We’re toast if we don’t stop global warming
The Sydney Morning Herald is reporting We’re toast if we don’t stop global warming.
Exactly 20 years after warning America about global warming, a top NASA scientist says the situation has got so bad that the world’s only hope is drastic action.
James Hansen told US Congress today that the world has long passed the “dangerous level” for greenhouse gases in the atmosphere and needs to get back to 1988 levels.
He said Earth’s atmosphere can stay this loaded with man-made carbon dioxide only for a couple more decades without changes such as mass extinction, ecosystem collapse and dramatic sea level rises.
“We’re toast if we don’t get on a very different path,” Hansen, director of the Goddard Institute of Space Sciences, who is sometimes called the godfather of global warming science, told The Associated Press. “This is the last chance.”
I really can’t add much to this. James Hansen has been sidelined and censored by the US administration for years but he keeps on saying the same thing. We have precious little time to get off this crazy bus we’re on. Australia, along with other developed countries, has a moral responsibility to clean up its own mess and show global leadership. Developing countries must clean up their act too but the onus is on the OECD nations to show the way here. The nay-sayers, denialistsas, paid shills and coal-industry lackeys need to be held accountable for every minute that global action to separate our energy production from greenhouse gas emissions is delayed. If you have shares in such companies then vote with your wallet. Boycott their products, withdraw your financial support and put your money into clean-tech. Offset your personal contribution to global warming via certified carbon credits while keeping your own energy use as low as you can. The fate of the world rests in your hands. — DS
