Why There Is No Climate Crisis

Why There Is No Climate Crisis: What Thomas Kurz Says the Data Really Shows

Climate change is one of those topics that can feel impossible to sort through. You hear dramatic warnings, conflicting headlines, and a lot of strong opinions – but not always a lot of clear evidence. In a recent conversation on the Hollis Chapman Show, author Thomas Kurz made the case that the debate gets confused because people often talk about climate in broad, emotional terms instead of looking closely at the data.Kurz says his book, Why There Is No Climate Crisis, was born out of that exact frustration.

After years in science and research, he dug into peer-reviewed studies, historical records, and climate patterns to test what he had been told. His conclusion is not that climate change does not exist – it is that the story is more complicated than the crisis narrative suggests.In this post, we will break down the main ideas Kurz shared, including why he thinks climate cycles matter, why he believes some climate fears are overstated, and why he says readers should examine the evidence for themselves.

Why Thomas Kurz Questioned the Climate Crisis Narrative

Kurz did not begin as a climate skeptic. In fact, he said he once paid extra on his utility bill to support solar and wind power because he believed climate change was a serious problem. What changed was the growing intensity of the language around the issue.He pointed to the shift from “climate change is real” to “climate change is the existential threat of our time.” That shift made him pause. If the claim was as serious as people said, he wanted more than slogans – he wanted evidence.Copy

Why There Is No Climate Crisis: Thomas Kurz on climate cycles, warming, and what the data shows

Hollis Chapman talks with Thomas Kurz, a former president and co-founder of Avignon Bioservices and author of Why There Is No Climate Crisis, about his research into climate change, historical climate cycles, and why he believes the public narrative often overstates the threat. Kurz argues that warming is real, but a climate crisis is not supported by the evidence he reviewed.We discuss climate history, glacier cycles, hurricanes, sea level rise, urban heat, pollution, and what he thinks society should prioritize instead, including nuclear energy and pollution reduction.

Key topics

• Thomas Kurz explains that his book combines science and history to help readers understand climate change through both peer-reviewed research and long-term historical records.
• He says his interest began when he questioned claims that climate change was an existential threat and decided to investigate the evidence himself.
• Kurz argues that climate change is real and that greenhouse gases contribute to warming, but he does not believe the data supports a climate crisis.
• He says clouds are underrepresented in climate models and that this omission can distort projections.
• He describes climate as cyclical, pointing to El Niño, ocean oscillations, solar cycles, and past warm and cold periods such as the Little Ice Age and the Medieval Warm Period.
• He says glacier melt is part of long-term natural cycles and that current warming fits within those patterns.
• Kurz argues that pollution is the bigger problem, not carbon dioxide, and says money should go toward nuclear power, cleaner energy, and better reactor research.
• He says urban heat effects can make cities feel much hotter than surrounding rural areas, which can affect how people perceive seasonal changes.
• He walks through historical periods such as Mesopotamia, Egypt, the Roman Warm Period, and the Little Ice Age to argue that warm periods tend to support civilization and agriculture.
• He says severe weather, hurricanes, tornadoes, droughts, and sea level rise are often presented in a misleading way and claims the long-term data does not show the crisis narrative.
• He emphasizes that readers should check the primary sources and form their own conclusions rather than relying on summaries or headlines.

Timestamps

00:00 – Hollis introduces the guest and the climate crisis topic
02:10 – Thomas Kurz introduces his background in mass spectrometry
02:38 – Why he began questioning the climate crisis narrative
04:05 – Researching peer-reviewed science and history together
05:47 – The meaning behind the book title and cover
07:51 – El Niño, natural climate cycles, and warming periods
09:44 – Why glaciers melt and freeze in repeating cycles
12:00 – Pollution versus carbon dioxide as the real problem
13:45 – Nuclear power, EVs, and cleaner energy priorities
14:39 – Why summers may feel longer in urban Arizona
16:48 – Climate history as the story of civilization
17:23 – Why warm periods supported early agriculture and growth
20:05 – Civilizations rising and falling with climate shifts
22:01 – Where to find the book and learn more
23:16 – What kept him motivated during the research
24:12 – Claims of exaggeration and falsification in climate messaging
25:11 – Severe weather, polar bears, biodiversity, and drought data
26:31 – Sea level rise and island atolls in the discussion
28:00 – Heat deaths versus cold deaths in policy summaries
29:34 – Why hurricane trends need long-term data
32:27 – Closing takeaway: examine the evidence yourself
34:25 – His final note on living in a warm period

Action items

• Read the book and review the sources in the endnotes.
• Compare short-term weather events with long-term climate trends.
• Check primary research before accepting summaries or headlines.
• Consider the role of pollution separately from carbon dioxide in climate policy.

“I started to research, going through the peer-reviewed journals to understand what’s actually happening with climate change.”That research led him into climate science, historical climate records, and the broader story of how climate has changed over long periods of time. He says the more he read, the more he felt that he had been missing context. In his view, climate discussions often isolate one trend or one event without looking at the full historical picture.: Climate change basics for beginners

What makes his approach notable is the combination of science and history. Kurz says his book does not just explain what he believes is happening – it explains why he believes it. That matters because a reader can follow the logic, not just hear a conclusionThomas Kurz speaking on a podcast about climate science, with a book cover graphic beside him.
: Thomas Kurz discussing climate change and his book Why There Is No Climate Crisis on a podcast.

Climate Change vs. Climate Crisis: The Distinction He Draws

One of Kurz’s central points is that climate change is real, but crisis is too strong a word. He repeatedly distinguished between warming, environmental change, and what he sees as exaggerated alarm.According to Kurz, the Earth is currently in a warm phase influenced by natural climate cycles. He also said greenhouse gases contribute to warming, but not enough to justify the level of panic he believes is often attached to the subject.That distinction is important because many climate conversations blend several different claims together:

• the climate is changing
• humans contribute to warming
• weather extremes are becoming worse
• the situation is an existential emergency

Kurz agrees with the first two, but not the last two.He argued that a lot of the fear comes from selective framing. In his view, people hear about heat waves, melting glaciers, or sea level rise without enough discussion of long-term trends or historical comparisons. He believes that if you zoom out far enough, the picture looks less like a catastrophe and more like a natural cycle with some human influence layered on top.[INTERNAL LINK: How to read climate data without getting misled]He also challenged the way some climate claims are presented in public. For him, the key issue is not whether climate changes – it obviously does – but whether the evidence supports the word crisis. That is the question he says his book is meant to address.

Why Climate Cycles Matter More Than Most People Realize

Kurz spent a lot of time talking about climate cycles, and this was one of the strongest themes in the interview. He described natural warming and cooling patterns that repeat over long periods and influence glaciers, storms, droughts, and human civilization.He pointed to examples such as:

• the Little Ice Age
• the Medieval Warm Period
• earlier cold and warm phases in ancient history
• ocean oscillations in the Atlantic and Pacific
• solar cycles that affect longer-term temperature patterns

His argument is that current warming is happening during a naturally warm phase. He said this is why glaciers are melting now, just as they expanded during colder periods.Copy

“Glaciers melt and they freeze. And it’s quite cyclical.”He also explained that ocean currents move warm water into regions like Greenland, Alaska, and parts of the Pacific, which can contribute to regional ice loss. In his view, that does not prove a human-made climate crisis – it shows how natural systems work.Kurz tied this idea to history. He said warm periods have often aligned with growth in civilizations because warmer, wetter conditions support agriculture. Cold periods, by contrast, are often linked to drought, starvation, and social stress.[IMAGE: Timeline graphic showing warm and cold historical climate periods.

Historical climate cycle timeline showing warm and cold periods over time]That historical perspective is central to his book. Rather than treating the present as a unique emergency, Kurz sees it as part of a longer pattern that has repeated for thousands of years.[INTERNAL LINK: Historical climate cycles and what they mean today]

The Claims Kurz Says Are Overstated or Misunderstood

A large portion of the interview focused on claims he believes are exaggerated in mainstream climate messaging. He said he kept finding data that did not match the public narrative.Here are the main examples he raised:Severe weatherKurz said severe weather is declining, not increasing, based on satellite records and peer-reviewed studies. He mentioned hurricanes, tornadoes, and storm severity as areas where he believes the evidence points in the opposite direction of popular belief.Polar bears and biodiversityHe said polar bear populations have increased since the 1960s, and that extinction rates have declined over the last few decades.

