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How did we discover climate change?

In 1856, an American woman called Eunice Foote made the link between carbon dioxide and a warming planet. We recreate her experiment and ask: did history forget her?

In 1856, an American woman called Eunice Newton Foote discovered that higher levels of carbon dioxide would warm the planet. But credit for discovering climate change was given to someone else who made the same discovery three years later.

We celebrate Foote’s role in early climate science by recreating her little-known experiment and asking if there are some voices that continue to be overlooked in climate science today – and how we overcome these climate blind spots?

Presenter Graihagh Jackson is joined by:
Dr Alice Bell, Head of Climate and Health Policy at Wellcome and author of ‘Our Biggest Experiment – An Epic History of the Climate Crisis’
Professor Regina Rodrigues, Professor of Physical Oceanography and Climate at the Federal University of Santa Catarina in Florianopolis, Brazil.
Professor Andrea Sella, Professor of Chemistry at University College London.
Producer: Louise Parry
Researcher: Louise Byrne
Series Producer: Alex Lewis
Editor: Richard Vadon
Sound Engineer: Graham Puddifoot

Email us: theclimatequestion@bbc.com

Available now

28 minutes

Last on

Wed 12 Apr 2023 19:06GMT

Broadcasts

  • Sun 9 Apr 2023 21:06GMT
  • Wed 12 Apr 2023 01:32GMT
  • Wed 12 Apr 2023 08:32GMT
  • Wed 12 Apr 2023 12:32GMT
  • Wed 12 Apr 2023 19:06GMT

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