Forty-eight years ago, on this day, June 22nd, 1976, sleepy Adelaide warned of possible trouble ahead, when the CSIRO-made documentary “A climate of change” is shown on ABC in Adelaide 22 June 1976
The amount of carbon dioxide in the air was roughly 332ppm. As of 2024 it is 426ppm, but check here for daily measures.
The context was that by this stage Australian elites were at least dimly aware of the possible problem of climate change there, most of them probably still thought it was going to be a new ice age. The World Meteorological Organisation was really looking at CO2 and saying “uh oh.”. Kenneth Hare was in Adelaide.
What we learn – we knew enough by the late 1970s to be seriously worried.
What happened next – it would be another 12 years before the issue properly finally broke through. And even then, most everyone went back to sleep…
Fun fact Hare had been there in 1938 when Guy Callendar had given his presentation to the Royal Meteorological Society.
[It would be fun to look at the Royal Meteorological Society archives for that moment] You could do a book about moments in climate history, specific events, and then you could link it with what else happened. So Calendar plus PLAs at AGU and 53. Maybe Conservation Foundation meeting in 63. Keeling speech in 69. Maybe Smic meeting in 71 Luxenberg in 78, Villach in 85.
What do you think? Does this pass the ‘so what?’ threshold? Have I got facts wrong? Interpretation wrong? Please do comment on this post, unless you are a denialist, obvs.
Also on this day:
June 22, 1970 – US Congressman talks about ‘the Imperilled Environment,’ including C02 build-up
June 22, 1976 – Times reports “World’s temperature likely to rise”
June 22 ,1988 – Roger Rabbit on forced consumption (and so on to #climate apocalypse)