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Climate science & climate change: videos Hacker News recommends

Climate science: global warming, greenhouse gases, paleoclimate, ice ages, climate models, tipping points, IPCC, climate predictions and outlook, sea level. Below: every video in this topic that at least three HN users linked with real commentary, in at least three different months (10 explainers, 3 talks, 3 commentarys), best-scored first, with the comments on each video page.

25 videos. Part of Earth, Energy & Environment.

  1. Nysnø Klimainvesteringer talk recommended in 8 different months by 3 HN users, 2019–2024
    Frequently linked as a sobering, data-grounded counterpoint to techno-optimism about decarbonization and green growth.
  2. Everyday Astronaut explainer recommended in 6 different months by 6 HN users, 2020–2023
    HN commenters cite it whenever rocket launch pollution comes up as a rebuttal to alarm, since it shows launches are small next to other sources.
  3. potholer54 explainer recommended in 5 different months by 3 HN users, 2019–2022
    HN users recommend it as a model of communicating climate science to conservative and libertarian audiences without alienating them.
  4. Kurzgesagt – In a Nutshell explainer recommended in 5 different months by 6 HN users, 2022–2024
    HN commenters recommend it as an articulate, uplifting counterweight to climate doomerism, though one critic calls it a form of denialism and another notes it omits nuclear.
  5. PowerfulJRE podcast episode recommended in 4 different months by 4 HN users, 2018–2020
    Commenters in climate and impact-event threads send people to Carlson's Rogan appearances for his account of ancient cataclysms.
  6. Sabine Hossenfelder explainer recommended in 5 different months by 5 HN users, 2023–2025
    Recommended as an accessible, nuanced explanation of the mechanics of global warming, including the saturation puzzle.
  7. carlsagandotcom talk recommended in 4 different months by 4 HN users, 2021–2026
    HN commenters use it as proof that the climate problem was clearly explained decades ago, and as a model of clear communication to a broad audience.
  8. Exposure Labs documentary recommended in 4 different months by 4 HN users, 2013–2017
    Recommended whenever glaciers come up, as a stunning look at the scale of calving.
  9. potholer54 explainer recommended in 3 different months by 3 HN users, 2013–2021
    HN users point to it as a clear, evidence-based series to counter climate skepticism.
  10. Climate Town commentary recommended in 3 different months by 2 HN users, 2021–2023
    HN recommends it as an entertaining summary of early bipartisan climate action and corporate influence on research.
  11. Veritasium explainer recommended in 3 different months by 2 HN users, 2014–2021
    Used as a short, well-made rebuttal to common global warming arguments in climate threads.
  12. Kurzgesagt – In a Nutshell explainer recommended in 3 different months by 3 HN users, 2021–2024
    Recommended as a nuanced, data-backed treatment of emissions responsibility, made with Our World in Data.
  13. Tony Heller commentary recommended in 3 different months by 3 HN users, 2019–2023
    Shared by climate-skeptic commenters as a counter-argument to alarmist statistics, a contested source rather than consensus.
  14. 1000frolly PhD interview recommended in 3 different months by 3 HN users, 2018–2020
    HN commenters point to it as a prominent physicist's skeptical counter-view, usually when someone asks for dissenting opinions.
  15. Climate Town commentary recommended in 2 different months by 2 HN users, 2022–2023
    HN shares it as an entertaining, well-argued critique of carbon offsetting in threads on greenwashing.
  16. TheIHMC lecture recommended in 2 different months by 3 HN users, 2019
    Strongly recommended as a clear explanation of 50-60 million years of climate history that clears up confusion.
  17. Sabine Hossenfelder explainer recommended in 2 different months by 2 HN users, 2023–2024
    HN cites it in energy debates as an illustration of the long-term thermal limits of exponential energy consumption growth.
  18. Kurzgesagt – In a Nutshell explainer recommended in 2 different months by 2 HN users, 2021–2022
    HN commenters cite it as a clear, well-sourced summary of why meat, especially beef, has such a large environmental footprint.
  19. Sabine Hossenfelder explainer recommended in 1 different month by 1 HN user, 2024
    HN commenters link it as the direct source on climate sensitivity and on the claim that past models ran too cold.
  20. NASA Goddard demo recommended in 1 different month by 1 HN user, 2019–2022
    HN commenters use it as a vivid illustration of how CO2 is distributed and how vegetation absorbs it seasonally.
  21. yonseienglish talk recommended in 1 different month by 1 HN user, 2018–2023
    Cited as evidence that Musk has long taken climate change seriously and as a concise statement of his views on carbon pricing.
  22. Lake Godstone documentary cited on HN 3 times, 2021–2021
    HN commenters mostly cite it skeptically in climate threads, as an example of past predictions of cooling.
  23. Erik Christensen demo cited on HN 3 times, 2016–2022
    Linked as a simple, replicable demonstration of CO2's greenhouse effect, even in a classroom.
  24. Nick Breeze ClimateGenn interview cited on HN 6 times, 2016–2023
    HN cites it in methane and permafrost threads as an early warning that still looks relevant.
  25. Jean-Marc Jancovici lecture cited on HN 3 times, 2020–2024
    Cited as a source lecture series behind arguments on energy, EROEI, nuclear power and climate.

Questions

What is the most recommended climate science & climate change video on Hacker News?

Václav Smil at Driva Climate Investment Meeting 2019 by Nysnø Klimainvesteringer: Frequently linked as a sobering, data-grounded counterpoint to techno-optimism about decarbonization and green growth.

How is this climate science & climate change list ranked?

By HackerTube's score: the number of distinct months in which an HN comment recommended the video, plus half a point for every month with a strong recommendation. One viral thread counts less than steady recommendations over years.

Where do the videos come from?

From every Hacker News comment between 2007 and 2026 that linked a YouTube video, labeled by an AI model as a recommendation, a citation, a joke or a criticism. The list is published by HackerTube under ODC-By 1.0; this edition adds indexable pages and the comment context.

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