06/12/2015

Climate Skeptics Convene on Capitol Hill

17:43 minutes

This week, the Tenth International Conference on Climate Change convened in Washington, D.C. But don’t confuse it with the “IPCC”—the United Nations group that puts out climate reports based on the work of hundreds of scientists. The ICCC, as this conference is known, is instead sponsored by the Heartland Institute—the conservative think tank that promotes skepticism about human-caused global warming.

The Takeaway’s Washington correspondent Todd Zwillich attended the meeting, and reports here on comments by Senator Jim Inhofe and Representative Lamar Smith, and discusses whether some politicians are shifting their tactics on climate change. Dave Levitan, a science writer at FactCheck.org, double-checks the science behind a few of climate claims.

Segment Guests

Todd Zwillich

Todd Zwillich is Washington correspondent for The Takeaway in Washington, D.C.

Dave Levitan

Dave Levitan is author of Not a Scientist: How Politicians Mistake, Misrepresent, and Utterly Mangle Science (W. W. Norton & Company, 2017). He’s a science journalist based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Meet the Producer

About Christopher Intagliata

Christopher Intagliata was Science Friday’s senior producer. He once served as a prop in an optical illusion and speaks passable Ira Flatowese.