{"id":287513,"date":"2023-11-10T21:02:58","date_gmt":"2023-11-10T20:02:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=287513"},"modified":"2023-11-10T21:03:01","modified_gmt":"2023-11-10T20:03:01","slug":"climate-emergency-says-andrew-dessler-old-vinegar-in-a-new-bottle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=287513","title":{"rendered":"\u201cClimate Emergency!\u201d says Andrew Dessler (old vinegar in a new bottle)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You get the story. Dessler\u2019s alarm is old vinegar in a new bottle. In view of the historical record, his readers should be cautious.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From\u00a0Master Resource<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

By Robert Bradley Jr.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

\u201cA few days ago, a recent Washington Post article<\/a> highlighted the growing chorus of scientists who increasingly view climate change as an emergency. I count myself among them. What has shifted my perspective? \u2026\u201d (- Andrew Dessler, last month<\/a>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe worst-case scenarios of climate change are truly terrible, but even middle-of-the-road scenarios portend environmental change without precedent for human society.\u201d (- Andrew Dessler, 2012)<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

So professor\/activist Andrew Dessler<\/a> now<\/em> believes we are in a climate emergency? I think not. He has been alarming for many years, if not for decades. Dessler has been exaggerating for so long that he now wants a \u201cit\u2019s-real-this-time\u201d do-over. Buyer beware.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A First Impression<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Andy Dessler I met for lunch on Monday, January 18, 2010, in College Station told the table (Gerald North presiding) that humans would be living underground because of anthropogenic global warming.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Twelve years ago, Dessler opined<\/a> to the readers of the Houston Chronicle<\/em> that Texas\u2019s \u201chellish summer of 2011\u201d would be the new normal. \u201cGet used to it,\u201d he said. \u201cThe weather of the 21st century will be very much like the hot and dry weather of 2011.\u201d Another outlier finally happened in 2023, but for reasons that scientists are still trying to ascertain since the \u201cgreenhouse signal\u201d is less about Texas summer afternoons than Siberian winter nights<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So when was the climate not<\/em> in red alert? Dessler opened his text Introduction to Modern Climate Change<\/em> (2012) with this paragraph:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

Future generations may well view climate change as the defining issue of our time. The worst-case scenarios of climate change are truly terrible, but even middle-of-the-road scenarios portend environmental change without precedent for human society.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Deep Fried Alarmism<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2019, Andy tweeted on \u201cclimate dystopia\u201d:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

If \u201csome humans survive\u201d is the only thing we care about, then climate change is a non-issue. I think it\u2019s certain that \u201csome\u201d humans will survive almost any climate change. They may be living short, hard lives of poverty, but they\u2019ll be alive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Future humans, as they live in a climate dystopia: \u201cI thought he cared about the environment\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I find the path we\u2019re on now \u2014 the rich world survives (if lucky), but abandons everyone else \u2014 to be morally problematic.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

In public, the alarmist\u2019s alarmist tones it down just a bit (don\u2019t want to lose the audience, just discomfort them). But not that much. Also in 2019, Dessler editorialized<\/a> in the Houston Chronicle<\/em>: \u201cWith continued fossil fuel use, we might see warming over the current century sufficient to literally remake the Earth\u2019s environment and our place within it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You get the story. Dessler\u2019s alarm is old vinegar in a new bottle. In view of the historical record, his readers should be cautious.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Conclusion<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Andrew Dessler\u2019s substack posts are polite these days. But here is what this hot-tempered professor (even out of step with many of his colleagues), really thinks and says<\/a> when folks are not looking:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

Hey assholes. We\u2019ve been telling you for decades that this was going to happen if we didn\u2019t reduce greenhouse gas emissions. You didn\u2019t listen and now it\u2019s all happening. We hope you\u2019re happy. Enjoy the heatwaves, intense rainfall, sea level rise, ocean acidification, and many other things, you fucking morons.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

What an embarrassment \u2026 to Texas A&M, the science profession, and himself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

