March 29, 2024
Hosts: Kim Monson & Dave O’Rourke
Guests: William Happer, PhD, Physicist, and Walter E. Johnson, Geophysicist and Executive Producer of the documentary A Climate Conversation
A Climate Conversation Podcast
Welcome to our podcast in support of A Climate Conversation, a documentary that seeks to foster an honest dialogue on the subject of climate change—its causes, its impact, and a science-based cost/benefit analysis of its potential solutions.
William Happer is the Cyrus Fogg Brackett Professor of Physics, emeritus, at Princeton University and a long-term member of the JASON advisory group, an independent group of elite scientists which advises the United States Government on matters of science and technology, mostly of a sensitive nature. Dr Happer has specialized in the study of atomic physics, optics and spectroscopy. Dr Happer served as Director of the Department of Energy’s Office of Science during the George HW Bush administration. Dr Happer is a co-founder of the CO2 Coalition.
Walter E. Johnson is a respected geophysicist, certified geologist and registered professional engineer who earned his degree from the Colorado School of Mines. Walt has written and published more than 20 papers and publications on his areas of expertise, including high-resolution and shear wave seismology, inversion, and direct detection techniques. In 2022, he personally funded, wrote and produced A Climate Conversation, a documentary film that seeks to foster a transparent and inclusive approach to the topic of climate change.
The podcast will get to the heart of the science in the climate debate, examining a wide range of topics from the potentially harmful externalities associated with alternative energy materials and recycling to a discussion of the known and enormous costs to achieve net zero versus the unknown but likely minimal economic and environmental impacts. The podcast will include conversations about:
The dangers from rushing to install massive wind and solar farms without appropriate environmental impact analyses, which are required of traditional energy plants;
The benevolent impact of warmer temperatures throughout human history,
Dr Happer’s remembrances of Robert Oppenheimer, whom he calls “a brilliant scientific administrator”;
A conversation about the essential role of carbon in the earth’s ecosystem;
The economic and political motives that underlie the climate crisis;
Dr Happer’s motivation to co-found the CO2 Coalition
We hear that “97% of scientists agree about climate change,” but the real number is likely 100%, because the observational record shows that the Earth’s climate has changed virtually continuously for billions of years. How many believe that a warmer climate would lead to mass extinction, however, is a question that has either never been asked or examined under the scientific method.
The truth is warmer periods during human history have been associated with human flourishing, and furthermore, that the correlation between levels of CO2 in the atmosphere and warmer temperatures has not been shown. In this podcast we enjoy a conversation between two scientists who are also American patriots and lovers of humanity. We think you’ll enjoy it and find it very informative.