Climate master class with David Siegel

In early February 2024, I had a great conversation on climate science and the difference between heat and temperature with Mike Robinson of Column, a UK newsmagazine. Surprisingly, about 50 people contacted me afterward to ask me to teach an online class. So I'm teaching the class and have about 55 very engaged students. I plan to teach this class again. You can read more about it below. If you want to be notified of the next class, use the form at the bottom of this page to get in touch.

Summary

What drives earth’s climate? What role does the sun play? What influence do humans have? What will the climate of the future be? This 12-week class will take students through an in-depth exploration of the earth’s climate systems, learning what we know and what we don’t know about climate. Instructor David Siegel will help you understand what’s really going on at a high level, and with as much detail as you want to learn. 

Who this is for

  1. People who want to understand how the earth's complex climate system works

  2. People who are willing to do reading and homework

  3. People who have questions and want to understand what's really going on

  4. Educators, students, and politicians who need a firm grasp of the fundamentals

  5. Influencers, journalists, policy people, government officials, media people, researchers

  6. People in companies who need to understand climate

  7. People in NGOs who want to learn the truth, not the fundraising hype

  8. People who want to learn how to communicate more accurately about climate

Level

This class is not for beginners. You should already have at least ten hours looking into and trying to understand climate science (ideally at ClimateCurious.com). It would be good if you’ve read at least one scientific paper. If you consider yourself an intermediate critical thinker or an open-minded expert, this class will be very rewarding. Those who just want to listen and learn in the class can participate for the first hour, while the last 30 minutes will be more aimed at people asking advanced questions. 

Text book

You don’t need to buy the text book for this class if you just want to participate, ask questions, and learn. But if you want a deep understanding of climate and you’re willing to do homework, you’ll want to purchase Climate of the Past, Present and Future: A scientific debate, by Javier Vinos. 

We will have a chance to discuss other books — be sure to see my list of books.

What you won't learn

Politics, energy, renewables, trickery, cartoons, stories from the Guardian.

What you will learn

An evidence-based, critical-thinking approach to the climate issue.

While based on the textbook, the syllabus for this class is experimental and will evolve to cater to the needs of the students. Here is a rough outline: 

  • The history of carbon dioxide

  • About heat

  • The climates of Venus and Mars

  • Orbital mechanics

  • Paleoclimates, glacials, and interglacials

  • How the greenhouse effect works

  • Drivers of the earth’s climate - radiative vs thermal models

  • The big ocean oscillations

  • Correlation is not causation

  • Meridional heat transport

  • Arctic amplification

  • The winter gatekeeper hypothesis

  • Downwelling longwave radiation

  • Diminishing effectiveness of greenhouse gases

  • Pressure systems

  • Feedbacks

  • Models

  • The future climate

  • Summary and discussion

Those who want a deeper dive can expect some reading or video homework between sessions. There will be a slack group for all students to meet, exchange information, and ask questions.

If you're convinced you know how the earth's climate works or that humans are having an impact on climate, you need this class.

Will it be possible to watch the classes I can’t attend?

Yes. The platform has posting, videos, chat, resources, and much more. All the class recordings will be there.

Money-back guarantee

Pay for the series. Take the first class. If, after the first class you decide you don't want to continue, just ask for a full refund and I'll give it immediately. 

Dates and times (UK)

I’m not sure when I’ll teach the class again. All the classes are recorded, so if you want to get access to the training, just contact me and let me know. If you have a group, company, NGO, government unit, or even a group of friends who want a climate-science master class, please get in touch!

About your instructor

David Siegel is an autodidact and a lifelong learner. He wrote his first (and only book) on climate in 1991, and that book said that CO2 was going to fry everyone and we had to reduce population if we were going to survive. After noticing that humanity was doing rather well, he took a year off in 2015 and dove headfirst into the wacky world of climate science. Since then, he has spent over 6,000 hours reading papers, bugging scientists, making videos, and writing hundreds of blog posts, and getting kicked out of LinkedIn and medium.com for his heretical scientific views. He curates a list of 200 peer-reviewed scientific papers that do not confirm the IPCC’s preferred narrative on climate. He has spent hundreds of hours with the book for this class and many months badgering its author to learn more. Now, he has developed a master class that he hopes isn’t too wrong and wants to help others be less wrong as well. 

He is also a champion of individual human rights and privacy, free markets, and hopes to play a small role in the demise of the UN, the WEF, the World Bank, and the ESG movement. He welcomes all scientific conversations that don’t involve name calling, Guardian articles, or appeals to authority. Explore this website to learn more.