There have been some awesome responses to Pat Sajak's "global warming alarmists are unpatriotic racists" tweet. But, nothing can compare to this blog post by Marshall Shepherd, past president of the American Meteorological Society.


Shepherd's experience also includes twelve years as a research meteorologist at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center and serving on the NOAA Science Advisory Board.

Here's an excerpt from his blog post, but it's worth reading in full:


Just in case someone asks, No, there is not enough rotation and scale to produce the Coriolis Effect by spinning the Wheel of Fortune.

Now that we have clarified that, I wanted to use the recent Pat Sajak tweet to turn a negative to a positive. I don't know Mr. Sajak so will not judge him, his intent, or ideological perspective. Instead, I will draw out 3 things that can help advance the discourse on climate science.

First, it is imperative for the public to recognize that this "minor" incident highlights a "major" problem. All kinds of people with virtually no expertise are comfortable speaking on climate science…Meteorology is rooted in fluid dynamics, thermodynamics, and other complex mathematics-physics principles…. I often have students coming to my program wanting to study weather or climate because they "love clouds or tornadoes," yet when I lay out the math, physics, and other requirements, they have a "deer-in-headlights" look.


Second, the public must understand that just because you know a TV personality, it doesn't signify that they are an expert on climate or vaccines. While this may sound trivial, many celebrities reach millions of people, and I am convinced that some fall lock step with their viewpoint just because they like them or their show.


Meanwhile, I am curious to see if I can use the "Wheel" to teach anything about vorticity, force, or shear in a future meteorology class :)