Sigh, the usual suspects get another mouthpiece media outlet to blame severe weather on, complete with scary videos of weather, musical score, and wild claims. video trailer follows. h/t to Russ Steele

NOVA: DECODING THE WEATHER MACHINE

Two-Hour Special Premieres Wednesday, April 18, 2018 at 8PM/7C on PBS
(check local listings)

BOSTON, MA – Disastrous hurricanes. Widespread droughts and wildfires. Pervasive heat. Extreme rainfall. Something is up with the weather, and scientists agree the trend is not just a coincidence. It’s the result of the weather machine itself—our climate—which is changing, becoming hotter and more erratic. But some people are skeptical of global warming, and one-third of Americans doubt humans are changing the climate. NOVA, a production of WGBH Boston, cuts through the confusion and helps define the way forward in a special two-hour documentary: DECODING THE WEATHER MACHINE. Why do scientists overwhelmingly agree that our climate is changing, and that human activity is causing it? How will it affect us through the weather we experience, and when? And what will it take to bend the trajectory of planetary warming toward more benign outcomes? Join scientists around the globe as they explore the dynamics of the air, land, sea, and ice—the major components of Earth’s weather and climate machine—and follow the innovators developing new ways to be resilient, and even thrive, in the face of enormous change.

NOVA DECODING THE WEATHER MACHINE, a two-hour special presentation, premieres Wednesday, April 18, 2018 at 8PM ET/7C on PBS (check local listings).

“Climate change is one of the defining public issues of our times, yet public uncertainty about the science still abounds,” said Paula S. Apsell, Senior Executive Producer of NOVA. “DECODING THE WEATHER MACHINE takes viewers on one of the greatest scientific adventures of all time to understand the workings of our planet, what to expect in the future, and what we can do about it.”

NOVA’s investigation of our changing climate starts with how it affects us most directly: our weather. Are we actually noticing a change in the weather due to climate change? Charismatic career meteorologist Paul Douglas, of Minnesota, thinks so. Once skeptical, he started to detect a pattern over the years that was undeniable: bigger storms in his home state. But how are climate and weather related? And haven’t both always been changing? What is the evidence that our climate is actually changing and influencing our weather? These are the big questions that launch NOVA’s grand exploration of how the weather and climate machine actually works—and why scientists are convinced the planet is warming.

DECODING THE WEATHER MACHINE examines why this latest trend is different from other cycles in Earth’s history and shows the evidence that we are the culprit. The film traces the pioneering explorations to understand our changing climate, which began more than 200 years ago, and reveals how scientists established carbon dioxide levels in the air as a major driver of climate and a key factor in regulating Earth’s thermostat. By burning fossil fuels, we humans have changed the composition of the atmosphere, which is now trapping more heat. The documentary then analyzes how the other key parts of the climate system-–the land, sea, ice—will respond, which will determine how much our climate will change, and the impacts. NOVA takes viewers “under the hood” of Earth’s climate machine, following geologists, ecologists, polar scientists, marine biologists, and other researchers around the globe who are delving deep into our natural world at a scale never before possible. Leading climate scientists and experts also offer candid insights throughout—including John Holdren, of Harvard University (and former White House science advisor), Katharine Hayhoe, of Texas Tech University, and Princeton’s Stephen Pacala. Ultimately, the film explores what humanity can do to avoid the suffering that climate change might bring—both by adapting to the changes already underway, and by using technology to mitigate the worst outcomes.