As rising global temperatures continue to make life on Earth more difficult, lawmakers and others denying the climate crisis are spreading dis- and misinformation.
A doctoral candidate with degrees in Earth and climate science, Rosh D'Arcy (@all_about_climate) shares clips of these people sharing their viewpoints and debunks the claims with facts.
In one recent TikTok, Rosh talked about an assertion that it was warmer in the Holocene, Roman, and medieval eras than it is today. The Holocene epoch covers human civilization and began almost 12,000 years ago.
@all_about_climate Was the world warmer in the Medieval Warm Period and the Roman Period? #globalwarming #climatechange #climatescience #climateemergency #climatecrisis #factcheck #myth #debunked #planetearth #science #history #medieval #roman #debunked ♬ original sound - Rosh
"If you look at the data for the Holocene, you can quite clearly see that modern temperatures are well above anything in the Holocene period, so this idea that it's been warmer in the Holocene is just wrong," Rosh said, showing a temperature chart with a spike at the end for the 1.2 degrees Celsius (2.16 degrees Fahrenheit) of heating that has occurred in the last 100 years.
Rosh also showed how there were warm periods in the recent past, including in the Roman and medieval ages, "but they weren't anywhere like as warm as today — and particularly on the global scale," he said.
In the long-ago Cretaceous, it was extremely hot — 5-10 degrees Celsius (nine to 18 degrees Fahrenheit) hotter than it is today — but that was when dinosaurs roamed Earth 66-145 million years ago.
"The problem isn't when we get there, the problem is how," one commenter wrote. "Quick transitions like seen in the Permian Triassic (which was 1 million years long) are hardly ever good for the creatures of the status quo."
To help taper this quick rise in temperature, we can make simple changes to our everyday lives. Walk or bike instead of driving, or take public transit. Reduce your use of plastic by turning to a sustainable water bottle and safer food containers. Home upgrades such as electrification, insulation, and induction cooktops can help, too.
The planet is warming because of our use of dirty energy sources, but we can all work to reduce our impact and ensure a future free of unlivable conditions.
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