Category: United States of America

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United States of America

December 22, 1975 – “Scientist Warns of Great Floods if Earth’s Heat Rises” (surely “when”?)

On this day, December 22 in 1975, the New York Times ran a story “Scientist Warns of Great Floods if Earth’s Heat Rises.”

But carbon dioxide was not in the frame.

Dr Howard Wilcox, who had a book called “Hothouse Earth” argued that – in the words of the NYT-

“man’s output of heat into the atmosphere, if allowed to increase at present energy and industrial growth rates, will raise the earth’s temperature enough to melt the polar ice caps and flood many populous areas of the earth in the next 80 to 180 years.”

 That ‘heat’ would be the key driver, was not the case…, as both William Kellogg and Murray Mitchell pointed out – the final paragraphs in the story are these:

Dr. J. Murray Mitchell, Jr.; senior research climatologist at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration laboratory in Silver Spring, Md. in a telephone interview offered, similar observations:

“I agree with Dr. Wilcox’s concern and his scientific analysis and statistical evidence. But I feel that the more immediate danger will come from the increasing amounts of carbon dioxide that are thrown off into the atmosphere along with the heat that Dr. Wilcox talks about.”

Baynard Webster, “Scientist Warns of Great Floods if Earth’s Heat Rises,” New York Times, December 22, 1975

[The amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere was 331ppm. At time of writing it was 419ishppm- but for what it is now,well, see here for the latest.]

Why this matters

We need to remember that – as per the Landsberg article mentioned a few days ago, carbon dioxide was not the only villain in the picture.

What happened next

Within a couple of years, it was obvious that carbon dioxide was, in fact, the big thing to worry about. 

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Activism United States of America

December 21, 2005 – US activist William Rodgers commits suicide

On this day, December 21, in 2005, US environmental activist William Rodgers committed suicide in prison.

“To my friends and supporters to help them make sense of all these events that have happened so quickly: Certain human cultures have been waging war against the Earth for millennia. I chose to fight on the side of bears, mountain lions, skunks, bats, saguaros, cliff rose, and all things wild. I am just the most recent casualty in that war. But tonight I have made a jail break – I am returning home, to the Earth, to the place of my origins. Bill, 12/21/05 (the winter solstice.)”

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_C._Rodgers

[The amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere was 380ppm. At time of writing it was 419ishppm- but for what it is now,well, see here for the latest.]

The context was this – 

Rodgers was one of six environmental activists arrested December 7, 2005 as part of the FBI‘s Operation Backfire. His charge was one count of arson for a June, 1998 fire set by the Earth Liberation Front (ELF) at the National Wildlife Research Center in Olympia, Washington. 

Why this matters. 

Those who try to slow down the acceleration of the destruction usually pay a price.

What happened next?

The acceleration of the destruction. Obvs.

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UNFCCC United States of America

December 19, 1991- Will UN negotiations go as usual and “commit us to global catastrophe”?

On this day, December 19 in 1991 a close observer of the negotiations for a global climate treaty warned that it might end up being useless.

 Michael Oppenheimer of the Environmental Defense Fund lamented that ‘We remain confident that the texts of a Convention will emerge. However, we are not at all confident it will be an effective Convention. Those square brackets exist for the purpose of defending the supposed interests of countries. But in so doing they may yet commit us to global catastrophe (quoted in ECO, 19 December 1991).

Paterson, M (1996) page 58

[The amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere was 351ppm. At time of writing it was 419ishppm- but for what it is now,well, see here for the latest.]

The context was this – 

The negotiations for a global climate treaty had finally begun – despite the best efforts of the US to stop them from happening at all – in 1991.  And it instantly became obvious that Uncle Sam was just gonna delay and block, block and delay…

Why this matters. 

If you know your history, you will know that … you’re history

What happened next?

This. What you are living.  The catastrophes.

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Science United States of America

December 18, 1970 – Science article about “Man-Made Climatic Changes”

On this day, December 18 in 1970, an article was published in Science, about “Manmade climatic changes,” written by Helmut  Landsberg.

Landsberg (who would be dismissive of Stephen Schneider later in the decade) ran through a number of possible ways in which humans might inadvertently alter the climate – carbon dioxide was only one route, and as he noted, perhaps a little disingenuously, given that he knew CO2 levels were rising,

“our estimates of CO2 production by natural causes, such as volcanic exhalations and organic decay, are very inaccurate; hence the ratio of these natural effects to anthropogenic effects remains to be established.”

Landsberg (1970)

[The amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere was 326ppm. At time of writing it was 419ishppm- but for what it is now, well, see here for the latest.]

The context was this – 

The first big wave of eco-concern about global issues (beyond smog and DDT, onto extinction, overpopulation, and, yes, climate change) was in full swing. Earlier in the year the first report of the President’s council on environment quality had even mentioned the possibility of carbon dioxide build up being a Very Serious Thing.

August 3, 1970 – Nixon warned about climate change and icecaps melting

Why this matters. 

It perhaps gives you pause for thought?  We’ve been failing to act on climate for half a century.

What happened next?

