Climate Scientist Hansen: “Four Years Left” to Save Earth

Prominent climate scientist Dr. James Hansen is warning that we only have four years left to act on climate change, and that America must lead the charge. Hansen, who coined the term ‘global warming’ and began warning the world about climate change consequences in the 1980s, believes the Obama administration is our last chance to prevent flooded cities, species extinction and climate catastrophe.

From The Guardian:

“We cannot now afford to put off change any longer. We have to get on a new path within this new administration. We have only four years left for Obama to set an example to the rest of the world. America must take the lead.”

Only a carbon tax, agreed by the west and then imposed on the rest of the world through political pressure and trade tariffs, would succeed in the now-desperate task of stopping the rise of emissions, he argued. This tax would be imposed on oil corporations and gas companies and would specifically raise the prices of fuels across the globe, making their use less attractive. In addition, the mining of coal – by far the worst emitter of carbon dioxide – would be phased out entirely along with coal-burning power plants which he called factories of death.

“Coal is responsible for as much atmospheric carbon dioxide as other fossil fuels combined and it still has far greater reserves. We must stop using it.” Instead, programmes for building wind, solar and other renewable energy plants should be given major boosts, along with research programmes for new generations of nuclear reactors.

After gratefully watching Obama take the oath of office yesterday and officially become our President, it’s heartening to know that we at least have a leader who is dedicated to the fight against global warming. Obama does have an awful lot of work ahead of him, and we can only hope he’s able to balance both the economy and the environment during his first term in office.

Link [The Guardian]
Photo credit: Henrik Montgomery/Scanpix via Sweden.se

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