On July 23, 2025, the U.S. Department of Energy released "A Critical Review of Impacts of Greenhouse
Gas Emissions on the U.S. Climate", authored by Christy, Curry, Koonin, McKitrick, and Spencer. The Executive summary states, "
This report reviews scientific certainties and uncertainties in how anthropogenic carbon dioxide (CO2)
and other greenhouse gas emissions have affected, or will affect, the Nation’s climate, extreme weather
events, and selected metrics of societal well-being. Those emissions are increasing the concentration of
CO2 in the atmosphere through a complex and variable carbon cycle, where some portion of the additional
CO2 persists in the atmosphere for centuries...."
Read the full executive summary and full report here:
https://www.energy.gov/sites/default/files/2025-07/DOE_Critical_Review_of_Impacts_of_GHG_Emissions_on_the_US_Climate_July_2025.pdf
On July 31, 2025, the New York Times responded, quoting scientists that criticize the report as it "misrepresented or cherry-picked a large body of research on global warming."
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/31/climate/trump-climate-skeptics-science-report.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare
Climate change has of course been debated for decades, and is a highly politicized issue. What is interesting however is how increased use of AI may influence student and public perception of this debate. Particularly as (quoting one of my mentors and friends, a physicist): "Scientific issues are not open for a democratic vote."
What are some suggested AI prompts that could be used to encourage students to analyze and judge information generated by AI, i.e. to use AI to recover the "facts" and then encourage higher level thinking?
Accelerate Student Inquiry
Share and discuss ideas to elevate student inquiry and analysis by incorporating AI into your course design and encouraging students to use AI as a learning tool.
This question has been flagged
I modified his prompt as follows:
As an engineering professor at Penn State University, teaching a class on climate change in the general education curriculum, outline topics for a 1 hour course discussion that are designed to encourage thinking. The topics should be centered around the theme "Is climate change settled", while providing arguments for and against this viewpoint. The topics should explore how student should 'push the boundaries' of science question authority, and emphasize that science is not decided by popular vote.
In its response, I was told of a common "97% consensus' paper by Cook et al. from 2013. I further probed Chat as follows:
I'd like to return to the "is climate science settled" example. You have cited a 97% consensus document. Please provide the reference on this. What sources have cited this paper and dissented with the findings of this paper?
Enjoying the discussion? Don't just read, join in!
Create an account today to enjoy exclusive features and engage with our awesome community!
Sign up
When my friend asked ChatGPT this question:
Is it true that climate change is due in large part to fossil fuel emissions, it replied unequivocally and straightforwardly something like”yes…”
He then asked whether there were minority voices of disagreement, it said “yes” and proceeded to summarize their views…and explained that they were indeed minority views.
His conclusion: So Chat can be a useful teaching tool if used selectively.