There was a really great documentary on BBC 4 last night about 3 key numbers in climate science:

1. 0.85 degrees - global temperature rise since 1880
2. 95% - degree of certainty that this temperature rise is due to human greenhouse gas emissions
3. 1 trillion tonnes - the amount of carbon we can burn if we want to keep global temperatures below dangerous levels

Watch the programme again on the BBC iPlayer:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/p02jsdrk/climate-change-by-numbers
(Available for 29 days from March 2)

The middle section, about the 95% certainty figure, gives a great explanation of attribution studies, which we are doing a lot of with climateprediction.net.

The presenter gives the analogy of trying to predict football scores - you go through the possible factors that might lead to a team winning and then create a model that includes all those factors. Then you can remove one factor and see how the results change. This is very similar, if somewhat simpler, to what our weather@home experiments do when trying to work out if climate change altered the probability of an extreme weather event occurring.

And the third number, 1 trillion tonne, is very important to Prof Myles Allen, who set up the website
http://trillionthtonne.org/ to tell people why this effective total carbon budget is so critical.

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Hannah Rowlands
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No longer Communications Officer for climateprediction.net, as of October 2015

Is there some way to access this program outside the UK.

If you can get to the bbc website as detailed in Hannah's message you should be able to get to the iplayer page and search for the programme. You would need a fast internet link though.

The BBC web site will often block people from outside the UK from using iPlayer, although I don't know whether it's the whole site or just some programmes. I've had the same problem getting at material on BBC America (where it might be).

They also tend to frown on using a VPN or a proxy, and may be joining the bandwagon of those blocking people using such technology from using the site. I suspect all this will do is drive many people into the hands of illegal torrent sites, but I obviously have no idea whether or not this programme might be found on one, because obviously you really shouldn't go using that sort of thing.

So, in answer to Jim's question, I suspect the answer is probably not, at least not legally, even if it's possible technically.

It doesn't work from here either. The web isn't as world wide as you might think.

I have had a look at the BBC's Iplayer policy and it doesn't allow programmes to be viewed outside the UK because of broadcasting and ownership rights. If you happen to be in the UK you can download the programme to view later (up to 30 days) even it you subsequently go out of the UK to view it.

To watch from outside the UK, you need to use a Firefox or Chrome extension called "Hola Unblocker". BBC iplayer downloader doesn't work, but you can watch the stream.

Another BBC programme about climate change, on the radio this time: Costing the Earth on Radio 4.

You can listen to it online (sorry, probably only available in the UK again) here:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b05nvdv4

Prof Myles Allen is interviewed about 4 minutes in, talking about the 1998 warming "pause".

Best wishes,
Hannah

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Hannah Rowlands
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No longer Communications Officer for climateprediction.net, as of October 2015