Michael Lemonick

I'm an ex-TIME writer and current TIME contributor. I now write for Climate Central, a nonprofit, non-advocacy climate communications firm

Articles from Contributor

Ecocentric Ecocentric

Will Clouds Keep a Lid on Climate Change?

Clouds cool the planet by reflecting sunlight back into space. Clouds warm the planet by trapping heat. Both statements can be true, depending on what kind of clouds you’re talking about.

Add to that the fact that some types of clouds might increase in a warming world and some might decrease, and it becomes clear why clouds are …

Ecocentric Ecocentric

Getting past “Climategate Syndrome”

This week* marks exactly one year since “Climategate” broke into the headlines, revealing, if nothing else, that at least some mainstream climate scientists were pretty fed up with what they saw as political attacks on the legitimate science they were trying to do.

But for critics of conventional climate research, it was much …

Ecocentric Ecocentric

Hurricanes: The Danger Hasn’t Passed

Who do you think is going to be the Republican nominee for president in 2012? Sarah Palin? Mike Huckabee? Mitt Romney?

It’s kind of a ridiculous question, actually, since almost anything could happen in the 18 months until the primaries begin. One of the candidates could, for example, be caught in an embarrassing scandal—or even a …

Ecocentric Ecocentric

More Heat to Come—Eventually

The current heat wave is about to moderate here on the U.S. east coast. Temperatures will “only” be in the 90’s for the next week or so, compared with the 100-plus we’ve been sweating profusely under .

For those of us who write about climate, extreme weather events—not only heat waves, but also floods, droughts, …

Ecocentric Ecocentric

Who’s the Climate Expert Here?

If my primary care doctor suspected I had cancer, I’d certainly take it seriously; she’s a great physician. But she’s not an expert on cancer, so I’d go see an oncologist (that’s exactly what she’d tell me to do, of course). And I’d go out of my way to find one with the best possible credentials.

When it comes to …

Ecocentric Ecocentric

Hot Times in Antarctica

The world’s polar regions are warming up faster than the global average, but the western edge of the Antarctic Peninsula is especially steamy. Over the past 50 years, winter temperatures have shot up by an almost unbelievable 6°C—more than five times the global average, according to a paper just published in Science.

Ecocentric Ecocentric

TIME and Climate Change

About 20 years ago, a group of TIME writers and editors had lunch with Stephen Schneider, who was then and remains a leading climate scientist. At one point during the meeting, Schneider made a plea: “You really should be covering global warming every week. That’s how important it is.”

The journalists looked at each other awkwardly. …

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