Even Dr. James Hansen doesn’t believe Keystone XL itself will significantly increase greenhouse gas emissions
Video follows below
At today’s Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on Keystone XL, Chairman Robert Menendez (D-NJ) asked well-known climate scientist James Hansen to clarify what he meant when he made his famous “game over” comment, which has been used widely by Keystone XL opponents to justify their erroneous claims. Of course, “game over” has been the main rallying cry for the Sierra Club’s Michael Brune who sat next to Hansen at today’s hearing. In response to Senator Menendez’s question, Hansen explained,
“I’m glad you asked me that question because my comment continues to be misinterpreted […] It has been clear that conventional oil and gas are limited. We’re probably close to peak-oil for conventional oil. The science was clear that we cannot burn all the coal, we’re going to have to phase that out and that’s a solvable problem because coal is used mainly for electricity production and we can generate electricity in other ways including nuclear power, which is carbon-free. Then there is this other huge source of carbon, unconventional fossil fuels and my statement was that if we are going to now open up that other source of unconventional fossil fuels, that’s what tar sands are: the first big step into that unconventional fossil fuels. But the science tells us we can’t do that. We’re screwing our children and our grandchildren and all the young people in future generations if we think we can use those unconventional fossil fuels. The science is crystal clear on that and the world is just ignoring the science. The scientists are saying ‘wait you can’t do that,’ and that’s what I was saying. This is game over if you don’t understand; we have to leave that extremely large amount of carbon in the ground.”
So not even James Hansen, the very person Keystone XL opponents quote incessantly, believes that Keystone XL itself will significantly increase greenhouse gas emissions.
But that’s not all. Senator Menendez followed up on Hansen’s clarification, offering yet another blow to Keystone XL opponents. As he explained,
“So I now have the greater definition. I just personally don’t think that the approval or disapproval of the pipeline is a decline in global leadership, nor do I believe that the specific approval or disapproval is necessarily game over. I understand what you’re saying, there is a broader context which is whether you have access to this fuel and you start down that road. I just wanted to refine this as it relates to the question before the committee, which is the question of approval of the pipeline.”
Of note, this question came after the State Department, numerous energy and climate experts, and Obama administration officials disputed activists’ claims. Looks like it’s officially “game over” for opponents’ “game over” claims.
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It was game over in January 2012 when Obama said, “No.”
All else is intrigue.
@albertalad –
According to Forbes, most of the ads for the campaign in Florida during the last two weeks had to do with global warming – Sink a believer, Jolly a skeptic. I suppose we can hope that this entered into Jolly’s victory as well. And one would think that if global warming alarmism can be tied to Obamacare, that will help drag down the AGWers.
The increasingly irrelevent Jim Hansen, the nursing home awaits!
Tar Sands oil is super expensive to pull out of the ground (lift cost) and “refine” so it is usable. It costs about $85 bucks a barrel. We currently, and for the foreseeable future, have access to much cheaper oil. Tar sand will become viable as other sources run out and technology catches up. This will occur long after most of us are around to care. Many an investor in the tar sands has been handed his hat. Shell lost a couple $billion and I have been personally shown deals at ..20 – .25 cents on the dollar from what was originally paid……Still to expensive!
@Gamecock – Game just might not be over despite Obama and Kerry, the way Democrats like Landrieu, Menendez and Manchin might be coming around to support it. Veto-proof majority in Congress? I don’t think that’s impossible. Democrats don’t want to dig themselves any deeper than they already are.
I find it a funny coincidence that cold countries like Canada and Russia couldn’t give a XXL about global yawning. Cold also kills and they know about cold. Heck, even warm India doesn’t give an XL for anything else.
tally says:
Man – there is no such thing as tar sands. Tar is a man made product. We do NOT mine tar. Never have.
Agree with Jimbo. Why is someone with such a well-published track record of prediction failure listened to in the highest halls?
At what point do people go “oh yeah, nothing this guy predicted is happenening, maybe he doesn’t understand things very well. Lets find someone else.”
I’d like to add for tally’s benefit – 85% of all OIL SANDS produce a barrel for as low a $25.00 a barrel on all our in situ sites.
Sheesh, I’m now like Homer Simpson. 🙂 I meant to say the following.
“James Hansen looks like Homer Simpson. Now I know why.”
The clue here is that The AGW/CC Bogeyman must always remain behind you for him to exist…..
oh well, just ship all of the oil and coal to China…..that’ll fix it
But where has proof been written down that it is ‘game over’ and show us the data that proves it?
Hansen saying game over is simply misleading and an exaggeration that is unsupported. He is merely stating an ‘a priori’ premise that he arrived at via an ideological bias.
John
Just wait until they find out how big the oil sands in Saskatchewan are.
Those against fossil fuels are welcome to stop using them.
You cannot see Hansen’s clown shoes under the desk.
First he says “peak”, then he says “extremely large quantity”. Well, which is it?
The only thing screwing our children is 100 trillion dollars in unfunded liabilities, ie medicare and social security.
“Jimbo says:
March 13, 2014 at 4:13 pm
DR JAMES HANSEN
“…it gets warmer and warmer then the oceans begin to evaporate and water vapor is a very strong green house gas, even more powerful than carbon dioxide. So you can get to a situation where, it just, the oceans will begin to boil and the planet becomes, uhh, so hot that the ocean ends up in the atmosphere, and that happened to Venus…”
If Hansen really did say this then, IMO, renders his comments about non-Earth atmospheres etc worthless! The guy is clearly smart, but this makes him look as idiotic as Gore.
It will never be game over because, if global warming truly manifests itself, we will take action gladly, all of us. I would personally gladly switch from burning the fossil fuel natural gas to burning wood to heat my home in winter, spring and fall.
Let’s see now…. Hansen and colleagues first demand that nuclear power be used in place of “useless” renewables, and now no longer opposes the pipeline. I wonder how long before the greenie weenies come to the realization that Hansen is a “denier” and traitor to the cause?
When he demands that Obama , rather than himself, be handcuffed at the White House, they
may finally see the light. At last. Then Greenpeace will immediately make him a non-person. etc. etc.
Here is what some people thought of the astronomer in charge.
Dr. James Hansen never risked his life to go to the Moon and neither did I. However, I have never frightened people with fairy tales. Hansen should really think about his grandchildren, they will hang their heads in shame for having a crazy grandpappy in their gene pool.
Watch the video I posted.
Hansen: “We’re screwing our children and our grandchildren [if we] use those unconventional fossil fuels. The science is crystal clear on that…”
This is the crux of his thinking, but the science is no better than murky on that. Consensus greenhouse thinking is that all the extra kinetic energy produced by industrial CO2 ends up as sensible heat in the atmosphere and the oceans, as though the climate had no other channels of response. It is an utterly half-cocked idea.
“the nursing home awaits!”
Don’t gloat – it awaits you too
So is Obama going to declare war on Canada, or something? At Hansen,s recommendation?
As I understand, the oil sands are leaking into the environment already. The cleaning of this area wouldn’t happen if they can’t sell the oil to help pay for the clean-up crew.
I live in Nebraska where there are other legal issues and a major aquifer in the way of this. Not like I wish to see more pipelines running through here but, at least this one does some good.
My grandkids could benefit from this actually.