Climate scientists are firing back at podcast giant Joe Rogan after he grossly misrepresented research on Earth’s climate history. Rogan, whose show reaches millions, cited a paleoclimate study to suggest current warming is just part of Earth’s natural cycle. Big problem? The actual scientists who wrote the paper say he got it completely wrong.
The research, which spans a mind-boggling 485 million years of Earth’s temperature records, actually emphasizes how unnaturally fast we’re heating things up now. Scientists, including co-authors of the study Rogan referenced, have publicly slammed his interpretation as misleading garbage.
Scientists who authored the 485-million-year climate study call Rogan’s interpretation what it is: misleading garbage that ignores our unprecedented warming speed.
“He missed the entire point,” said Laura Larocca from Arizona State University, who stressed their research actually warns about today’s unprecedented warming speed. Not the cool takeaway Rogan thought he had.
The viral misuse of a temperature graph from the study has climate scientists facepalming across the globe. Sure, Earth has been hotter in the distant past. Nobody disputes that. But humans? We weren’t around for those scorchers. We evolved during cooler times, built our cities during cooler times, and grew our food during cooler times.
What makes the current situation so different? The speed. Nothing in the half-billion-year record shows temperature changing as rapidly as it is now. This rapid change disproportionately harms poor communities who contribute least to the problem. It’s like comparing a gentle tap on the brakes to slamming into a wall at 80 mph. Both stop the car, right?
The AFP, Washington Post, and scientific community have had to run damage control as Rogan’s comments spread like wildfire across social media. Meanwhile, the actual researchers watch in horror as their work gets twisted to support claims they explicitly reject.
Bottom line: Past climate extremes don’t negate today’s human-driven crisis. The research actually confirms that CO2 is dominant in driving Earth’s climate fluctuations throughout history. The scientists’ data actually reinforces climate action urgency, not dismisses it. Turns out reading the actual research before broadcasting to millions might have been a good idea. Who knew? This controversy echoes Rogan’s interview with Bernie Sanders where he questioned the climate emergency despite scientific consensus.
