A NASA climate scientist's renewed call to action
-- versified by Horatio Algeranon
Twenty years ago today,
He said “Global Warming’s under way”.
“I’ve seen the human signature”
On temperature data, that’s for sure.”
James Hansen unsuccessfully tried,
To move the Congress, testified
“The warming’s real and we’re to blame,”
The Congress ignored him just the same.
Fast forward twenty years to date,
Now Hansen hopes it’s not too late,
To 'defuse the bomb' that we have armed,
One must admit, he sounds alarmed.
The President and Congress must define
A plan of action, with so little time,
The open window may be slamming shut,
The greenhouse gases must be cut.
Else 'Tipping Points' may soon be passed,
Methane from permafrost out-gassed,
Massive ice sheets melted down,
Entire coastal cities drowned
Another 'moon-shot' by this Nation,
Will be required to preserve creation
And civilization, as we know it,
We must not wait, or we will blow it,
For our grand-kids and their grand-kids too.
It’s not a matter of just me and you.
We owe it to unborn generations,
Who have no voice for exhortations.
Some claim “This movie’s over-rated,”
But if emissions continue unabated,
Scientists say “We may be sorry,”
“Not if, but when” that makes them worry.
But there are those who still resist
All calls to action -- indeed, persist
In spreading falsehoods about the subject,
Like tobacco companies, who once did object
To the charge that “smoking causes harm”
They retorted “No reason for alarm”.
“Between smoking and cancer there is no link”
Said lawyers, with a nod and wink.
The Fossil companies are dragging our feet,
Blocking 'Renewable-Energy' Street,
Hansen informs the Congress today,
The responsible parties should certainly pay.
Their CEO’s should be charged and tried,
They’ve committed crimes -- can’t be denied --
Against humanity and against nature,
Hansen told the Legislature.
But conviction would be small consolation,
If we pass 'runaway-climate' to the next generation.
By rising seas, they will be ravaged,
By weather extremes, they will be savaged.
Hundreds of millions of refugees,
Who live on the coastline -- from rising seas.
Untold species could go extinct,
With whom our survival may be linked.
If our 'leaders' continue to just 'debate,'
The People must lead, we just can’t wait.
We must demand a total ban,
On new coal plants, indeed, we can.
We simply must tap other sources,
Of Energy -- no other recourses.
A price on emissions is essential.
A “carbon tax” has great potential,
To wean us from fossil-fuel addiction,
Save us from this self-affliction.
A 'Carbon Tax with Full Dividend'
Is the means to a better end.
Energy wasters will have to pay,
For their excesses -- no other way.
Demand for efficiency will spur innovation,
Boost the economy of our nation.
Carbon emissions will greatly decline,
As renewables and efficiency toe the line.
Soot and mercury and other emission,
Will also drop from the transition.
Democracy works, but sometimes it's slow.
Congressional dinosaurs have to go!
The time is short and we must act,
Now! to keep our climate intact.
The above is essentially a verse form of NASA Climate Scientist James Hansen's recent speech before Congress, on the twentieth anniversary of his original groundbreaking testimony that underlined the reality of human impact on the climate and made projections about how global temperature would develop over the following 20 years.
The projection that Hansen called "most plausible" in 1988 (scenario B) turned out to be very close to what has actually transpired since, so Hansen can not be readily dismissed as a crank or an alarmist. Indeed, as one of the world's most accomplished and respected climate scientists, he has far more credibility on the subject than 99.99% of those who criticize him (many of whom have precisely zero).
** While some may consider Hansen's call for prosecution of the CEO's of companies like ExxonMobil harsh, there is ample evidence that they have attempted to cloud the issue of global warming in the public mind:The Union of Concerned Scientists produced a report (Smoke, Mirrors
& Hot Air: How ExxonMobil Uses Big Tobacco’s Tactics to Manufacture Uncertainty on Climate Science) that
offers the most comprehensive documentation to date of how ExxonMobil has adopted the tobacco industry's disinformation tactics, as well as some of the same organizations and personnel, to cloud the scientific understanding of climate change and delay action on the issue. According to the report, ExxonMobil has funneled nearly $16 million between 1998 and 2005 to a network of 43 advocacy organizations that seek to confuse the public on global warming science. "ExxonMobil has manufactured uncertainty about the human causes of global warming just as tobacco companies denied their product caused lung cancer," said Alden Meyer, the Union of Concerned Scientists' Director of Strategy & Policy. "A modest but effective investment has allowed the oil giant to fuel doubt about global warming to delay government action just as Big Tobacco did for over 40 years."
In addition, a letter to ExxonMobil from none other than Britain's premier scientific academy (The Royal Society) charged that ExxonMobil was presenting "an inaccurate and misleading view of the science of climate change" in their "Corporate Citizenship Report" and was funding dozens of groups to the tune of millions of dollars that have "misrepresented the science of climate change by outright denial of the evidence" and "have been misinforming the public about the science of climate change."
In other words, that there has been a fairly well-coordinated disinformation campaign to torpedo action on climate change is not some wacky conspiracy theory that James Hansen (or anyone else) simply made up. Far from it.
