James Hansen Ted Talk Transcript
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Load more
Recommended publications
-
Climate Change: Examining the Processes Used to Create Science and Policy, Hearing
CLIMATE CHANGE: EXAMINING THE PROCESSES USED TO CREATE SCIENCE AND POLICY HEARING BEFORE THE COMMITTEE ON SCIENCE, SPACE, AND TECHNOLOGY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES ONE HUNDRED TWELFTH CONGRESS FIRST SESSION THURSDAY, MARCH 31, 2011 Serial No. 112–09 Printed for the use of the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology ( Available via the World Wide Web: http://science.house.gov U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 65–306PDF WASHINGTON : 2011 For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office Internet: bookstore.gpo.gov Phone: toll free (866) 512–1800; DC area (202) 512–1800 Fax: (202) 512–2104 Mail: Stop IDCC, Washington, DC 20402–0001 COMMITTEE ON SCIENCE, SPACE, AND TECHNOLOGY HON. RALPH M. HALL, Texas, Chair F. JAMES SENSENBRENNER, JR., EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON, Texas Wisconsin JERRY F. COSTELLO, Illinois LAMAR S. SMITH, Texas LYNN C. WOOLSEY, California DANA ROHRABACHER, California ZOE LOFGREN, California ROSCOE G. BARTLETT, Maryland DAVID WU, Oregon FRANK D. LUCAS, Oklahoma BRAD MILLER, North Carolina JUDY BIGGERT, Illinois DANIEL LIPINSKI, Illinois W. TODD AKIN, Missouri GABRIELLE GIFFORDS, Arizona RANDY NEUGEBAUER, Texas DONNA F. EDWARDS, Maryland MICHAEL T. MCCAUL, Texas MARCIA L. FUDGE, Ohio PAUL C. BROUN, Georgia BEN R. LUJA´ N, New Mexico SANDY ADAMS, Florida PAUL D. TONKO, New York BENJAMIN QUAYLE, Arizona JERRY MCNERNEY, California CHARLES J. ‘‘CHUCK’’ FLEISCHMANN, JOHN P. SARBANES, Maryland Tennessee TERRI A. SEWELL, Alabama E. SCOTT RIGELL, Virginia FREDERICA S. WILSON, Florida STEVEN M. PALAZZO, Mississippi HANSEN CLARKE, Michigan MO BROOKS, Alabama ANDY HARRIS, Maryland RANDY HULTGREN, Illinois CHIP CRAVAACK, Minnesota LARRY BUCSHON, Indiana DAN BENISHEK, Michigan VACANCY (II) C O N T E N T S Thursday, March 31, 2011 Page Witness List ............................................................................................................ -
Accommodating Climate Change Science: James Hansen and the Rhetorical/Political Emergence of Global Warming
Science in Context 26(1), 137–152 (2013). Copyright ©C Cambridge University Press doi:10.1017/S0269889712000312 Accommodating Climate Change Science: James Hansen and the Rhetorical/Political Emergence of Global War ming Richard D. Besel California Polytechnic State University E-mail: [email protected] Argument Dr. James Hansen’s 1988 testimony before the U.S. Senate was an important turning point in the history of global climate change. However, no studies have explained why Hansen’s scientific communication in this deliberative setting was more successful than his testimonies of 1986 and 1987. This article turns to Hansen as an important case study in the rhetoric of accommodated science, illustrating how Hansen successfully accommodated his rhetoric to his non-scientist audience given his historical conditions and rhetorical constraints. This article (1) provides a richer explanation for the rhetorical/political emergence of global warming as an important public policy issue in the United States during the late 1980s and (2) contributes to scholarly understanding of the rhetoric of accommodated science in deliberative settings, an often overlooked area of science communication research. Standing on the promontory of the rocky rims in Billings, Montana, there is usually a distinct horizontal line between the clear, blue sky and the white, snowcapped Beartooth Mountains. But the summer of 1988 was different. A fuzzy, reddish tint lingered across the once pristine skyline of “Big Sky Country.” The reason: More than one hundred miles to the south, Yellowstone National Park smoldered in one of the most devastating forest fires of the twentieth century (Anon. 1988, A18; Stevens 1999, 129–130). -
World Scientists' Warning of a Climate Emergency
