Green Options » James Hansen

NASA’s James Hansen, Civil Disobedience and Mountaintop Removal Mining

Dave Levitan — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 15:03:24 +0000

James Hansen is considered the top climate scientist in the United States. He first testified to Congress about the dangers of global warming as far back as 1988, and he has taken up the cause of ending the devastating practice of mountaintop removal coal mining in West Virginia. On June 22 in Yale e360, he published a “Plea to President Obama” on the subject, and yesterday he took it a step further: he joined in an act of civil disobedience by attempting to trespass on the property of Massey Energy near Coal River Mountain in West Virginia, and was arrested along with other protesters including Darryl Hannah and former US Representative Ken Hechler (D-WV).

Obama’s Budget: From Climate Change to a Climate of Change

Jennifer Lance — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 15:00:52 +0000

The new president’s budget represents the climate of change Obama has brought to Washington, DC.

From reducing the deficit by 1/3 to allocating $634 billion for health care reform over the next decade, “President Obama’s new budget represents a huge break, not just with the policies of the past eight years, but with policy trends over the past 30 years,” according to Paul Krugman of the New York Times.

In addition, Obama’s budget promises to address climate change.

Obama’s budget projects revenue from cap-and-trade sales will result in $150 billion over 10 years (starting in 2012) that will be used to fund renewable energy projects. The sale of emission permits will also create $65 billion a year to pay for middle-class tax credits. Any additional revenue would be returned to families, communities and businesses to offset higher energy prices. Again, this program reflects a departure from the previous administration in addressing climate change. Krugman describes, “After years of denial and delay by its predecessor, the Obama administration is signaling that it’s ready to take on climate change,” however, James Hansen has warned cap-and-trade is not the solution.

Hansen’s Grim Warning to Obama: You Have Only 4 Years Left to Save the Earth

Jennifer Lance — Sun, 18 Jan 2009 23:27:15 +0000

Four years, aka one presidential term, is all the time Obama has to save the Earth according to NASA scientist James Hansen.

Hansen testified to Congress over twenty years ago alerting the world that climate change was under way. Five presidential terms later, Obama is left with a crisis of epic proportion. Hansen warns:

Imagine a $700 Billion Bailout for the Environment

Jennifer Lance — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 08:31:29 +0000

The economic crisis currently facing the nation has caused a flurry of political action. From McCain “suspending” his campaign to massive bailouts, the response has been immediate and serious. Even though the $700 billion bailout for Wall Street was rejected by the House of Representatives, which would have been the largest US government financial market intervention in history, I can’t help but wonder what a $700 billion bailout would do for the environment. What if the US government had responded to the twenty years of dire warnings by James Hansen in the same manner as the current economic crisis? Such an aggressive response may have stopped climate change and saved our economy through green jobs and technology.

Government scientists, like James Hansen, have been muzzled for warning us that the Earth “is nearing… a tipping point beyond which it will be impossible to avoid climate change with far-ranging undesirable consequences.” Sounds like the sky is falling to me, but when Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson says it, the government takes note. As Bruce Marks, founder and CEO of the Neighborhood Assistance Corporation of America (NACA) explains:

Paulson says the sky is falling, we have to bail out Bear Stearns, $30 billion; the sky is falling, we have to bail out Fannie and Freddie, $200 billion; the sky is falling, we have to bail out AIG, $85 billion.
Read more of this story »

Schwarzenegger Angry with Bush over Global Warming Inaction

Jennifer Lance — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 15:27:56 +0000

This week, typical of of the Bush administration’s ineptitude, the EPA decided to take no new action on global warming emissions. The EPA called for a 120 day comment period on the report, thus passing the buck to the new administration. Republican California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger slammed the Bush administration’s decision to not take action as further evidence it did not believe in global warming.

Why do we need a 120 day comment period on the issue of global warming? Didn’t James Hansen already begin the comment period 20 years ago with his testimony to Congress on climate change? Schwarzenegger, who signed historic legislation in 2006 that imposed limits on greenhouse gases, agrees saying the inaction:

really means basically this administration did not believe in global warming, or they did not believe that they should do anything about it since China is not doing anything about it and since India is not willing to do the same thing, so why should we do the same thing?
Read more of this story »

350 Parts Per Million: It’s the Magic Number!

Jennifer Lance — Mon, 31 Dec 2007 17:15:55 +0000

NASA scientist James Hansen, the man who first told Congress the planet was warming 20 years ago, declared the bottom line for our planet is 350 parts per million of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Our current level: 383 parts per million! “The evidence indicates we’ve aimed too high - that the safe upper limit for atmospheric CO2 is no more than 350 ppm.”

Source: truthout.org