Debunking Three Common Myths About Climate Change

Welcome back to Climatific, a free, weekly read that breaks down climate science so it makes sense- not for scientists or researchers, but for everyday people trying to understand the planet we live on, what’s happening to it, and why it matters.

You’ve heard all of the reasons we know climate change is happening and that humans are causing it, and that more than 99% of climate scientists acknowledge this to be true. (If you need a refresher, read our first issue!) But you haven’t heard anyone dive into the arguments against the scientific consensus on climate change.

Read on to hear three popular arguments among the <1% who reject the scientific consensus on climate change debunked.

If you’re a new subscriber, you can catch up on past issues of Climatific and learn more about who we are here:

On May 11, 2014, British-American comedian John Oliver used his show, Last Week Tonight, to break the not-so-funny truth about the media’s misrepresentation of the climate science consensus.

Presenting the consensus on climate science as 50/50 is inherently misleading. And it’s what the media has been doing for, mmm, forever.

So, rather than having a climate science debate as they’re most often structured—with one person who doesn’t acknowledge climate change, and one person who does—, John Oliver hosted a “statistically representative climate change debate.”

He brought out three people who are skeptical of climate change, and ninety-seven people who acknowledge climate change.

Since John Oliver aired his “Climate Change Debate,” the consensus on climate change has increased from 97.1% to over 99%. Here is what we know:

Climate change is real, it’s happening now, and it’s human-caused. But you’ve heard that all before.

What you might not have heard is the logic (or lack thereof) against it. Below, we debunk three common myths that those part of the <1% use to detest the scientific consensus on climate change.

If you’ve fallen into this trap, there’s a chance it’s because of former Senator James Inhofe who, back in 2015, brought a snowball onto the Senate floor to make this exact argument.

Fact: While climate change is causing a net increase in global temperature, it doesn’t mean that cold temperatures go away. It means they’re less likely.

If you’re a visual learner, this shifting bell curve will do the trick:

Plus, as we discussed last week, climate change also disrupts the air bands that control a lot of our weather patterns, which means that severe winter weather is becoming less frequent, but more dangerous when it does happen.

There are certain regions of the world that, from warming, will become more comfortable to live in, like Russia. There are fewer cold-related deaths anticipated from climate change.

Fact: The impacts of climate change are overwhelmingly negative.

We know that excess carbon dioxide emissions are the key driver for climate change. We also know that carbon dioxide is one of the key inputs for plant growth. Plants take in carbon dioxide and water to produce oxygen and sugar. For this reason, some argue that climate change will increase plant productivity because the atmosphere is chockful of CO2.

Fact: Plant productivity will increase for some crops in the near-term future, but plummet shortly after.

The impacts of climate change on agriculture are a double-edged sword.

In the near-term future, higher carbon dioxide levels, the earlier onset of spring, and a longer growing season will increase crop yields.

But here’s the sharper edge of the sword:

Take a look at this study from June of 2025, which projects climate impacts on crop productivity:

The six stable crops selected for this study make up two-thirds of current global crop calories: maize, rice, soybean, cassava, sorghum, and wheat.

Swallowing the pill that is the scientific consensus on climate change is not easy.

As one my former professors said, “If you haven’t walked out of every class depressed, then I’m probably not doing my job.”

Or my boss: “If you’re all nauseous, that’s good. That’s where we need to be.”

But fear not! Doom and gloom is in fact not where we need to be. Because, to quote the wonderful Michael Mann (Can you tell I like quotes?), climate change is like a highway, and each exit is action on climate change. The sooner we take an exit, the better off we’ll be. But it’s always a good idea.

Small changes add up.

Next week, we’re breaking the tip of the iceberg on the most requested topic so far.

Weighing in at a staggering $7 trillion of projected capital outlays by 2030, an anticipated 9% of national energy demand by 2030, and consuming 17 billion gallons of water in the United States alone in 2023, we welcome to Climatific:

Data centers.

The environmental and climate impact of data centers is a daunting topic that will take several issues to cover sufficiently. Next week, we’ll explain what data centers are, why they’re threatening to the environment and the climate, and key things to think about as you read about data center proposals in or near your community.

Have a specific topic on climate science you want to learn about? Let us know. All responses are anonymous!