PhD student debunks dangerous misconception peddled by popular podcast — here's what he said

Climate change denialists and skeptics often argue that since the climate is continually fluctuating, the concept itself is a fabrication driven by political motivations. 

That logic was debunked by TikToker Rosh D'Arcy (@all_about_climate), a doctoral student with degrees in earth and climate science.

In a video posted to his account, D'Arcy stitched a clip of conservative political commentator Candace Owens denying the existence of climate change on "The Joe Rogan Experience" podcast.

@all_about_climate The climate always changes! debunking candace owens on climate change part one. #climatecrisis #scienceexplained #knowledgeispower #climatescience #globalwarming #climatechange #sciencetok #science #saveourplanet #debunked ♬ original sound - Rosh

"I think the climate always changes," she said. 

"Yes, the climate's always changed. Yes, the climate changes for natural reasons, but that doesn't mean that it only changes for natural reasons," D'Arcy responded.

D'Arcy compared climate change to forest fires since they can occur naturally or happen because of humans.

"There's a bunch of reasons, a bunch of evidence, in fact, which demonstrates a clear man-made footprint on current warming," he continued.

D'Arcy used a graph from a 2021 study that showed a drastic rise of around 7 degrees Celsius (12.6 degrees Fahrenheit) in the average global temperature from about 18,000 years ago to about 6,000 years ago, marking the end of the last Ice Age. 

Moving forward, you can really see the state shift that different emissions pathways pose. Even if we hold to a relatively low emissions pathway, we will increase global temperature by a third of an "Ice Age unit" 6/ pic.twitter.com/ZWzpHSihmZ

— Jessica Tierney (@leafwax) November 10, 2021

The graph also shows a roughly 1 C (1.8 F) jump from 1850 to 2019 and possible scenarios for the increase in average global temperature based on planet-warming gas pollution. If the world maintains a relatively low output, the graph shows a bit more than a 2 C (3.6 F) increase in average global temperature by 2100 compared with preindustrial temperatures. According to this graph, high emission levels could lead to as much or more than a 6 C (10.8 F) rise by the end of this century.

The deglaciation of the Ice Age took around 12,000 years to complete, while the warming trend we're experiencing has come in a far more compressed timeline, indicating that the former happened naturally and the latter has been fueled by human-caused pollution and waste. 

A few commenters challenged D'Arcy on his post, with one even stating that the warmer temperatures have been a welcome addition.

"Not if you live in the Middle East or Indian subcontinent which have faced successive extreme heatwaves over 40 C," D'Arcy replied. In a follow-up comment, he added, "Your personal memory of weather at a specific location is not a reliable indicator of global temperature trends."

Others were far more appreciative of D'Arcy's informative video.

"You have explained it so well. Keep doing these kinds of videos," one user wrote.

"Not to mention usually in nature it changes by a few degrees over thousands or millions of years, rather than over less than a couple hundred years," another said.

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