Viewpoint World Scientists’ Warning of a Climate Emergency Downloaded from https://academic.oup.com/bioscience/advance-article-abstract/doi/10.1093/biosci/biz088/5610806 by Oregon State University user on 05 November 2019 WILLIAM J. RIPPLE, CHRISTOPHER WOLF, THOMAS M. NEWSOME, PHOEBE BARNARD, WILLIAM R. MOOMAW, AND 11,258 SCIENTIST SIGNATORIES FROM 153 COUNTRIES (LIST IN SUPPLEMENTAL FILE S1) cientists have a moral obligation as actual climatic impacts (figure 2). forest loss in Brazil’s Amazon has now Sto clearly warn humanity of any We use only relevant data sets that are started to increase again (figure 1g). catastrophic threat and to “tell it like clear, understandable, systematically Consumption of solar and wind energy it is.” On the basis of this obligation collected for at least the last 5 years, has increased 373% per decade, but and the graphical indicators presented and updated at least annually. in 2018, it was still 28 times smaller below, we declare, with more than The climate crisis is closely linked to than fossil fuel consumption (com- 11,000 scientist signatories from excessive consumption of the wealthy bined gas, coal, oil; figure 1h). As around the world, clearly and unequiv- lifestyle. The most affluent countries of 2018, approximately 14.0% of ocally that planet Earth is facing a are mainly responsible for the his- global GHG emissions were covered climate emergency. torical GHG emissions and generally by carbon pricing (figure 1m), but Exactly 40 years ago, scientists from have the greatest per capita emissions the global emissions-weighted aver- 50 nations met at the First World (table S1). -
Climate Change: How Do We Know We're Not Wrong? Naomi Oreskes
Changing Planet: Past, Present, Future Lecture 4 – Climate Change: How Do We Know We’re Not Wrong? Naomi Oreskes, PhD 1. Start of Lecture Four (0:16) [ANNOUNCER:] From the Howard Hughes Medical Institute...The 2012 Holiday Lectures on Science. This year's lectures: "Changing Planet: Past, Present, Future," will be given by Dr. Andrew Knoll, Professor of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology at Harvard University; Dr. Naomi Oreskes, Professor of History and Science Studies at the University of California, San Diego; and Dr. Daniel Schrag, Professor of Earth and Planetary Sciences at Harvard University. The fourth lecture is titled: Climate Change: How Do We Know We're Not Wrong? And now, a brief video to introduce our lecturer Dr. Naomi Oreskes. 2. Profile of Dr. Naomi Oreskes (1:14) [DR. ORESKES:] One thing that's really important for all people to understand is that the whole notion of certainty is mistaken, and it's something that climate skeptics and deniers and the opponents of evolution really exploit. Many of us think that scientific knowledge is certain, so therefore if someone comes along and points out the uncertainties in a certain scientific body of knowledge, we think that undermines the science, we think that means that there's a problem in the science, and so part of my message is to say that that view of science is incorrect, that the reality of science is that it's always uncertain because if we're actually doing research, it means that we're asking questions, and if we're asking questions, then by definition we're asking questions about things we don't already know about, so uncertainty is part of the lifeblood of science, it's something we need to embrace and realize it's a good thing, not a bad thing. -
The Paris Climate Agreement: Harbinger of a New Global Order
Swarthmore International Relations Journal Volume 3 | Issue 1 Article 1 January 2019 ISSN 2574-0113 The Paris Climate Agreement - Harbinger of a New Global Order Shana Herman,’19 Swarthmore College, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: http://works.swarthmore.edu/swarthmoreirjournal/ Recommended Citation Herman, Shana,’19 (2019) “The Paris Climate Agreement - Harbinger of a New Global Order,” Swarthmore International Relations Journal at Swarthmore College: Vol. 1: Iss. 3, Article 1. Available at: http://works.swarthmore.edu/swarthmore/vol1/iss3/1 This article is brought to you for free and open access by Works. it has been accepted for inclusion in Swarthmore International Relations Journal at Swarthmore College by an authorized administrator or Works. For more information, please contact myworks@swarthmore The Paris Climate Agreement - Harbinger of a New Global Order Shana Herman Swarthmore College I. Introduction In recent decades, climate change has become an increasingly tangible threat to human existence on Earth. In fact, a combination of climate-related forces (e.g. natural disasters, extreme weather events, and droughts) and carbon-related forces (e.g. air pollution and asthma) already claim about five million lives annually.1 This value is only projected to increase and will account for about six million global deaths per year by 2030.2 While climate change has and will continue to disproportionately affect low-income communities, people of color, and indigenous populations, as well as poorer and smaller countries and island nations that are the least responsible for the carbon dioxide emissions that have contributed to it, climate change is indisputably a collective global crisis with shared consequences that will ultimately affect every country on Earth, regardless of affluence or military prowess.3 Recently, as the consequences of anthropogenic climate change have grown increasingly visible, countries have begun to come together to address this crisis on an international level. -
