He’s got the whoooole woorld in his hands…
This troubling news from the Guardian, UK
“James Hansen, one of the world’s leading climate scientists, will today call for the chief executives of large fossil fuel companies to be put on trial for high crimes against humanity and nature, accusing them of actively spreading doubt about global warming in the same way that tobacco companies blurred the links between smoking and cancer.
Hansen will use the symbolically charged 20th anniversary of his groundbreaking speech to the US Congress – in which he was among the first to sound the alarm over the reality of global warming – to argue that radical steps need to be taken immediately if the “perfect storm” of irreversible climate change is not to become inevitable.
Speaking before Congress again, he will accuse the chief executive officers of companies such as ExxonMobil and Peabody Energy of being fully aware of the disinformation about climate change they are spreading.”
I suspect he’ll be calling for the jailing of bloggers like myself next. I think Mr. Hansen has lost all sense of reason, and his last shred of credibility.
UPDATE: Apparently Mr. Hansen has made the claims above on live radio on the Dian Rehm show this morning, audio files of the interview will be up shortly here:
http://wamu.org/programs/dr/08/06/23.php#20635
When the audio file is up, I’ll post a direct link.
AUDIO CLIPS NOW AVAILABLE:
Listen to this segment
Joe D’Aleo created this graph this morning:
click for a larger image.
Satellite measured global temperature trend from the University of Alabama, Huntsville show sthat it is cooler now than when he made his testimony in 1988.
UPDATE2: See the reader poll on this issue here
At the end, where he said that NEXT YEAR, the new administration will have to make changes to reduce CO2 to below 350 ppm, was kind of creepy.
Guess we’ll all be sentenced to the (low CO2) gulag.
Darn,
D’Aleo beat me to it.
I thought I was the first to point out that 1988 global temp at the time of Hansen’s testimony was higher than today’s.
Pierre Gosselin (04:35:28) :
rampant population growth.
Check out birthrates from 1990 as compared with today. You will probably be surprised (if not shocked). The only reason population is rising at its current rate is increased life expectancy. The whole equation is shaping up into a classic S-curve.
besides, there is a huge amount more “elbow room” in a city today with 8 million people in it than 100 years ago when the same city had 1 million and nonetheless there was–intensely–more overcrowding.
I live in an 1886 slum designed for 16 people. It is illegal to occupy it with more than 5 today.
“By counterpunching blanket statements with blanket statements, both sides fail in debate technique and lead the audience away from informative discussion.” Pam Gray
Pam,
There is room for those who concentrate on the forest as well as those who concentrate on the trees. I appreciate your viewpoint on the trees.
Unfortunately, scientists on the AGW side have dragged in government. Losers often drag in government because they and their ideas cannot survive in a free market. The solution: reduce government to its minimum size so it won’t be so dangerous when the loonies are in charge.
There is also the problem that the loonies can come up with scare scenarios faster than cool dispassionate science can refute them. A properly educated public is essential.
There are more dimensions to this problem than just science.
Thanks for the opportunity to get another poem past Anthony.
The eggs have been scrambled.
The crow has been stewed.
The guests are arriving
to get their just due.
One day, many may try to recant
but will they give back
those government grants?
Evan Jones,
Try to think positive, otherwise you in the US will be between the devil and the deep blue sea: war ad infinitum which will collapse the economy or collapsed economy from AGW measures.
Politicians are weather vanes. If public opinion shifts against AGW, they will also shift. Let hope for snow in september.
Many in the Democratic party have been quite vocal in their desire to resurect the so called “Fairness Doctrine”. It’s a short step from regulating what one can say on a video or audio transmission (It’s been many years since a majority of people actually listened to broadcast vs. cable TV) to the regulating of what you can say on the internet.
An earlier poster pointed out that “the oil companies” no longer fund AGW skepticism to any great extent. Since their capitulation obviously hasn’t bought them any consideration from the Goreleone Family, perhaps now they’ll consider fighting back?
You may be right that the oil industry is not causing the global warming but it’s causing a lot more other troubles. Oil is just really a big mess, isn’t it! And that they can make a lot of money of it, other clean energy resources are withheld and restrained from public use. Btw, wind farms and water power plants are not much better. There are so many other ways to operate a motor but the automotive industry still uses oil for their engines. And politics does nothing, because the powerful people leading the countries are too much involved in this.
