WASHINGTON - (AP Photo) Exactly 20 years after warning America about global warming, a top NASA scientist said the situation has gotten so bad that the world's only hope is drastic action. James Hansen told Congress on Monday that the world has long passed the "dangerous level" for greenhouse gases in the atmosphere and needs to get back to 1988 levels. He said Earth's atmosphere can only stay this loaded with man-made carbon dioxide for a couple more decades without changes such as mass extinction, ecosystem collapse and dramatic sea level rises.
"We're toast if we don't get on a very different path," Hansen, director of the Goddard Institute of Space Sciences who is sometimes called the godfather of global warming science, told The Associated Press. "This is the last chance." Read more by clicking here.
8 comments:
I honestly don't know what to think about global warming at this point..there seems to be many opinions on the topic. In this case, I guess my thought is: this is one individuals opinion..many will agree and many will disagree...The article seemed to point that out. Interesting read though...
I posted an article on how the USA is the least believing country in the world when it comes to climate change. Will have to look that one up and repost. -ERIC
Carrie, I think it's important to realize that what Eric posted is not just one man's opinion. Science doesn't work like that. That one man is just letting us know what the scientific community has discovered, through years of research involving lots of observations (facts) and the work of many, many scientists. This large community of scientists has worked hard to understand what happens to the very complex Earth system when we make drastic changes to its atmosphere.
This one man is a spokesman for the community of scientists. Although there may be one or two scientists who don't accept that human-induced changes are causing global climate change, the majority of the scientific community does accept this.
I did not mean to critizize the work of the scientists..I understand they do a lot of research on this topic..it is mainly my ignorance to the global warming issue. I apologize if I said something out of turn..I should not have said anything without educating myself on the topic. I do apologize...
Carrie: I know what you meant. :) I would love to hear more comments from people on this issue. It helps us understand what people think on the subject!
I believe there are things we can all do and we should do them.
My utility company (Alliant Energy) offers the option of voluntarily agreeing to pay more for electricity that comes from alternative sources (wind energy, plants that burn waste rather than coal, etc.). You can sign up at the 25%, 50% or 100% level for the (more expensive) electricity from alternative sources. I signed up at the 100% level and pay the voluntary surcharge.
I also started commuting to work using the state van pool rather than driving my own vehicle every day.
I consciously work at using minimal heating & cooling energy in my home - i.e., I use "natural" (solar) heating as much as I can and "natural" (shade trees, awnings, open windows and breezes) cooling exclusively (don't even own an air conditioner).
I grow some of my own veggies which not only saves money but also saves the fuel that would have been spent to haul them from a grower to the grocery store and from the grocery store to my home.
All of these things are "somewhat" inconvenient at least some of the time, but I do feel that it is time, or past time, for those of us who are able to start taking on some level of inconvenience for the sake of the planet.
I think there is a lot of hype about global warming, which doesn't help the PR situation any, but the idea that there is some amount of hype out there and some amount of overkill in trying to sell the issue and sound the alarm doesn't make the actual problem any less real.
And by working at reducing one's own carbon footprint - well, what's the worst thing that could happen if - let's say - the global warming issue doesn't turn out to be as dire as some suggest? If one is into hedging one's bets, it seems like the consequences of being wrong are far worse if we err in one direction than if we err in the other direction. So why not act as though global warming is a really important and serious issue whether or not it actually is? If one is a betting person, that seems like the safest bet to me.
Hi Carrie,
I'm sorry I came across so harshly. I just worry that our country will never take action on the problem of global warming, and I also worry that too many people don't understand that theories like this are developed with years of research and are based on lots of facts.
I want to leave this world a better place for my daughter, and sometimes I get a little passionate, but I didn't mean to offend.
Hi Renee,
Thank you for your reply..I can understand your concerns about Global Warming and that the government is not acting quick enough to address the issue. I agree with Weather Buff that we can all play our part in helping the environment in which we live. I also know that for me to really get a better handle on this issue, I really need to educate myself more. For me the issue can be overwhelming with all of the information that is out there.I know the scientists put a lot of time and effort into gathering facts to better educate us, and to help us take the appropriate actions. I appreciate your thoughts and concerns as well and thank you for shedding more light on this topic to help me better understand just how serious this issue is.
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