Science and Public Policy: What's Proof Got to Do With
Environmental Science & Policy 7 (2004) 369–383 Science and public policy: what’s proof got to do with it? Naomi Oreskes Department of History and Science Studies Program, University of California, San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, CA 92093-0104, USA Abstract In recent years, it has become common for opponents of environmental action to argue that the scientific basis for purported harms is uncertain, unreliable, and fundamentally unproven. In response, many scientists believe that their job is to provide the “proof” that society needs. Both the complaint and the response are misguided. In all but the most trivial cases, science does not produce logically indisputable proofs about the natural world. At best it produces a robust consensus based on a process of inquiry that allows for continued scrutiny, re-examination, and revision. Within a scientific community, different individuals may weigh evidence differently and adhere to different standards of demonstration, and these differences are likely to be amplified when the results of inquiry have political, religious, or economic ramifications. In such cases, science can play a role by providing informed opinions about the possible consequences of our actions (or inactions), and by monitoring the effects of our choices. © 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Keywords: Environmental policy; Science policy; Scientific proof; Uncertainty; Values; Politics; Lomborg 1. Introduction centive for manipulation and misrepresentation of informa- tion. This is particularly true in the domain of environmental The heart of Bjørn Lomborg’s recent critique of envi- policy. ronmentalism is that many assertions of the environmen- Lomborg assures us that everyone is for the environment— tal movement are unproven and therefore provide no good just as everyone is for world peace and against hunger—but grounds for sensible public policy. -
Weathering Heights 08 July 2020 James Hansen
Weathering Heights 08 July 2020 James Hansen In 2007 Bill McKibben asked me whether 450 ppm would be a reasonable target for atmospheric CO2, if we wished to maintain a hospitable climate for future generations. 450 ppm seemed clearly too high, based on several lines of evidence, but especially based on paleoclimate data for climate change. We were just then working on a paper,1 Climate sensitivity, sea level and atmospheric carbon dioxide, 2 that included consideration of CO2 changes over the Cenozoic era, the past 65 million years, since the end of the Cretaceous era. The natural source of atmospheric CO2 is volcanic emissions that occur mainly at continental margins due to plate tectonics (“continental drift”). The natural sink is the weathering process, which ultimately deposits carbon on the ocean floor as limestone. David Beerling, an expert in trace gas biogeochemistry at the University of Sheffield, was an organizer of the meeting at which I presented the above referenced paper. Soon thereafter I enlisted David and other paleoclimate experts to help answer Bill’s question about a safe level of atmospheric CO2, which we concluded was somewhere south of 350 ppm.3 Since then, my group at Climate Science, Awareness and Solutions (CSAS), has continued to cooperate with David’s group at the University of Sheffield. One of the objectives is to investigate the potential for drawdown of atmospheric CO2 by speeding up the weathering process. In the most recent paper, which will be published in Nature tomorrow, David and co-authors report on progress in testing the potential for large-scale CO2 removal via application of rock dust on croplands. -
Climate Change in a Nutshell: the Gathering Storm James Hansen
