Science and Scientific Expertise Are More Important Than Ever
An engaged and well-informed public has always been the foundation of our democracy
Stories by Ben Santer
Counterfactual Experiments Are Crucial but Easy to Misunderstand
With COVID-19, as with climate, we need to explore a variety of possible futures in order to set policy
Ignoring Science during a Pandemic Is Poor Leadership
The U.S. president’s hostility to expertise puts us all in danger
The Things We’ve Lost in the Pandemic
Human lives, human touch and direct human interactions are gone—and so is the sense that we can trust our leaders to act quickly and effectively in the face of a catastrophe
How COVID-19 Is like Climate Change
Both are existential challenges—and a president who belittles and neglects science has made them both tougher to address
The Peril and Power of Following the Evidence
The author, a climate scientist, faced a political controversy, along with a personal crisis, more than two decades ago, bringing lessons that resonate today
Lessons on Nature and Politics at the California Seaside
Martins Beach fostered a love of patterns and a desire to hold the powerful accountable
Rock Climbing, Climate Science and Leadership
In situations where lives are at stake, you need to be rigorously honest with yourself and with others—not take out your Sharpie to distort the truth
How to Deal with Chaos in Climate and Politics
In complex systems, small changes can make big differences
Ultima Thule, the Cold War and Trump's Wall
As I learned during my youth in Germany, exploring frontiers beats hiding behind barriers
Testing Our Assumptions
It’s crucial to measure what we believe against reality, whether we’re talking about climate models or presidents. Now it's time to vote
President Ozymandias
If he so desired, Donald Trump could go down in history as the man who transcended ego and ignorance by acting to limit greenhouse gas emissions. Fat chance
The Flood Is Coming
Keeping citizens safe is an essential responsibility of government, but when it comes to the dangers of climate change, the Trump administration just doesn’t care
Studying Climate Change in One of the Grandest Classrooms in the World
If I could, I’d bring politicians who doubt the reality of human-caused global change to spend a few days on the Juneau Icefield
That Self-Styled "Very Stable Genius" Is a Danger to Stability
Pres. Trump threatens the equilibrium not just of the international order, but of the planet we all depend on
Our Coastlines Are Eroding, Along with Our Democratic Norms and Institutions
Civility and decency are crumbling on a daily basis, undercut and weakened by language emanating from the White House
"Alternative Facts" about Climate Change
The Trump administration’s proposal to re-evaluate the science is really an attempt to muddy the waters
Voyager 1 and the Beauty and Power of Science
That attitude, shared across the political spectrum when the probe launched in 1977, has now fallen into disrepute in some quarters
Trump and the Tide of History
In rejecting the Paris climate accords, our government has ceded moral, ethical, economic, and political leadership to other, more enlightened countries.
