What do you think of Hansen saying "we're toast if we don't get on a very different path"?

Question

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080623/ap_on_sc/sci_warming_scientist

"Hansen, echoing work by other scientists, said that in five to 10 years, the Arctic will be free of sea ice in the summer."

"We see a tipping point occurring right before our eyes," Hansen told the AP before the luncheon. "The Arctic is the first tipping point and it's occurring exactly the way we said it would."

Answer 1

I think he's right, because of the key words in that quote - tipping point.  Once we hit certain tipping points, global warming is going to accelerate beyond our control.  Once large amounts of methane are released from permafrost and/or the Earth's albedo decreases too much from melting ice and/or the planet's carbon sinks become saturated, there won't be very much we can do to stop the planet's warming.  We're projected to reach these tipping points in just around 3 deg C further warming.

In response to Campbelp - previous warmings were coming out of ice ages.  They weren't going from a warm period to a hot period.  You can't compare the current climate change to previous changes, because the current change is unprecedented.

In fact, we're already starting to see some consequences of just a few degrees of warming.  See Myth #12 here:

http://greenhome.huddler.com/wiki/global...

Answer 2

I think it sounds an awful lot like Paul Erlich.

http://www.junkscience.com/news/fumento....

Every generation, it seems, a new Malthus emerges, ultimately to embarrass himself but in the short run to interrupt the economy's progress as we have to waste time and energy to repeat a very thorough de-bunking.

EDIT - Dana the warmer MWP, the almost-as-warm Roman period and the warmer Holocene Maximum did not occur on the heels of ice ages.

Answer 3

dana said

"You can't compare the current climate change to previous changes, because the current change is unprecedented."

In what way? Are you prepared to back up that statement with evidence?

Answer 4

James Hansen is a prophet and a hero. Too bad so many millions of dumbed-down, greedy, selfish Americans don't want to face the facts.

David Walker, head of the General Accounting Office (GAO) has been touring the country for years warning that American is headed for bankruptcy. Too bad so many millions of dumbed-down, greedy, selfish Americans don't want to face the facts.

Walker and Hansen are ignored by politicians because the politicians don't want to face the faces. They're too cowardly to tell the American people the truth. So we all just float on down the river in la-la-land pretending like everything's wonderful and life is good. I pity our grandchildren and great-grandchildren because they will pay dearly for our generation's arrogance, ignorance, avarice, neglect, sloth and hubris.   -RKO-  06/24/08

Answer 5

Global warming and cooling has happened to Earth many times in the last few hundred million years. And the geological record shows all mass extinctions occur during times of global cooling. During times of global warming there is usually an explosion of new life. So I am not especially worried about it.

Answer 6

Hello,,who cares??we all gotta die sometime,,if the government kills us??who cares,,if the weather??asteroids??what's the big deal? it's just death to mankind,,and that's happened before,,to most people,,send the people to Mars and just kill this place,,no biggie,,that's what science is all about!!s***w with mother nature and kill everybody,,haha,,ask the Buddha,,death ain't so bad,,see you government pricks in H.e.l.l,,then the fun starts over again,,for us crazies!!!!hahahahahaha

Answer 7

Some might say this is kinda toasty!

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080624/ap_o...

Others are stuck in the mud!

http://www.yahoo.com/s/903298

I think the 'debate' now should be ,how do we survive as a species!  The oil cos. that promoted the deliberate misinformation,did harm to our National Security. That kind of depraved lawlessness is what firing squads are good for! This is the ONLY planet available at the moment. Got any better ideas?

Answer 8

1988 till now, is 20 years.  He predicted 20 years ago, the world would end now.  Now he is predicting it will end 20 years from now.  What thinking person would believe such a man?