You get the story. Dessler\u2019s alarm is old vinegar in a new bottle. In view of the historical record, his readers should be cautious. From\u00a0Master Resource By Robert Bradley Jr. \u201cA few days ago, a recent Washington Post article highlighted the growing chorus of scientists who increasingly view climate change as an emergency. I count myself among […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":121246920,"featured_media":287516,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"You get the story. Dessler\u2019s alarm is old vinegar in a new bottle. In view of the historical record, his readers should be cautious.","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[691819710,691818056,691824506,691818152,691824505],"class_list":["post-287513","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-andrew-dessler","tag-climate-change","tag-climate-dystopia","tag-climate-emergency","tag-hellish-summer-of-2011","fallback-thumbnail"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/image-307.png?fit=1280%2C720&ssl=1","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/paxLW1-1cNj","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":354286,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=354286","url_meta":{"origin":287513,"position":0},"title":"Andrew Dessler\u2019s Strange Optimism (post-election groping)","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"12\/13\/2024","format":false,"excerpt":"The recent election should have thrown climate scientist\/alarmist\/activist Andrew Dessler into a funk, even toward self-doubt and need to check his anti-CO2 premises. His all-out exaggeration about a climate emergency was resoundingly rejected by the winning party and\u00a0abandoned as an important talking point by the losing party.","rel":"","context":"In \"carbon dioxide (CO\u2082)\"","block_context":{"text":"carbon dioxide (CO\u2082)","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=carbon-dioxide-co%e2%82%82"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/0-Andrew-Dessler.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/0-Andrew-Dessler.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/0-Andrew-Dessler.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/0-Andrew-Dessler.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/0-Andrew-Dessler.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":300580,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=300580","url_meta":{"origin":287513,"position":1},"title":"Hurricanes 2023: Andrew Dessler\u2019s Hollow Alarm","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"02\/07\/2024","format":false,"excerpt":"The\u00a02023 Atlantic hurricane season: 20 named storms, 7 hurricanes, and 3 major hurricanes versus the \u201caverage\u201d of 14 named storms, 7 hurricanes, and 3 major hurricanes. Last year tied 1933 as the fourth most active\u2026. So where is the greenhouse signal in all this?","rel":"","context":"In \"Andrew Dessler\"","block_context":{"text":"Andrew Dessler","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=andrew-dessler"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/0sattelite-NOAA-2020-hurricane.jpg?fit=1200%2C733&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/0sattelite-NOAA-2020-hurricane.jpg?fit=1200%2C733&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/0sattelite-NOAA-2020-hurricane.jpg?fit=1200%2C733&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/0sattelite-NOAA-2020-hurricane.jpg?fit=1200%2C733&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/0sattelite-NOAA-2020-hurricane.jpg?fit=1200%2C733&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":399744,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=399744","url_meta":{"origin":287513,"position":2},"title":"DOE Climate Assessment Report: Feedback","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"09\/03\/2025","format":false,"excerpt":"A month has passed since the DOE climate assessment report was published. It\u2019s time to reflect on what we might learn from the responses to this Report. Of particular relevance is the report that was issued earlier today, led by Andrew Dessler.","rel":"","context":"In \"American Meteorological Society (AMS)\"","block_context":{"text":"American Meteorological Society (AMS)","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=american-meteorological-society-ams"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/AQMcBbvsz0SvdwTDyTCAwH2qmYxSqh01bC1Nbc8Dusv9Hz5913cvZHZSoMb-ehyDEhj8ylRuLsB-tC2Gz4RG6XzvUVgeTJQe-MnRSHtB3ZKj5rWbeO-eI4d_3l_8eYKud22zvTaBDjmgOwc0mwd2p_fVKdaGtA.jpeg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/AQMcBbvsz0SvdwTDyTCAwH2qmYxSqh01bC1Nbc8Dusv9Hz5913cvZHZSoMb-ehyDEhj8ylRuLsB-tC2Gz4RG6XzvUVgeTJQe-MnRSHtB3ZKj5rWbeO-eI4d_3l_8eYKud22zvTaBDjmgOwc0mwd2p_fVKdaGtA.jpeg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/AQMcBbvsz0SvdwTDyTCAwH2qmYxSqh01bC1Nbc8Dusv9Hz5913cvZHZSoMb-ehyDEhj8ylRuLsB-tC2Gz4RG6XzvUVgeTJQe-MnRSHtB3ZKj5rWbeO-eI4d_3l_8eYKud22zvTaBDjmgOwc0mwd2p_fVKdaGtA.jpeg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/AQMcBbvsz0SvdwTDyTCAwH2qmYxSqh01bC1Nbc8Dusv9Hz5913cvZHZSoMb-ehyDEhj8ylRuLsB-tC2Gz4RG6XzvUVgeTJQe-MnRSHtB3ZKj5rWbeO-eI4d_3l_8eYKud22zvTaBDjmgOwc0mwd2p_fVKdaGtA.jpeg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/AQMcBbvsz0SvdwTDyTCAwH2qmYxSqh01bC1Nbc8Dusv9Hz5913cvZHZSoMb-ehyDEhj8ylRuLsB-tC2Gz4RG6XzvUVgeTJQe-MnRSHtB3ZKj5rWbeO-eI4d_3l_8eYKud22zvTaBDjmgOwc0mwd2p_fVKdaGtA.jpeg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":264490,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=264490","url_meta":{"origin":287513,"position":3},"title":"Andrew