Hugs to climate scientists wherever you are

Lots of HotWhoppery hugs to all the climate scientists around the world from Antarctica to the Arctic, in Australia and surrounds, Africa, America north and south, Asia, Europe or running a hopeful experiment on Planet B.

First Dog on the Moon sent a reminder that It's Hug a Climate Scientist Day. Just remember: no surprise hugs!

See the full huggy greeting cartoon here at The Guardian.

How scientists feel about climate change plus Anthony Watts mixes logic and emotion

Joe Duggan has a blog on which he's posted letters from Australian climate scientists, expressing how they feel about climate change.

There are a lot of them and they are heart wrenching and frightening. They remind me of the seminar I attended earlier this year, which caused my stomach to knot up with dread for the future. At the seminar, none of the scientists spoke about their feelings. They didn't have to. The science spoke for itself. At the time I could only wonder how they had the stamina to continue to work in their field, knowing what they know.

In these letters we get a glimpse of what must at times be personal torment. These are from people who understand more than anyone else what we and our children and their children are going to have to try to cope with.

Take a few minutes and go and read the letters at Joe's blog.

If you are a climate scientist or do research in a related field, then you won't need to read what your fellow scientists are dealing with.  I've worked a lot with scientists. As a general rule, scientists don't wear their heart on their sleeve. They tend to be analytical rather than emotional. These letters were in response to a specific request. They are a rare opportunity for human insight rather than just plain science, from people who understand, more than the rest of us, what the future may bring.

Anthony Watts mixes logic with emotion

Anthony Watts copied and pasted the blog article in full. Then he wrote (archived here):

Two things:

1. Logic (Science) and emotion (feelings) are polar opposites. Mixing the two is a sure recipe for logical disaster. Ref: fMRI reveals reciprocal inhibition between social and physical cognitive domains. NeuroImage, 2012; DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2012.10.061

2. I feel like I want to hurl.

(h/t to Maurizio Morabito)

-Anthony

Hug a climate scientist today

Big Hugs to all the climate scientists. Today is hug a climate scientist day.  I'll have to send mine via cyberspace:

Credit: David Pope

This is how it's done - thanks to First Dog on the Moon. Click to make it larger.

There are lots of terrific tweets sending hugs.

Complete with hugging (!!) CSIRO climate scientists! ping @AMOSupdates MT @earthocean #Hugaclimatescientistday https://t.co/Iv1PW1M7Z5
— Tony Rafter (@tonyrafter) June 12, 2013

LOOK AT THEM ALL! RT @IAEUC: Group hug for climate scientists @UniCanberra! #hugaclimatescientistday @firstdogonmoon pic.twitter.com/WMZ3XZa1YU
— Mr Onthemoon (@firstdogonmoon) June 12, 2014

Found one! @UNSWScience's @ProfChrisTurney #HugAClimateScientistDay pic.twitter.com/03aTXhHW9w
— Emma L Johnston (@DrEmmaLJohnston) June 12, 2014

We have a live one: Steve Crimp gets a cuddle from Serena Henry #hugaclimatescientistday http://t.co/JX4uy7TK ping @firstdogonmoon ^CS

— CSIRO (@CSIROnews) June 12, 2012

FOR SCIENCE! RT @heidijsandstrom: For science! #hugaclimatescientistday @firstdogonmoon pic.twitter.com/SIi48NKBkc
— Mr Onthemoon (@firstdogonmoon) June 12, 2014

Today is #HugAClimateScientist day - you know what to do! http://t.co/ZGmF9gDmb2 pic.twitter.com/RN9K9z5Xeh
— Climate Council (@climatecouncil) June 12, 2014

Plenty more here on Twitter.

Thin Ice

As discussed on RealClimate.org - see some scientists you know from various sources and meet some you've not come across before.

Geologist Simon Lamb followed scientists at work in the Arctic, Antarctic, Southern Ocean, New Zealand, Europe and the USA. They talk about their work, and their hopes and fears, with a rare candour and directness. This creates an intimate portrait of the global community of researchers racing to understand our planet's changing climate.

From RealClimate.org:

The film will be available during Earth Week for free streaming. Or even better, you can arrange a free screening for your group (details for obtaining a free Earth Week download for screening are available here). Read below the fold for more information,

Click here to go to the Thin Ice website.

Here's a taste - full film available from Earth Day Monday April 22 (not sure which time zone):


Thin Ice Trailer from Thin Ice Climate on Vimeo.