Monday, September 3, 2018

The Coming Storm

The role of time-series statistics / econometrics in climate analyses is expanding (e.g., here).  Related -- albeit focusing on shorter-term meteorological aspects rather than longer-term climatological aspects -- it's worth listening to Michael Lewis' latest, The Coming Storm.  (You have to listen rather than read, as it's only available as an audiobook, but it's only about two hours.)  It's a fascinating story, well researched and well told by Lewis, just as you'd expect.  There are lots of interesting insights on (1) the collection, use, and abuse of public weather data, including ongoing, ethically-dubious, and potentially life-destroying attempts to privatize public weather data for private gain, (2) the clear and massive improvements in weather forecasting in recent decades, (3) behavioral aspects of how best to communicate forecasts so people understand them, believe them, and take appropriate action before disaster strikes. 

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