Dessler on Texas Heat: Vague but Exaggerated","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"06\/29\/2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Dessler is certain that he knows what is to be known about all things climate and energy. But, really, he does not know what he does not know. (Yes, climate science is highly uncertain, and\u00a0climate models are a mess.)\u00a0","rel":"","context":"In \"Andrew Dessler\"","block_context":{"text":"Andrew Dessler","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=andrew-dessler"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/0hot.jpg?fit=1200%2C803&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/0hot.jpg?fit=1200%2C803&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/0hot.jpg?fit=1200%2C803&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/0hot.jpg?fit=1200%2C803&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/0hot.jpg?fit=1200%2C803&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":263698,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=263698","url_meta":{"origin":287513,"position":4},"title":"Andrew Dessler: The future will be hotter, unless it\u2019s colder.","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"06\/24\/2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Andrew Dessler @AndrewDessler Prof of Atmospheric Sciences & climate scientist @ Texas A&M; AGU and AAAS Fellow has been prognosticating on Twitter, talking up a model that predicts another 2C of warming by 2100 (0.25C\/decade, twice the rate 2013-2023).","rel":"","context":"In \"Andrew Dessler\"","block_context":{"text":"Andrew Dessler","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=andrew-dessler"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/0Facepalm-2541.png?fit=1200%2C799&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/0Facepalm-2541.png?fit=1200%2C799&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/0Facepalm-2541.png?fit=1200%2C799&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/0Facepalm-2541.png?fit=1200%2C799&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/0Facepalm-2541.png?fit=1200%2C799&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":408592,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=408592","url_meta":{"origin":287513,"position":5},"title":"Bunk from the Brink","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"10\/16\/2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Over at\u00a0The Climate Brink, Andrew Dessler and Zeke Hausfather have taken on the role of self-appointed sheriffs of climate science, at times in highly partisan and personal terms. Recently, Dessler, along with another scientist, Robert Kopp, and dozens of others, prepared a lengthy response to the Department of Energy\u2019s Climate\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"Climate models\"","block_context":{"text":"Climate models","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=climate-models"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/AQN5oo6H0pzqoqjDivkTNeqzqaMiK1JN4Wv7q8P2j3tFyznYHVOoyyqNNqWvXVDQoPvSCwU5IHyK30LzgQiCly8PHsALomMd0Niou0VRiL0824Ep-GY-zT9toMRhEOmGWanPBNrHEddBpV7sU-2g0hbf3PQiw.png?fit=675%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/AQN5oo6H0pzqoqjDivkTNeqzqaMiK1JN4Wv7q8P2j3tFyznYHVOoyyqNNqWvXVDQoPvSCwU5IHyK30LzgQiCly8PHsALomMd0Niou0VRiL0824Ep-GY-zT9toMRhEOmGWanPBNrHEddBpV7sU-2g0hbf3PQiw.png?fit=675%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/AQN5oo6H0pzqoqjDivkTNeqzqaMiK1JN4Wv7q8P2j3tFyznYHVOoyyqNNqWvXVDQoPvSCwU5IHyK30LzgQiCly8PHsALomMd0Niou0VRiL0824Ep-GY-zT9toMRhEOmGWanPBNrHEddBpV7sU-2g0hbf3PQiw.png?fit=675%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/287513","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/121246920"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=287513"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/287513\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":287518,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/287513\/revisions\/287518"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/287516"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=287513"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=287513"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=287513"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}