Michael Crichton's State of Fear

The Union of Concerned Scientists addresses several claims from Michael Crichton's State of Fear that cast doubt on global warming. The document explains that regional cooling trends are compatible with global warming due to factors like sulfate aerosols, and that the urban heat island effect is a minor component of temperature trends. It asserts that CO2 is a primary driver of warming, though other factors like volcanic eruptions influence short-term trends. The text highlights the retreat of major ice sheets and the long-term persistence of atmospheric CO2 as urgent reasons to reduce fossil fuel dependence.

• Regional cooling trends do not disprove global warming; they can be caused by complex atmospheric responses or human-induced pollution, such as sulfur dioxide emissions which create sulfate aerosols that reflect solar radiation.
• The urban heat island effect is a local phenomenon that does not bias the global warming trend, as scientists adjust for it and the IPCC (2001) estimated it contributed no more than 6% to rising average temperature trends in 1990.
• While CO2 is a primary driver of long-term warming, other factors such as volcanic eruptions, solar variability, and sulfur dioxide emissions influenced the cooling observed between 1940 and 1970.
• Evidence shows significant glacial retreat and ice shelf collapse, such as the Larsen B ice shelf in 2002 and the Kilimanjaro glacier, which is projected to disappear before 2020.
• The IPCC projects a global temperature increase between +2.5°F and +10.4°F (+1.4°C to +5.8°C) by the end of the century, with the range reflecting different emission assumptions and climate process uncertainties.
• Urgent action to reduce fossil fuel dependence is necessary because CO2 is long-lived; approximately 25% of CO2 from fossil fuel combustion remains in the atmosphere for thousands of years, and 7% for over 100,000 years.

APA

Ekwurzel, B. (2005). Michael Crichton's State of Fear. Union of Concerned Scientists. https://www.ucs.org/resources/crichton-thriller-state-fear

Chicago

Ekwurzel, Brenda. Michael Crichton's State of Fear. Union of Concerned Scientists, 2005. https://www.ucs.org/resources/crichton-thriller-state-fear.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Ekwurzel |first1=Brenda |title=Michael Crichton's State of Fear |publisher=Union of Concerned Scientists |date=16 July 2005 |url=https://www.ucs.org/resources/crichton-thriller-state-fear |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{ekwurzel2005michael, author = {Ekwurzel, Brenda}, title = {{Michael Crichton's State of Fear}}, institution = {Union of Concerned Scientists}, year = {2005}, month = jul, url = {https://www.ucs.org/resources/crichton-thriller-state-fear}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }