Reliable sources of information and scientists?

[Zinc_wit]

Hopefully I'm posting this in the right place.
Like the title says I wonder if there is a general opinion on what source or what scientists it's best to follow when it comes to climate change? As someone who only can follow the basics and not see the errors in the science around it, it's very easy for me to believe things at face value and this makes me incredibly confused at times.

 For example I first started out reading things on Guy Mcpherson, but it wasn't a couple of weeks after that someone told me his info was not correct. Same with Sam Carana, but besides these controversial characters I don't know whether or not I should be following Paul Beckwith or other scientists with more dire predictions?  I lost a lot of hours in the evening reading posts and watching  videos that say different things and it's difficult to know what's right or wrong, so I hope someone is willing to send me in the right direction, or give me an explanation on who not to follow.

Thanks for reading!

[oren]

Welcome Zinc_wit.
I think a good recommendation would be to read Hansen's book "Storms of My Grandchildren" which gives a good scientific overview and is quite readable.
Avoid Guy Mcpherson as he makes a big mess of the science drumming up panic to increase his personal popularity. The scientific truth is scary enough but twisting it in any direction only causes damage.

[gerontocrat]

Welcome Zinc_wit.
I think a good recommendation would be to read Hansen's book "Storms of My Grandchildren" which gives a good scientific overview and is quite readable.
Avoid Guy Mcpherson as he makes a big mess of the science drumming up panic to increase his personal popularity. The scientific truth is scary enough but twisting it in any direction only causes damage.

Hullo Zinc_wit

Another way to start is with the basic data and a recognition that there are differences of opinion amongst climate scientists on interpretation of that data. There is general agreement that climate change is happening and man is the major cause (CO2 from burning fossil fuels). There is disagreement on how bad it's going to get and how quickly, and on the effect of other impacts from man (e.g. deforestation reducing the effectiveness of carbon sinks), and other feedbacks (e.g. methane release from warming of the tundra in the far north).

For your own peace of mind, you also need to accept that the subject is so vast that no one person can hope to understand it all. My own personal database, collected from this forum and many other sources, is too large for me to keep track of it all. There are many postings on this forum that are too technical for me, but nevertheless, quite often something sticks.

I got most of my data and understanding from this forum and the links so many posters provide. My methodology is to take my time, browse frequently, but not for too long and copy stuff into my database where with luck, I might remember to look at it again.

There is also good basic stuff on NSIDC.org and on the climate pages in NASA and the NOAA.

Happy wandering,

G.

[kassy]

Another good source is realclimate. Lots of stuff you can read up on in bets and pieces via the categories.

http://www.realclimate.org/

[SteveMDFP]

I quite like SkepticalScience.com.  It's a good mix of information readily accessible to the lay audience, with a backup of more precise, technical information.  They do permit comments from doubters, where debate on various points is presented.  Excellent site for learning the issues.

[AbruptSLR]

Depending on what type of information that you are looking for, some of the linked websites may have information of interest:

http://www.dailyclimate.org/
http://www.carbonbrief.org/
https://twitter.com/AndrewDessler
http://faculty.washington.edu/karmour/publications/
http://www.nature.com/nclimate/current_issue.html
http://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/
http://www.columbia.edu/~jeh1/
https://moyhu.blogspot.com.au/p/latest-ice-and-temperature-data.html
http://www.moyhu.org.s3.amazonaws.com/data/freq/ncep.html
https://www.nodc.noaa.gov/OC5/3M_HEAT_CONTENT/
http://data.giss.nasa.gov/gistemp/
http://data.giss.nasa.gov/gistemp/tabledata_v3/GLB.Ts+dSST.txt
http://www.polarview.aq/antarctic

[vox_mundi]

For a non-scientist, separating facts from fear-mongering can be challenging. 

This site - https://mediabiasfactcheck.com/pro-science/ - lists about 50 science aggregator sites that have been verified and meet their criteria for accurate science information:

... These sources consist of legitimate science or are evidence based through the use of credible scientific sourcing.  Legitimate science follows the scientific method, is unbiased and does not use emotional words.  These sources also respect the consensus of experts in the given scientific field and strive to publish peer reviewed science. Some sources in this category may have a slight political bias, but adhere to scientific principles.

The list includes primary sources and links to climate news aggregators like:

American Geophysical Union (AGU)
Climate Action Tracker
Climate Central
Climate Feedback
The DeSmogBlog
National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI)
National Geographic
National Academy of Sciences (NAS)
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
Nature
New Scientist
Phys.org
Public Library of Science (PLOS)
ResearchGate
ScienceAlert
ScienceBlogs
SciCentral
SciCheck
Science Daily
ScienceDirect
Science Magazine
Science Media Centre
Science News
Science Trends
Scientific American
Scripps Institution of Oceanography
Skeptical Inquirer
Skeptical Science
Skeptoid
The Watchers
TreeHugger
Understand Reality Through Science
Union of Concerned Scientists
US Department of Energy – Office of Science
World Meteorological Organization

They also identify pseudoscience/conspiracy; alt-right; right leaning; left leaning; and questionable sources. It might help separating the wheat from the chaff.

My only complaint is that they havn't listed Neven's Arctic Sea Ice Blog 

https://mediabiasfactcheck.com/pro-science/

[Zinc_wit]

Thank you all very very much!
I really appreciate  the amount of links that have been posted, I'll take my time looking and reading through them.

Welcome Zinc_wit.
I think a good recommendation would be to read Hansen's book "Storms of My Grandchildren"

Thank you oren! I'll definitely check out the book, had to find something new to read anyways.
I'll avoid his videos from now on, but it does get tempting when he says it'll all go downhill in a couple of months haha.

Hullo Zinc_wit

Thanks Gerontocrat, I'll keep your advice in mind for future browsing sessions.
It does get overwhelming when I have spend hours on only the arctic ice subforum only to realise there are about 10 other.