Eleven students with the University of Utah’s Honors College viciously attacked climate science in an April 11 column in the Salt Lake City Tribune. The latest report from the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) examining extreme weather events reports only “low confidence” that climate change has impacted extreme weather events. Nevertheless, the students boldly, falsely, and without any supporting scientific evidence claimed climate change is making extreme weather events worse.

“In the past decade, climate change has played a role in disastrous global events,” the students asserted.

The 2018 IPCC Special Report, Global Warming of 1.5C, however, reports exactly the opposite:

Tornadoes – The IPCC itself admits , “There is low confidence in observed trends in small spatial-scale phenomena such as tornadoes.”

itself , “There is in small spatial-scale phenomena such as tornadoes.” Hurricanes – The IPCC observes there is “ only low confidence for the attribution of any detectable changes in tropical cyclone activity to anthropogenic influences.”

for the attribution of any detectable changes in tropical cyclone activity to anthropogenic influences.” Drought – The IPCC reports with “high confidence” that precipitation has increased over mid-latitude land areas of the Northern Hemisphere (including the United States) during the past 70 years, while IPCC has “low confidence” about any negative trends globally.

over mid-latitude land areas of the Northern Hemisphere (including the United States) during the past 70 years, while IPCC has “low confidence” about any negative trends globally. Floods – The IPCC admits having “low confidence” in any climate change impact regarding the frequency or severity of floods. Indeed, the IPCC admits having “low confidence” in even the “sign” of any changes. In other words, the IPCC reports it is just as likely that climate change is making floods less frequent and less

Not only did the students attack the established science presented by the IPCC, they added insult to injury by later citing the United Nations report in an effort to support their claims.

The students presented their climate change misinformation to argue that global government should model climate change programs after the heavy restrictions on personal freedom in response to coronavirus. If, for the sake of argument, there are circumstances that might justify such severe restrictions on individual freedom, climate change falsehoods certainly do not qualify.