Topic: James Hansen

Cautionary “Words of warming” as the world heats up

August 14, 2008 |

In her periodic newsletter and update, Goddard College Professor Catherine Lowther circulates these “Words of warming”. With her permission, we pass this item to our readers.

James Hansen, director of Nasa's Goddard Institute

As the world hots up, so does the market for books about climate change. Tim Flannery, author of The Weather Makers, looks at the latest works on the crisis, and sizes up their solutions, from nuclear energy to genetically engineered trees.

(August 9) — Most of those interested in climate science nowadays access information online, and one of the most significant of such contributions was recently posted by James Hansen, director of NASA’s Goddard Institute, and his colleagues, who have provided a partial explanation for these changes. They revisited a key piece of science underpinning the IPCC’s work - the findings about how much warming a given amount of atmospheric CO2 pollution would produce - and discovered that, when viewed over the longer term, Earth’s climate system is about twice as sensitive to CO2 pollution as is illustrated in the panel’s century-long projections. «Read the rest of this article»

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James Hansen on climate: What’s at stake?

June 27, 2008 |

What is at stake?

Warming so far, about two degrees Fahrenheit over land areas, seems almost innocuous, being less than day-to-day weather fluctuations. But more warming is already “in- the-pipeline”, delayed only by the great inertia of the world ocean. And climate is nearing dangerous tipping points. Elements of a “perfect storm”, a global cataclysm, are assembled.

Climate can reach points such that amplifying feedbacks spur large rapid changes. Arctic sea ice is a current example. Global warming initiated sea ice melt, exposing darker ocean that absorbs more sunlight, melting more ice. As a result, without any additional greenhouse gases, the Arctic soon will be ice-free in the summer. «Read the rest of this article»

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A plea for Planet Earth

May 3, 2008 |

On April 14, 2008, James Hansen of NASA Goddard Institute and Columbia University Earth Institute wrote the following letter to Governor Jim Gibbons (Nevada) as a “Plea for Leadership” in the battle against global warming, a battle to save Planet Earth. We thought this “plea,” this request for stewardship, was worth repeating. For the complete document (including “Fossil Fuel Facts” referenced within) and supportive documentation on this issue, please check out http://www.columbia.edu/~jeh1/mailings/20080414_GovernorGibbons.pdf

Dear Governor Gibbons,

I hope that I may communicate with you as a fellow parent and grandparent about a matter that will have great effects upon the lives of our loved ones. I refer to climate change, specifically global warming in response to human-made carbon dioxide (CO2) and other pollutants.

Governor Gibbons, the scientific advances in just the past few years, paradoxically, carry both bad news and good news. We have already passed the threshold of atmospheric CO2 levels that we can allow to exist over the long-term. Mother Nature, as a friend of mine has noted, is wagging her finger at us, saying “Now you have gone too far!” Consequences of ignoring this admonishment would be dire. The Earth is nearing climate “tipping points” with potentially irreversible effects, including extermination of countless species, ice sheet disintegration and sea-level rise, and mass dislocation of populations. «Read the rest of this article»

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