He also claimed some studies show biodiversity is increasing as the planet gets warmer and wetter.Drought and greeningKurz argued that droughts are historically worse in cold periods and that the Earth is becoming greener. He cited NASA satellite data showing increased leaf coverage over the last several decades, which he interprets as a sign of more plant growth and better agricultural conditions.Sea level riseHe said sea level rise is real, but not accelerating in the dramatic way many people think.

According to Kurz, long-term data shows modest increases rather than runaway change. He also said some low-lying islands are not disappearing as quickly as predicted because coral growth can keep pace with warmer water.Heat deaths and cold deathsOne of his sharpest examples involved mortality. Kurz said public summaries often emphasize heat-related deaths, but do not always mention that far more people die from cold. He cited a study he said showed cold-related deaths outnumber heat-related deaths by about nine to one.[SCREENSHOT: Chart comparing cold-related and heat-related mortality trends.

Chart comparing deaths from cold and heat over time]His larger point is not that every environmental concern is false. It is that he believes the evidence is often presented in a way that amplifies fear while minimizing context.[INTERNAL LINK: Common climate statistics explained.

What Kurz Says Should Be Prioritized Instead

Kurz was clear that he does not think pollution should be ignored. In fact, he said pollution is the real problem, not carbon dioxide.That led him to talk about energy policy. He argued that money spent on carbon capture and broad CO2 reduction efforts would be better invested in nuclear power research. He also suggested that natural gas is relatively clean compared with coal and oil, which produce particulates and smog.His preferred path includes:

1. Moving away from dirtier fossil fuel sources like coal and oil
2. Expanding nuclear power
3. Investing in reactor innovation, including thorium and fusion
4. Solving waste issues through better technology rather than avoiding nuclear altogether

This is where Kurz’s argument becomes less about climate science alone and more about practical policy. He believes the best use of resources is not fighting carbon dioxide as if it were the enemy, but reducing pollution and building cleaner energy systems that are reliable and scalable.[IMAGE: Energy comparison graphic – coal, natural gas, nuclear, solar, wind.

Comparison of energy sources including coal, natural gas, nuclear, solar, and wind]He also suggested that warmer periods can actually be beneficial for humans, and that future generations may be thankful for the CO2 already in the atmosphere if it helps moderate future cold cycles. That is a controversial view, but it captures the core of his message: climate should be studied in terms of long-term human welfare, not only short-term fear.

The Main Takeaway: Look at the Evidence Yourself

If there is one message Kurz repeated over and over, it is this: do not take anyone’s word for it.He quoted Mark Twain’s advice to dig into facts yourself, and he said that is exactly what he did. His book includes more than 1,300 endnotes, with links to peer-reviewed sources so readers can check the evidence directly.That matters because climate is one of the most emotionally loaded topics in public life. It is easy to accept a headline, a talking point, or a summary that fits your worldview. It is harder to do what Kurz recommends – go back to the original data, look at the trend lines, and decide for yourself what they mean.His conclusion is simple:

• climate change is real
• warming is happening
• greenhouse gases play a role
• but there is no climate crisis

Whether you agree with him or not, his challenge is useful. It asks you to slow down, compare claims with evidence, and separate alarm from analysis.[INTERNAL LINK: How to fact-check scientific claims before sharing them]If you want to go deeper, Kurz says his book is designed to help readers do exactly that. It brings together climate research, history, and source material in one place so you can examine the case for yourself.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Thomas Kurz saying climate change is fake?No. Kurz explicitly says climate change is real and that the planet is warming. His argument is that the evidence does not support the claim that this amounts to a climate crisis.What does he say is the biggest environmental problem?He says pollution is the main problem, not carbon dioxide. He argues that policies should focus more on reducing harmful emissions and expanding cleaner energy sources like nuclear.Why does he focus so much on history?Kurz believes historical climate cycles show that warming and cooling have happened many times before. He uses history to argue that today’s changes need to be understood in a much longer context.Where can readers find his book?He says Why There Is No Climate Crisis is available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and through his website, whynoclimatecrisis.com.

---

[IMAGE/VISUAL SUGGESTIONS]

• NASA climate data and Earth observation resources
• Peer-reviewed climate literature on JSTOR, PubMed, or journal publisher sites
• Colorado State University hurricane forecast research
• The Lancet study on heat vs. cold mortality