17 July 2014

Guest Post: Kerry Emanuel Clarifies a Recent Quote in the NYT

The comment below is by Kerry Emanuel, at MIT, who is clarifying a recent quote of his in the New York Times.
I would like first to thank Roger for allowing me to post this response to the article about John Christy by Michael Wines in Tuesday's New York Times. Although I was quoted accurately, the context in which the quotation was phrased distorted its intended meaning.

Several weeks ago, I had several phone conversations with Mr. Wines about the work of John Christy. In those conversations, I emphasized the value of skepticism in science and also said that I agreed with some elements of John's point of view, in particular, that projections are still highly uncertain, that climate models leave a great deal to be desired, and that some of the decisions that have to be made about how to deal with climate change are very tough indeed. Wines asked me to explain where I differ from John. I told him that we differ primarily in our assessment of the magnitude of climate tail risk. Wines asked me to explain what I meant by "tail risk", and I offered the metaphor of advising a small girl whether she should cross a busy street to catch her bus (a metaphor I have used before).

Unfortunately, the positioning of the quotation within the article makes it seem as though I am suggesting that John is the kind if person who would let the girl take the risk. I state here that I have absolutely no reason to question John's motives; indeed, he strikes me as the sort of person who would risk his own life to save a child who wandered into a busy street. My metaphor was intended only to illustrate the nature of tail risk.