Falsely accusing a person or entity of committing a crime is libel per se. The injured party needs only prove damages because liability is established as a matter of law. This is the law of virtually every state.
It is past time for all who have been smeared to sue Hansen/Gore for libel. Martyrdom will become them.
Richard deSousa & MattN: Tailgunner Joe McCarthy was far from wrong, he made some mistakes but he was 100% right about the massive infiltration of the Federal Government during & after the FDR Admin! If you don’t think this is true just read (Google) ‘Blacklisted by History the Untold Story of Joe McCarthy’ by Stanton Evans who used the Venona Papers, the FBI and National archives to fully document his history of the history of the Soviet/Red infiltration of many of our Policy making offices!!! It is very, very disturbing and resulted in Mao in China, Tito in Yugoslavia and a Communist run Eastern Europe!
There will be casualties if we do not challenge these people and insist on a change of course.
Too late. There have been many casualties.
timposser writes:
“overuse of energy combined with rampant population growth”
speaking of projection.
I can’t see any over use of energy or rampant population growth.
He’s creating a “hostile environment” and should incur a class action suit for harassment. Seriously. Sue him.
Hansen receives $250,000 from Teresa Heinz Kerry.
George Soros gives $720,000 to James Hansen.
As a taxpayer, I resent the implications.
Anthony, here is a very nice graph from climate skeptic with Hansens’ original climate projection with satellite measurements superimposed on the graph:
http://climate-skeptic.typepad.com/photos/uncategorized/2008/06/23/hansencheck.gif
The real data was below what Hansen suggested if we stop all GHG emissions—-he was not even close!
Pamela,
So you doubt that liberals have dumbed down public education?
Hey Chris (23:24:13),
Where does Hansen attack democracy? Can you post the link?
Thanks,
Mark
If the public schools still taught hard science, logic and reading comprehension, passing of garbage like AGW would be a lot harder.
I find it very instructive that when polled regarding their opinions of their own ability, American school students placed tops in the world.
When actual tests were given, they placed near the bottom.
Many teachers these days feel that it much more important for a student to feel good about him or herself, than it is to actually know something about the world.
It isn’t the conservatives who are insisting on the elimination of valedictorians at graduation ceremonies, because it might make those who didn’t excel feel bad.
It isn’t the conservatives who want to give pass/fail grades instead of letter or numeric scores, because those who don’t get top scores might feel bad about themselves.
It wasn’t the conservatives who started inventing phoney majors like “women’s studies”.
It hasn’t been conservative professors who have been using their class time to rant against the perceived evils of the day, instead of actually teaching the subject they have been hired to teach.
“He wants to see a moratorium on new coal-fired power plants, coupled with the creation of a huge grid of low-loss electric power lines buried under ground and spread across America, in order to give wind and solar power a chance of competing”
The guy is absolutely clueless! He’s evidently never heard of Ohm’s Law, otherwise he wouldn’t be sprouting drivel such as, “low-loss electric power lines buried under ground” Talk about an oxymoron!
anna v
Now you’re speaking my language!
Precisely why we need a Dalton Minimum.
Oil is a big mess???
Not that I can observe.
What are these magical “clean energy” sources that are being with held from the public?
You’ve already ruled out wind and hydro. You can’t seriously be proposing solar?
So what is it.
Finally, do you honestly believe that if the public demanded it, the auto companies would not produce this mythical “clean” car that you are so convinced could be made?
Bob B,
That was scenario C (stop all GHG). Which FAR is this graph from?
It’s virtually impossible to prove liable against a public figure these days.
The courts have seen to that.
Any figure in the public eye is considered a “public figure” as far as the law is considered. So that would include CEO’s of any major company.
He’s creating a “hostile environment” …
That would only work for CEO’s who are women or minorities.
♫ The Inquistion, what a show
The Inquistion, here we go
We know you’re wishing
That we’d go away
But the Inquistion’s here and it’s here to stay
The Inquistion, oh boy
The Inquistion, what a joy
The Inquistion, oy oy… ♫