Forty years ago, on this day, June 21st,
The Science Show [Episode 510] – CSIRO Book Launch; Greenhouse Effect; International Inventor’s Awards; Expo ’86; Creation Science in the US; Positron Tomography; Mental Health Treatment in Belgium
21 Jun 1986 – 21 Jun 1986
The amount of carbon dioxide in the air was 347ppm. As of 2026, when this post was published, it is 432ppm. This matters because the more carbon dioxide in the air, the more heat gets trapped. The more heat, the more extreme weather events. You can make it more complicated than that if you want, but really, it’s not. Fwiw, I have a tattoo of the Keeling Curve on my left forearm.
The broader context for this was that ABC Radio had first mentioned carbon dioxide build up as a potential problem in September 1969 – the science unit had been aware of all of this stuff. Then in August 1975 the very first episode of the Science Show, the ABC radio programme hosted by Robyn Williams, had a guest Peter Ritchie Calder, the British science journalist and thinker. And what did they talk about? They talked about carbon dioxide build up dating back to a 1961 United Nations conference.
The Science Show had continued to run articles or pieces segments about CO2 build up from then onwards.
October 25, 1980 – Australian radio’s The Science Show talks about climate change…
The specific context was that in 1985 there had been a scientific meeting in Villach in Austria. And from that various activities had followed, especially in the United States and Australia, with scientists trying to warn politicians that the question of carbon dioxide build-up into the atmosphere from burning of fossil fuels, (primarily, not exclusively) could no longer be ignored or kicked into the long grass. And so at this time, the Australian Environment Council was about to hear from Brian Tucker, boss of the division of Atmospheric Physics at the CSIRO about CO2 build-up.
What I think we can learn is this: it’s now 40 years since Australia’s political elites were forced to confront a reality that a few of them see, for example, this National Party senator in 1981 – had been aware of for longer. Forty years. People have been born, had children, and in some cases, those children have had children in that time. Here we are.
What happened next: in 1987 the Greenhouse Project, a joint effort by the CSIRO Department of Atmospheric Physics and the Commission for the Future was launched. And in 1988 the issue exploded onto the public attention. There were lots of warm words, but not so much action because that would be costly and would not fit with what we were already doing. We are habitual creatures, especially when those habits are defended with political, economic, cultural and military force.
On this topic, you might like these other posts on All Our Yesterdays
October 12, 1986 – Ockham’s Razor and the Greenhouse Effect (ABC radio programme)
References
You can see the chronological list of All Our Yesterdays “on this day” posts here.
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.
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If you want to invite me on your podcast, that would boost my ego and probably improve the currently pitiful hit-rate on this site (the two are not-unrelated).
Also on this day:
June 21, 1954 – Manchester Evening News explains climate change
June 21, 1958 – Washington Post reports ‘world turning into a ‘greenhouse’
June 21, 1964 – Goodman, Chaney and Schwerner murdered –
June 21, 1994 – “National Greenhouse Advisory Panel” established. Hilarity ensues.
June 21, 2007 – ABC unleashes “Carbon Cops” on the world. ACAB – All Climate Activists Barf…