Green is the new black.
In “Storms of My Grandchildren: The Truth About the Coming Climate Catastrophe and Our Last Chance to Save Humanity,” James Hansen writes of global warming and its perilous consequences, urging the public to take heed before it’s too late.
As adjunct professor at Columbia’s Earth Institute and director of the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies, Hansen brought attention to global warming when he testified before Congress about climate change in the ’80s. Since then, he has been known as the “grandfather of global warming” and has conducted extensive research on climate change.
“It’s not a pretty picture for my children and grandchildren,” Hansen said, alluding to the title of the book. Hansen emphasizes the urgency of global warming and its devastating environmental effects on future generations. Through informative graphs and personal anecdotes, “Storms of My Grandchildren” provides accessible scientific explanations on the dynamics of climate change.
Currently, the atmospheric carbon dioxide amount is reaching 390 parts per million, while an amount of 350 ppm is needed to restore the planet’s energy balance. “We’re coming pretty darn close,” Hansen said, when asked if he could predict the tipping point.
The earth is reaching the point of no return, Hansen believes. The growing intensity of droughts and heat waves also heralds heavier rains and storms, signifying an increase of both extremes through global warming. While the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere rises at a natural rate of 0.0001 ppm/year, the human-produced rate is two ppm/year. According to Hansen, the danger is that these statistics will “fall off the cliff.”
Although sceptics consider climate problems a hoax, as Hansen said, if action is not taken to phase out coal and lower carbon emissions, “Glacier National Park will become Glacierless National Park.”
Referring to the United Nations Climate Change Conference held in Copenhagen last December, Hansen appears to be largely disappointed. He stated that the conference is “analogous to the indulgences of the Middle Ages where … the developed countries are sinners and the developing countries are planning to collect the hundred billion per year.” The lack of effective climate policies is due to big business interests and political greenwash, or the gap between the government’s rhetoric and reality.
What Hansen hopes for Columbia students to grasp is the difference between the cap-and-trade approach and the fee-and-dividend-approach, which he favors. “Maybe there’s a chance of educating the public,” Hansen said softly. “Young people have more at stake here.”
The cap-and-trade approach, which places a limit on the level of carbon emissions, is the route the Obama administration is currently pursuing. Hansen recognizes its global infeasibility in the unwillingness of nations such as China and India to accept caps. Instead, he supports the fee-and-dividend approach as “the only internationally viable approach.” Consistent with this plan, Hansen advocates a fee for carbon at the port of entry, covering oil, gas, and coal. 100 percent of the dividends should then be given back to the public.
Somewhere between the environmental reality and the governmental greenwash, Hansen is optimistic that the tipping point can be altered if action is taken immediately. Mother Nature’s time is running out, and, as Hansen said, “this is the time to reset it.”
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