Climate Change in a Nutshell: The Gathering Storm 18 December 2018 James Hansen Young people today confront an imminent gathering storm. They have at their command considerable determination, a dog-eared copy of our beleaguered Constitution, and rigorously developed science. The Court must decide if that is enough. That is the final paragraph of my (thick) Expert Report written more than a year ago for Juliana v. United States. We are fortunate to have such a brilliant and dedicated group of attorneys who have assembled a score of experts and are working to ensure that young people receive their day in court. In the meantime, there are reasons why it may be useful to summarize the climate science story. Albert Einstein once said that a theory or explanation should be as simple as possible, but not simpler. And it depends on who the audience is. My target is the level of a Chief Justice or a fossil fuel industry CEO. This is a draft, because I want to be sure that there are no inconsistencies in my testimonies against the government, against the fossil fuel industry, and in support of brave people who have taken risks in fighting for young people. This 18 December version is only a slight revision to the 06 December ‘Nutshell’, because it is needed this week for a specific court case. I will revise it further, so suggestions are still welcome. However, bear in mind that this is aimed at the highly-educated open-minded Chief Justice and fossil fuel industry CEOs. I begin with an ‘Outline of Opinions’, but the aim here is not an ‘elevator speech’ or a summary for relatives and neighbors. -
Reducing Black Carbon May Be Fastest Strategy for Slowing Climate Change
Reducing Black Carbon May Be Fastest Strategy for Slowing Climate Change ∗ IGSD/INECE Climate Briefing Note: 29 August 2008 ∗∗ Black Carbon Is Potent Climate Forcing Agent and Key Target for Climate Mitigation Reducing black carbon (BC) may offer the greatest promise for immediate climate mitigation. BC is a potent climate forcing agent, estimated to be the second largest contributor to global warming after carbon dioxide (CO 2). Because BC remains in the atmosphere only for a few weeks, reducing BC emissions may be the fastest means of slowing climate change in the near-term. 1 Addressing BC now can help delay the possibility of passing thresholds, or tipping points, for abrupt and irreversible climate changes, 2 which could be as close as ten years away and have potentially 3 catastrophic impacts. It also can buy policymakers critical time to address CO 2 emissions in the middle and long terms. Estimates of BC’s climate forcing (combining both direct and indirect forcings) vary from the IPCC’s estimate of + 0.3 watts per square meter (W/m2) + 0.25,4 to the most recent estimate of .9 W/m 2 (see Table 1), which is “as much as 55% of the CO 2 forcing and is larger than the forcing due to the other 5 greenhouse gasses (GHGs) such as CH 4, CFCs, N 2O, or tropospheric ozone.” In some regions, such as the Himalayas, the impact of BC on melting snowpack and glaciers may be 6 equal to that of CO 2. BC emissions also significantly contribute to Arctic ice-melt, which is critical because “nothing in climate is more aptly described as a ‘tipping point’ than the 0° C boundary that separates frozen from liquid water—the bright, reflective snow and ice from the dark, heat-absorbing ocean.” 7 Hence, reducing such emissions may be “the most efficient way to mitigate Arctic warming that we know of.” 8 Since 1950, many countries have significantly reduced BC emissions, especially from fossil fuel sources, primarily to improve public health, and “technology exists for a drastic reduction of fossil fuel related BC” throughout the world. -
The Pathway to a Green New Deal: Synthesizing Transdisciplinary Literatures and Activist Frameworks to Achieve a Just Energy Transition
The Pathway to a Green New Deal: Synthesizing Transdisciplinary Literatures and Activist Frameworks to Achieve a Just Energy Transition Shalanda H. Baker and Andrew Kinde The “Green New Deal” resolution introduced into Congress by Representative Alexandria Ocasio Cortez and Senator Ed Markey in February 2019 articulated a vision of a “just” transition away from fossil fuels. That vision involves reckoning with the injustices of the current, fossil-fuel based energy system while also creating a clean energy system that ensures that all people, especially the most vulnerable, have access to jobs, healthcare, and other life-sustaining supports. As debates over the resolution ensued, the question of how lawmakers might move from vision to implementation emerged. Energy justice is a discursive phenomenon that spans the social science and legal literatures, as well as a set of emerging activist frameworks and practices that comprise a larger movement for a just energy transition. These three discourses—social science, law, and practice—remain largely