The heads of major fossil-fuel companies who spread disinformation about global warming should be "tried for high crimes against humanity and nature," according to a leading climate scientist.
Dr. James Hansen, director of the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies in New York, sounded the alarm about global warming in testimony before a Senate subcommittee exactly 20 years ago.
He returned to the topic Monday with a speech at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., given to the Worldwatch Institute.
"Special interests have blocked the transition to our renewable energy future," Hansen writes in an opinion piece posted on the institute's Web site. "Instead of moving heavily into renewable energies, fossil fuel companies choose to spread doubt about global warming, just as tobacco companies discredited the link between smoking and cancer. Methods are sophisticated, including funding to help shape school textbook discussions of global warming."
"CEOs of fossil energy companies know what they are doing and are aware of the long-term consequences of continued business as usual," Hansen continues. "In my opinion, these CEOs should be tried for high crimes against humanity and nature."
Comments (5)
Oh, sorry. I thought this was a blog. I see there are no comments, so no one must be reading what you write. I guess it keeps your fingers in shape, but certainly not your mind.
Dude, I'm outta here. Good luck with your so-called blog. It's a tree falling in the forest with no one to hear.
Posted by Rob | June 28, 2008 7:41 PM
Posted on June 28, 2008 19:41
If a tree falls in the wilderness it just releases all of the CO2 it has captured during its life. So the best way to capture that CO2 would be to turn into a peice of furniture or a house or a boat or something.
Posted by Elmer | June 28, 2008 9:49 PM
Posted on June 28, 2008 21:49
Elmer, that's absolutely brilliant!
However, I really don't think we're talking about burning wood in this case. I believe we are talking about burning carbon that has been sequestered for a bit longer than the life of the tree. Perhaps you're aware of the mechanism for formation of coal? Maybe you're one of those YEC guys, and God just put the coal there.
By the way, ever seen the result of coal mining? They have a new technique now. Very efficient. They call it mountain-top removal. It's simple. Take the top of the mountain, dump it in the nearby valley, and extract the coal! Brilliant! If for no other reason than this, we need other sources of energy. Unless you're confident the rapture is coming next week.
Luckily, my home looks out on NFS land, so unless our so-called President abolishes this agency, or better yet puts someone from the coal industry in charge, I think I'm safe, at least.
Posted by Rob | June 29, 2008 7:04 AM
Posted on June 29, 2008 07:04
Al Gore's Carbon offset company does just that, it plants trees to offest carbon use. Which is ridiculous.
Posted by Elmer | June 29, 2008 10:23 AM
Posted on June 29, 2008 10:23
It only removes it until the tree dies or is burned. That gives us 30-50 years until the tree is harvested. If the wood is made into flooring or furniture, then we can add another 50+ years. It doesn't sequester it for very long, but it does remove it from circulation temporarily. It may not do much, but there will be more trees, which in my view, is always a good thing. I'm not too fond of concrete parking lots.
It also makes people feel like they're doing something, even if it makes no difference. Kind of like praying for lower gas prices.
Posted by Rob | June 29, 2008 1:41 PM
Posted on June 29, 2008 13:41