Off The Charts: Climate Data, Doomerism, & Deceptive Expectations / Eliot Jacobson

Graph produced by Eliot Jacobson.

Eliot Jacobson—climate science communicator and “know-it-all doomer”—joins me to discuss his eclectic background, why climate change data in 2023 was off the charts, and what it means to be a doomer at his stage of climate and ecological breakdown.

2023 was truly unprecedented, with record-breaking temperatures recorded across the globe. We know the planet we are living on has changed; this new world we are in is unrecognizable. It becomes harder to ignore and forget how fucked we are when you’re choking on putrid smoke for weeks on end; when the asphalt buckles under the stress of heat domes that last weeks; when basic food staples become unaffordable at the supermarket; when reports about “wet bulb temperatures” become common in the headlines; when millions of carcasses of sea life wash ashore on the beaches around the world; when climate scientists say things like “[t]his month was—in my professional opinion as a climate scientist—absolutely gobsmackingly bananas.”

Climate science communicators like Eliot Jacobson have taken it upon themselves to gather numerous points of data and present it in easy to comprehend graphs and descriptions. It becomes clear what the trends show, and how rapidly the habitability of the planet is disintegrating. The stresses of global heating, and broader attacks on the living systems of the earth, are propelling the sixth mass extinction event forward and outward at neck breaking speed. For most days this past year, it has been difficult to keep up with all the information coming in, but in many ways, Jacobson’s comprehensive data sets and analysis of broader climate trends gives us a grounded view of where we are in all of this, and what it portends in the years to come.

In light of this reality, how do we position ourselves? How do we understand ourselves? How do we cope? How do we live? What the hell do we do? Great and difficult questions bear down on us, and if contemplated enough, we do not necessarily arrive at clear solutions. The set of problems producing climate disruption are, in fact, a predicament, one we will not be able to extricate ourselves from. Eliot Jacobson and I, in this hour together, discuss this predicament within that framing, discussing where hope fits in this—if it even fits at all. 

Bio:

Eliot Jacobson, PhD is a retired professor of mathematics and computer science, retired casino consultant, now a full-time volunteer, husband and grandfather.

Episode Notes:

Learn more about Eliot and his work at his website.

Follow him on Twitter/X @EliotJacobson

Music by Waxie.