Climate Change

Our special guest speaker is Dr. James E. Hansen (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Hansen), formerly Director of the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies, currently Adjunct Professor at Columbia University's Earth Institute, where he directs a program in Climate Science, Awareness and Solutions. He was trained in physics and astronomy in the space science program of Dr. James Van Allen at the University of Iowa. His early research on the clouds of Venus helped identify their composition as sulfuric acid. Since the late 1970s, he has focused his research on Earth's climate, especially human-made climate change. Dr. Hansen is best known for his testimony on climate change to congressional committees in the 1980s that helped raise broad awareness of the global warming issue. He was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 1995 and was designated by Time Magazine in 2006 as one of the 100 most influential people on Earth. He has received numerous awards including the Carl-Gustaf Rossby and Roger Revelle Research Medals, the Sophie Prize and the Blue Planet Prize. Dr. Hansen is recognized for speaking truth to power, for identifying ineffectual policies as greenwash, and for outlining actions that the public must take to protect the future of young people and other life on our planet.

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Dr. Hansen will give a presentation entitled "Speaking Truth to Power: A Scientist's View of the Climate Crisis".

It is not difficult to show that government policies in response to the unfolding human-made climate crisis are deceptive and feckless. The tragedy is that actions needed to stabilize climate, rather than being painful to society, would have multiple benefits including stronger economies, improved security, more good jobs, and more equitable opportunities for individuals. Despite failure of governments to date, there is a real potential for rapid phasedown of fossil fuel use and climate stabilization. However, success requires appropriate pressure on government by the public. The greatest threat is the attitude that it is fruitless to try to change the situation.

In addition to Dr. Hansen's presentation, we will discuss goals, aspirations, possible outcomes, and our potential involvement in the upcoming People's Climate March (http://peoplesclimate.org/march/), scheduled to take place in Manhattan on Sunday, September 21, 2014.

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Please come prepared to make suggestions and present ideas.

The March will follow an NYPD-approved route, beginning at Columbus Circle, proceeding over on 59th Street to 6th Avenue, down 6th Avenue to 42th Street, then right on 42th Street to 11th Avenue. The route passes by some famous landmarks, including Rockefeller Center and Times Square.

The People's Climate March is organized by 350.org (http://350.org/), a U.S. based 501(c)3 non-profit organization that is building a global climate movement through online campaigns, grassroots organizing, and mass public actions. Coordination is via a global network active in over 188 countries. The name "350" is derived from the perceived need to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide molecules in the atmosphere from the current level of about 400 PPM (parts per million) to at most 350 ppm, a proposition first espoused by Dr. Hansen.

Please note that because this meeting is being held in a restaurant, food and adult beverage of your choice will be available for purchase.

For questions, please call Beth Lamont at 914-588-5284 or e-mail HSMNY Executive Director Stephen James at info.hsmny@corliss-lamont.org .

Note: This HSMNY Chapter Meeting Announcement Notice can be found on the HSMNY Web site at http://bit.ly/1tsks9P

For additional reading:

• Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)
http://www.ipcc.ch/

The IPCC was established by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) in 1988. Currently 195 countries are members of the IPCC.

• United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)
http://www.unfccc.int/

The UNFCCC is the parent treaty of the 1997 Kyoto Protocol, which has been ratified by 192 of the 196 UNFCCC Parties.

• "Target Atmospheric CO2: Where Should Humanity Aim?"
http://arxiv.org/abs/0804.1126

Available from the Cornell University Library in downloadable PDF form, this is Version 3 of the 20-page 2008 paper by James Hansen, et al. that originally proposed the 350 ppm atmospheric carbon dioxide level.

• Supporting Material for "Target Atmospheric CO2: Where Should Humanity Aim?"
http://arxiv.org/abs/0804.1135

Available from the Cornell University Library in downloadable PDF form, this is a 28-page Supporting Material document for the above paper.