On this day 43 years ago, the American Association for the Advancement of Science (created 1848) held its annual meeting, this time in Washington DC. The climatologists held panels within that.
They were pretty blunt about what was on the way.
The amount of carbon dioxide in the air was roughly 382ppm. As of 2026 it is 425ppm, but check here for daily measures.
The broader context was the AAAS had been around for a long long time. By the late 1960s its annual gatherings were a site for scientific discussion of what was coming (see here and here).
The specific context was by the late 1970s the climate scientists were beginning to get sure of the eventual result of tipping huge amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere (though they varied on time frames). AAAS was involved.
Efforts to get policymakers interested had had some success, but it all fell in a heap after the Reagan Administration came in in January 1981.
What I think we can learn from this is that we have known for a long time. This. Was. Not. A. State. Secret.
[LINK]
What happened next. The climate stuff at the AAAS meeting was covered in newspapers around the US, sometimes featuring quite prominently. The scientific work continued. And continued.
1988 was the pivotal year. [LINK]
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.
References
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Also on this day
January 6, 1883 – The New York Times reports on the Atmosphere