"Indiana James" Hansen on "Why I must speak out about climate change"

This came out some days ago, but I never got around to posting it, this corrects my oversight. The description of the TED video reads:

Top climate scientist James Hansen tells the story of his involvement in the science of and debate over global climate change. In doing so he outlines the overwhelming evidence that change is happening and why that makes him deeply worried about the future.

TEDTalks is a daily video podcast of the best talks and performances from the TED Conference, where the world’s leading thinkers and doers give the talk of their lives in 18 minutes. Featured speakers have included Al Gore on climate change, Philippe Starck on design, Jill Bolte Taylor on observing her own stroke, Nicholas Negroponte on One Laptop per Child, Jane Goodall on chimpanzees, Bill Gates on malaria and mosquitoes, Pattie Maes on the “Sixth Sense” wearable tech, and “Lost” producer JJ Abrams on the allure of mystery. TED stands for Technology, Entertainment, Design, and TEDTalks cover these topics as well as science, business, development and the arts. Closed captions and translated subtitles in a variety of languages are now available on TED.com, at http://www.ted.com/translate

The video is below:

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SPreserv
March 25, 2012 8:28 am

He looks like an Amish Climate Worrier, is his horse cart parked outside ?

Harpo
March 25, 2012 8:29 am

Looks more and more like Homer Simpson.
REPLY: This comparison may explain the recent move towards wearing a hat in public, but be fair, watch the video – Anthony

Patrick Davis
March 25, 2012 8:30 am

Hasen is a climate scientist? Since when?

March 25, 2012 8:30 am

Willie Nelson’s let himself go.

Harpo
March 25, 2012 8:31 am

Do you think the hat is to show he’s a rugged, no-nonsense field scientist – someone you can trust…
or is he just going bald?

Harpo
March 25, 2012 8:37 am

The hat reminds me of the story about Tom Wolf author of ‘Bonfire of the Vanities’.
His agent once said to someone, “Poor Tom, other authors can go about their business without being hassled, but in that white suit everyone recognises him.”
No solution I can think of to that problem.

Bill Davis
March 25, 2012 8:39 am

But he can see into the future!
Hansen’s 1988 prediction was wrong
‘On June 23, 1988, NASA scientist James Hansen testified before the House of Representatives that there was a strong “cause and effect relationship” between observed temperatures and human emissions into the atmosphere. At that time, Hansen also produced a model of the future behavior of the globe’s temperature, which he had turned into a video movie that was heavily shopped in Congress. That model predicted that global temperature between 1988 and 1997 would rise by 0.45°C (Figure 1). Ground-based temperatures from the IPCC show a rise of 0.11°C, or more than four times less than Hansen predicted. The forecast made in 1988 was an astounding failure, and IPCC’s 1990 statement about the realistic nature of these projections was simply wrong.’ (Pat Michaels)

Patrick Davis
March 25, 2012 8:39 am

Ok at ~1m 30s into the video completely abolishes his arguement about co2 in the air on Earth when he talks of Venus! Yeah Hansen, I know what you don’t want to know.

March 25, 2012 8:43 am

I see he has the Mannien Beard going on LOL

DirkH
March 25, 2012 8:46 am

If he is so worried about Global Warming, why does he continue to cool the past? That only exacerbates it! In recent times the cooling of the past contributes MORE to the warming trend than CO2, so maybe instead of fighting CO2 emissions we could first stop cooling the past. That’s low-hanging fruit in the fight against Global Warming.
Kidding aside, maybe he’s wearing the hat because he’s cold.

Durr
March 25, 2012 8:46 am

Sorry but I just can’t get through it. He’s not a good speaker.

Jim S
March 25, 2012 8:51 am

That looks like a long 17 minutes and 52 seconds. Is there a payoff?

hybrid web
March 25, 2012 8:51 am

Honest, I tried to watch it, but I got sick almost immediately.
TED has some great videos, but this isn’t among them.

Peterk
March 25, 2012 9:06 am

Considering how much grant money he’s received beyond his guvmint salary you would think he could dress better

R. Shearer
March 25, 2012 9:07 am

Why does he wear a hat? To hide the decline, of course.

jonathan frodsham
March 25, 2012 9:07 am

Hey W.T.F is the hat for? Old hat too. Is this supposed to show something? Well what? I mean he has it on inside, no sun there, ohhh I know its a global warming hat, its to keep out the heat, even at night; inside, right? Also the hat is to show he is an old hippy, well I am an old hippy and I do not wear a hat at night. Look at his clothes, yes an old hippy. Did he have a few cones before his speech? I think he did listen how he talks. I could not bring myself to listen to the whole dribble, sorry Anthony but I always find B.S extremely boring. But at least he seems to believe his cone induced dribbling; top marks for that one!

Peter
March 25, 2012 9:08 am

I watched, and what I saw was a typical emoting infant incapable of detached thought, the type which litter our universities. People who have never spent day one in the real world mainly due to the fact that they are useless and unwanted. I almost expected him to stamp his feet until he got people to agree that he was right.

DirkH
March 25, 2012 9:09 am

Multiple dishonesties in his speech; just one of them: comparing his “carbon fee” plan for the US to “our governments forcing the citicens worldwide to subsidize fossil fuels with 400 to 500 bn”. Notice that Iran, part of these “our governments”, who subsidices gasoline for its citizens, is as of yet not a part of US legislature. I expect Hansen to lobby the supreme being of Iran presto.

John S
March 25, 2012 9:11 am

13:18: “We can say, with a high degree of confidence, that the severe Texas and Moscow heat waves were not natural; they were caused by Global Warming.”
Really?

Thomas
March 25, 2012 9:11 am

His political activism has so contaminated his research that no reasonable observer could take his “findings” at face value. Should he find evidence that contradicts his belief in climate change, can anyone really think that he would renounce his views, or would he more likely “adjust” his way out of the problem? Not to say he doesn’t believe what he says. I’m sure he does. But “believers” shouldn’t be doing research. Its too easy to find what you want to find.

P.F.
March 25, 2012 9:12 am

But like Sherri Quammen in an earlier thread, he is unprepared to defend himself against factual challenges from his detractors. He seems perfectly comfortable bloviating authoritatively about his cause to anyone who will listen, but discuss the matter in an appropriate academic setting . . . nah.

Disko Troop
March 25, 2012 9:16 am

Is it a compulsory or can I get the course credit from cleaning up vomit in a gastro enteritis clinic, or laundering baby nappies? Something easier than watching this.

kbray in california
March 25, 2012 9:18 am

Hansen said about Venus, “…and it was kept hot by a thick carbon dioxide atmosphere.”
I think the key word here is “THICK”.
Mars has a THIN carbon dioxide atmosphere and is NOT kept hot.
I suspect Venus would be almost just as hot with a thick nitrogen atmosphere.
CO2 as the primary cause of the warming and heat is incorrect.
It is the thickness… like some people’s skulls…
so thick nothing gets through.

Dr. Dave
March 25, 2012 9:19 am

The whole talk was him explaining his opinions, conjecture and speculation and delivered in such a manner to sound like immutable truth. I thought he was a nut job before. I’m pretty sure of it now.

Ian W
March 25, 2012 9:21 am

With that hat on he is living proof of the saying by Mark Twain:
“Better to keep your mouth shut and be thought a fool than to open it and remove all doubt.”
He is repeating falsehood after falsehood ever more shrilly; failed forecast after failed forecast. But it is necessary for him to keep on repeating the same mantra at least until the end of this year.

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