Hansen: Earth’s climate nears the tipping point

June 2008    Updated in my blog post Should Scientists Attack the Cap and Trade Bill?

Like many who graze news stories about ways the United States might respond to global warming, I thought Congress would do well to pass any of the proposed bills to cap US emissions of carbon dioxide (C0₂), the principal greenhouse gas. I assumed that neither the specific level of reduction nor the exact timing mattered—so long as Congress acted soon.

But on June 23, I heard NASA scientist James E. Hansen argue that we’re approaching a point where planetary impacts will be irreversible.

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