You believe it and cannot defend it
The conclusion is familiar and the reasoning is not.
Courses
See what you would learn
Understand the science behind climate change, including what is uncertain.
A course on climate science for non-scientists. It covers the greenhouse effect, the lines of evidence scientists rely on, and how scientific uncertainty differs from not knowing, so you can read claims with judgement.
Open Cadence on the App Store, type the sentence when it asks what you want to learn, and answer a few setup questions. Free to start. Android testers can request early access.
Type this when Cadence asks what you want to learn
I want to understand the science behind climate change. Explain the greenhouse effect, the evidence scientists use, and how uncertainty differs from not knowing anything.
Change any word so it fits your situation. The course is built from what you type and a few setup questions.
- Best for
- Science & nature
- Prerequisites
- None. Bring the situation you have.
- Course length
- 7 to 30 lessons, sized to your goal
- Lesson pace
- About 10 minutes a day
- Format
- Read it, or play the audio
- Access
- Available on the App Store, with early features and Android testing access
Before the course is built
Setup asks about your situation first.
Lesson 1 opens on the moment you describe, and the examples use your role. For this request, expect questions like these.
- What do you want: the basic science, the evidence, or help judging competing claims?
- How confident do you feel about the basics now?
- Do you meet arguments about climate that you cannot evaluate?
Right for now
If any of this sounds familiar, start here.
Uncertainty confuses you
Scientists say they are uncertain and also certain, and you do not know how both can be true.
You want to evaluate claims yourself
Headlines and arguments come from all sides and you would like your own footing.
Course arc
Where the course goes, in order.
Cadence writes the lessons for you, so the exact path follows your answers. This is the ground a course built from this sentence covers.
01 / 06The greenhouse effect
Energy in, energy out, and what certain gases do to the balance.
The evidence
Temperature records, ice cores, sea level, ocean heat and what each independently shows.
Attribution
How scientists tell human influence from natural variation.
Uncertainty
What the ranges mean, and why uncertainty about how much is not uncertainty about whether.
Models
What climate models are, how they are tested and what they can and cannot predict.
Reading claims
Applying the science to arguments you meet.
What changes
What you will be able to do, and what you will stop believing.
You will be able to
Explain the greenhouse effect
Describe how it works and why adding gases changes the balance.
Know the evidence
Name the independent lines of evidence and what each shows.
Read uncertainty correctly
Distinguish uncertainty about details from doubt about the basics.
Ideas this course corrects
The climate has always changed, so this is natural
It has, for identifiable reasons. Those reasons are measured and do not explain the current change; human emissions do.
Scientific uncertainty means scientists are not sure it is happening
The uncertainty is about magnitude and regional effects. The basic physics has been settled for over a century.
Course questions
What to know before you start.
Is this a fixed course?
No. Cadence builds the course when you type the sentence and answer a few setup questions, so the lessons follow your situation. This page describes what a course built from this request covers. You see the whole path before Lesson 1.
Who is this course for?
A course on climate science for non-scientists. It covers the greenhouse effect, the lines of evidence scientists rely on, and how scientific uncertainty differs from not knowing, so you can read claims with judgement. It sits under Science & nature in the Ideas & discovery part of the library.
Do I need any prior experience?
No. Setup asks what you already know and where you want to use it, and the course starts from there. Bring a real situation if you have one; the examples are built around it.
How long does it take?
Courses run 7 to 30 lessons of about 10 minutes, sized to what you asked for. One lesson a day is the intended pace, and you can go faster. Lessons can be read or played as audio.
Does this course award a certificate or degree?
No. Cadence is for practical self-learning and does not award accredited degrees or professional certification.
Start today
Type it, answer a few questions, open Lesson 1.
The sentence to type
I want to understand the science behind climate change. Explain the greenhouse effect, the evidence scientists use, and how uncertainty differs from not knowing anything.
Open Cadence on the App Store, type the sentence when it asks what you want to learn, and answer a few setup questions. Free to start. Android testers can request early access.