From the March 2012 TED Conference in Long Beach California, NASA climate scientist Dr. James Hansen talks about why he must speak out climate change. A powerful and moving video – please watch, and share with your family and friends, and on social media.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fWInyaMWBY8]
*
For a summary of Dr Hansen’s talk, go to The Solution to All Our Problems on Martin’s Lack of Environment blog. I agree with both Dr. Hansen and Martin Lack about the importance of implementing a carbon fee & dividend as soon as possible; indeed it is one of the major policies of Citizens Climate Lobby, a group that inspires me in much of the climate work that I do. However, I would go further and assert that implementing a price on carbon is the first step towards addressing the climate crisis, but the climate crisis (and ocean acidification, biodiversity loss, water and air pollution, etc) has been brought on by a world view that places humans above the natural world. We have somehow convinced ourselves that what happens to the water, air, and creatures around us won’t ultimately affect us, which of course is nonsense. Corporate well being is not more important that human and ecosystem well being. It’s that mindset that needs to change if we are to live sustainably on this amazing planet that we are lucky enough to be alive on.
Do you want to become a climate hero, for your children and grandchildren? Join other parents and grandparents at Citizens Climate Lobby who are speaking out on this issue. Dr. Hansen had this to say about CCL:
“Most impressive is the work of the Citizens Climate Lobby, a relatively new, fastgrowing, nonpartisan, nonprofit group with 46 chapters across the United States and Canada. If you want to join the fight to save the planet, to save creation for your grandchildren, there is no more effective step you could take than becoming an active member of this group.”
I agree that this was a very good talk – primarily for its honesty but also its presentation of a solution (even if one that will never be possible until the stranglehold big business has on politics is ended) – and I therefore blogged about it myself at the time:
The solution to all our problems (13 March 2012).
Once again, you’re way ahead of me, Martin. I’ve embedded the link in my post (see above) 🙂
You are very kind but, compared to Dr Hansen, we are all playing catch-up. He has been saying these things for decades but, it is only now, as things start to go seriously off the rails, that many (me included) have started to take any notice of him. As I said on my blog over 6 months ago, I am amazed he is not incandescent with rage or inconsolable with despair:
How does James Hansen sleep at night? (27 October 2011).