rather than later. Climate change is a multi-dimensional issue. I was totally startled when someone tapped on my car window and asked if I was OK. "Science is not only compatible with spirituality; it is a profound source of spirituality.