Dr. Benjamin Santer - Episode 025

Dr.  Benjamin D. Santer is an esteemed and highly decorated atmospheric scientist.
He was the lead author of Chapter 8 of the 2nd Assessment of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.  He wrote the words never written before by any scientist that the balance of scientific evidence showed "a discernible human influence" on global climate.  The words were accurate and based in science, but it led to organized attacks against him from fossil fuel interests.  He had ripped off the bandaid behind which fossil fuel corporations had been hiding for decades.  He tells us his story, and the scientific work behind the finding, which led to the ultimate conclusion of the research in 2019 when highly sensitive data would show a Five Sigma gold standard.  In other words, there was one chance in 3.5 million that the climate change we are experiencing could be due to any other cause but humans burning fossil fuels and altering lands.
This is part one of a two part interview.  Despite his high scientific credentials,  you'll discover Ben Santer's humanity.