James Hansen in The Nation: Climate Change - Why We Can't Wait

[Hissyspit]

http://www.alternet.org/envirohealth/50795

Climate Change: Why We Can't Wait

By James Hansen, The Nation. Posted April 21, 2007.

The country's leading climatologist gives us the five necessary steps we need to take to prevent catastrophic climate change. This is an adaptation of a talk delivered February 26 at the National Press Club. Comments relating to policy are Dr. Hansen's personal opinion and do not represent a NASA position.

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The Energy Department says that we're going to continue to put more and more CO2 in the atmosphere each year -- not just additional CO2 but more than we put in the year before.

If we do follow that path, even for another ten years, it guarantees that we will have dramatic climate changes that produce what I would call a different planet -- one without sea ice in the Arctic; with worldwide, repeated coastal tragedies associated with storms and a continuously rising sea level; and with regional disruptions due to freshwater shortages and shifting climatic zones.

I've arrived at five recommendations for what should be done to address the problem. If Congress were to follow these recommendations, we could solve the problem. Interestingly, this is not a gloom-and-doom story. In fact, the things we need to do have many other benefits in terms of our economy, our national security, our energy independence and preserving the environment -- preserving creation.

First, there should be a moratorium on building any more coal-fired power plants until we have the technology to capture and sequester the CO2...

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[pretzel4gore]

1. hey, we CAN STOP bush and his wackies!

as humanity dies, we should remind them that 'greed is good' and that 'the news has right to lie' (while calling itself btutishly honest) and 'people don't need civil rights if they obey laws' and those who say 'do what i say, not as i do' are righteous, and 'the rich pay too much tax' and 'the poor have too many babies' and 'government only good for policing, prisons and waging wah' and 'public service only for private interests' and 'free press only for those who own one' etceteraaaaah.
fukk it, in the end, WE WIN!

[Hissyspit]

2. .

[Quetzalro]

3. kick

[aint_no_life_nowhere]

4. I'm seeing radical climate change already

Maybe I'm just getting old and getting more sensitive to the cold, but this winter and spring we're having in Southern California just seems to me to be the coldest I've ever experienced. Thursday we had very high winds and yesterday we had rain nearly all day (I'm not complaining of the rain, but it's unusual in late April). And the temperatures have been dipping into the low 50s and high 40s at night and the highs barely breaking into the 60s in the daytime. And this has been day-after-day-after-day. Usually in California there is an occasional warm day that breaks up the cold ones, even in winter. I haven't experienced that this year. I know to some on the east coast that doesn't seem so bad, but to me this sustained cold seems unusual to me after spending the last 37 years of my life in Southern California.