siloed and insular, without substantial cross-pollination or cross-fertilization. This disconnect threatens to scuttle the overall effort for an energy transition deeply rooted in notions of equity, fairness, and racial justice. This Article makes a novel intervention in the energy transition discourse. This Article attempts to harmonize the three discourses of energy justice to provide a coherent framework for social scientists, legal scholars, and practitioners engaged in the praxis of energy justice. We introduce a framework, rooted in the theoretical principles of the interdisciplinary field of energy justice and within a synthesized framework of praxis, to assist lawmakers with the implementation of Last updated December 12, 2020 Professor of Law, Public Policy and Urban Affairs, Northeastern University. -
1 Naomi Oreskes
NAOMI ORESKES Department of History and Program in Science Studies University of California, San Diego 9500 Gilman Drive La Jolla, CA 92093-0104 [email protected] 858-534-1996 (department) 858-534-4695 (direct) EDUCATION 1990 Ph.D. Graduate Special Program in Geological Research and History of Science Stanford University, Stanford, California, USA. 1981 B.Sc., First Class Honours: Mining Geology, The Royal School of Mines Imperial College, University of London, England. EMPLOYMENT 1998- Associate Professor, Department of History and Program in Science Studies University of California, San Diego Autumn, 2001 Visiting Associate Professor, Department of History of Science, Harvard University 1996-98 Associate Professor, History and Philosophy of Science Gallatin School of Individualized Study, New York University 1991-96 Assistant Professor of Earth Sciences and Adjunct Asst. Professor of History Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire. 1990-91 Visiting Asst. Professor of Earth Sciences and Visiting Asst. Professor of History Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire 1984-89 Research Assistant, Geology Department, and Teaching Assistant, Depts. of Geology, Philosophy, and Applied Earth Sciences Stanford University. 1981-84 Geologist, Western Mining Corporation, Adelaide, Australia. MAJOR HONORS • American Philosophical Society Sabbatical Fellowship, 2001-2002. • National Science Foundation Young Investigator Award, 1994-1999. • National Endowment for the Humanities Fellowship for University Teachers, 1993-94. • Society of Economic Geologists Lindgren Prize for outstanding work by a young scientist, 1993. • Ritter Memorial Fellowship in History of Marine Sciences, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, 1994. • Listed, Who’s Who in American Science and Engineering, Who’s Who in the West. 1 OTHER HONORS AND AWARDS • FACULTY: History of Science Society, Women in Science Best Paper Prize, 2000; Forum for the History of Science in America, Best Paper Prize, 1997; Geological Society of America 29th International Geological Congress Travel Grant, Kyoto, Japan, 1992. -
Beyond Borders How to Strengthen the External Impact of Domestic Climate Action
BEYOND BORDERS HOW TO STRENGTHEN THE EXTERNAL IMPACT OF DOMESTIC CLIMATE ACTION September 2020 Climate Analytics Ritterstraße 3 10969 Berlin www.climateanalytics.org BEYOND BORDERS HOW TO STRENGTHEN THE EXTERNAL IMPACT OF DOMESTIC CLIMATE ACTION Authors: Andrzej Ancygier, Climate Analytics Critical review: Damon Jones, Climate Analytics The contents of this report are based on research conducted in the framework of the project “Implikationen des Pariser Klimaschutzabkommens auf nationale Klimaschutzanstrengungen”, conducted on behalf of the German Federal Environment Agency, FKZ 3717 41 102 0 The views expressed in this paper are strictly those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the opinion of the German Federal Environment Agency, nor of the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety. Cover photo: Cozine / Shutterstock.com. Ripple wave surface. Copying or distribution with credit to the source. Beyond borders: How to strengthen the external impact of domestic climate action Table of content The spillover effect of domestic action. .............................................................................. 2 Mechanism 1: Policy diffusion ........................................................................................... 4 Driver 1. Making policy learning easier ...................................................................................... 5 Driver 2: Facilitating emulation by shifting international norms ................................................. 5 Driver 3: