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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.
- 3 HN recommenders 8 months 2019–2024N Nysnø Klimainvesteringer · talkFrequently linked as a sobering, data-grounded counterpoint to techno-optimism about decarbonization and green growth.
- 6 HN recommenders 6 months 2020–2023HN 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 HN recommenders 5 months 2019–2022HN users recommend it as a model of communicating climate science to conservative and libertarian audiences without alienating them.
- 6 HN recommenders 5 months 2022–2024HN 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.
- 4 HN recommenders 4 months 2018–2020Commenters in climate and impact-event threads send people to Carlson's Rogan appearances for his account of ancient cataclysms.
- 5 HN recommenders 5 months 2023–2025Recommended as an accessible, nuanced explanation of the mechanics of global warming, including the saturation puzzle.
- 4 HN recommenders 4 months 2021–2026HN 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.
- 4 HN recommenders 4 months 2013–2017E Exposure Labs · documentaryRecommended whenever glaciers come up, as a stunning look at the scale of calving.
- 3 HN recommenders 3 months 2013–2021HN users point to it as a clear, evidence-based series to counter climate skepticism.
- 2 HN recommenders 3 months 2021–2023HN recommends it as an entertaining summary of early bipartisan climate action and corporate influence on research.
- 2 HN recommenders 3 months 2014–2021Used as a short, well-made rebuttal to common global warming arguments in climate threads.
- 3 HN recommenders 3 months 2021–2024Recommended as a nuanced, data-backed treatment of emissions responsibility, made with Our World in Data.
- 3 HN recommenders 3 months 2019–2023Shared by climate-skeptic commenters as a counter-argument to alarmist statistics, a contested source rather than consensus.
- 3 HN recommenders 3 months 2018–20201 1000frolly PhD · interviewHN commenters point to it as a prominent physicist's skeptical counter-view, usually when someone asks for dissenting opinions.
- 2 HN recommenders 2 months 2022–2023HN shares it as an entertaining, well-argued critique of carbon offsetting in threads on greenwashing.
- 3 HN recommenders 2 months 2019T TheIHMC · lectureStrongly recommended as a clear explanation of 50-60 million years of climate history that clears up confusion.
- 2 HN recommenders 2 months 2023–2024HN cites it in energy debates as an illustration of the long-term thermal limits of exponential energy consumption growth.
- 2 HN recommenders 2 months 2021–2022HN commenters cite it as a clear, well-sourced summary of why meat, especially beef, has such a large environmental footprint.
- 1 HN recommenders 1 months 2024HN commenters link it as the direct source on climate sensitivity and on the claim that past models ran too cold.
- 1 HN recommenders 1 months 2019–2022N NASA Goddard · demoHN commenters use it as a vivid illustration of how CO2 is distributed and how vegetation absorbs it seasonally.
- 1 HN recommenders 1 months 2018–2023Y yonseienglish · talkCited as evidence that Musk has long taken climate change seriously and as a concise statement of his views on carbon pricing.
- cited 3× 0 months 2021L Lake Godstone · documentaryHN commenters mostly cite it skeptically in climate threads, as an example of past predictions of cooling.
- cited 3× 0 months 2016–2022E Erik Christensen · demoLinked as a simple, replicable demonstration of CO2's greenhouse effect, even in a classroom.
- cited 6× 0 months 2016–2023N Nick Breeze ClimateGenn · interviewHN cites it in methane and permafrost threads as an early warning that still looks relevant.
- cited 3× 0 months 2020–2024Cited 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.
Video list and Hacker News comment labels from HackerTube (prompted by @karpathy), released under ODC-By 1.0, built on the open-index/hacker-news archive. Hacker News data is provided by Y Combinator; comments remain the work of their authors. Video titles, channel names and thumbnails belong to their creators and are shown via YouTube. HackerTube Watch is an unofficial edition. Data export of 2026-10-31.