Stockholm conference on the Environment in 1972. Didn’t give us much, but UNEP, and UNEP and the WMO shepherded the climate agenda forwards…  That took another sixteen long years…

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United States of America

December 14, 1988 – Greenhouse Glasnost gets going…

On this day, December 14 in 1988 the New York TImes reports on joint Soviet/US committee  

“The national science academies of the United States and the Soviet Union, warning that the earth’s ”ecological security” is now endangered, announced today the formation of a joint Committee on Global Ecology Concerns.

The new committee will identify and investigate threats to the global environment and report its conclusions, along with policy recommendations, to their Governments and to international organizations.”

http://www.nytimes.com/1988/12/14/world/us-soviet-panel-formed-to-study-ecology.html

This is a fruit of an earlier announcement – May 11, 1988 – “Greenhouse Glasnost” USA and USSR to co-operate on climate

[The amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere was 351ppm. At time of writing it was 419ishppm- but for what it is now, well, see here for the latest.]

The context was this – 

By the end of 1988 everyone was talking the greenhouse effect, everyone wanted to say that they were taking the matter seriously, this included the Soviet Union which of course would begin to collapse the following year.

Why this matters. 

 This one really doesn’t, this is for historical interest only if you’re a geek  like me and if you are get help.

What happened next?

The Soviet Union collapsed, the United States muscled the negotiations for a global climate treaty and made sure that nothing serious would be done.

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United States of America

December 13, 1984 – Christian Science Monitor monitors the #climate science – ooops.

On this day,  December 13th in 1984 for the Christian Science Monitor ran an article which covered some recent research into carbon dioxide build-up.

Its conclusion? Its conclusion has not aged well.

“the alarms often raised about melting the polar icecaps and flooding coastal cities are largely speculation. And the calls that have been made to ”do something now” to begin to restrict the burning of fossil fuels are rather premature.”

Cowen, Robert C. (1984). “New CO[2] data undercuts dire prediction icecaps would melt. Chillier winters, hungrier bugs ahead?”. Christian Science Monitor, 13 December.

Oops.

On this day the PPM was 345ppm Now it is 419ish- but see here for the latest.

Why this matters. 

Find mid 1980s the question of future climate change caused by buildup of atmospheric carbon dioxide from man’s burning of oil, coal and gas was an infrequent but no longer unusual topic of conversation in the mass media on television and print media.

What happened next?

It would be another 4 years until the question of climate change burst onto the scene and became a regular feature of newspaper and print media and the denial campaigns started

properly.

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United States of America

December 10, 1985 – Carl Sagan testified to US Senators on #climate danger

On this day, December 10 1985, scientist Carl Sagan testified in front of a US senate hearing. He explained the basic physics of carbon dioxide build up and its consequences

“I’d like to stress that the greenhouse effect makes life on Earth possible. If there were not a greenhouse effect, the temperature would, as I say, be 30 centigrade degrees or so colder. And that’s well below the freezing point of water everywhere on the planet. The oceans would be solid after a while.

“A little greenhouse effect is a good thing, but there is a delicate balance of these invisible gases, and too much or too little greenhouse effect can mean too high or too low a temperature. And here we are pouring enormous quantities of CO2 and these other gasses into the atmosphere every year, with hardly any concern about its long-term and global consequences.”

Handy transcript here – https://theanalysis.news/carl-sagan-testifying-before-congress-in-1985-on-climate-change/

“In the fall of 1985, the Senate held several hearings on the topic of global warming and climate change in response to the report of an international scientific conference held in Villach, Austria. These were the first hearings on climate change in the Senate since 1979. The House had held hearings on rising levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide under the guidance of Representative Albert Gore in 1981, 1982, and 1984. Senator David Durenberger observed presciently, in his opening statement to the December 1985 hearings on global warming, that `grappling with this problem [of climate change] is going to be just about as easy as nailing jello to the wall’ (SCEPW,1986a, p. 1).

(Pielke, 2000)

[The amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere was 346ppm. At time of writing it was 419ishppm- but for what it is now,well, see here for the latest.]

The context was this – 

From the mid-1970s, scientists had been getting more certain of – and worried about – the impacts of dumping extraordinary amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. They had turned up in Villach, Austria, in September of 1985, for a meeting organised by WMO and UNEP. (see here – October 15, 1985 – Villach meeting supercharges greenhouse concerns…

https://allouryesterdays.info/2022/10/14/october-15-1985-villach-meeting-supercharges-greenhouse-concerns/)
They crunched numbers, thought about the non-C02 gases and gone “ooops” and started getting sympathetic politicians (and at this point, the Republicans had not yet gone totally insane).

.

Why this matters. 

Forty years we’ve known, really. Those that knew were outspent, outgunned, outmanoeuvred by frightened and frightening goons for the status quo. The\ goons have been the death of us.

What happened next?

The Reagan Administration did everything it could to stop being bounced into a carbon dioxide treaty the way it had been (in its perception) on ozone. With a great deal of very consequential success. We’re so doomed, I cannot begin to tell you.

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Kyoto Protocol United States of America

December 7, 1928 – Noam Chomsky born

On this day, December 7 in 1928 – Noam Chomsky was born.

Happy 94th birthday, Noam.

Here’s a couple  of quotes, for those of you who want a taste. The first is (obvs) on climate. The second is on… heroes…

 “Take the Kyoto Protocol. Destruction of the environment is not only rational; it’s exactly what you’re taught to do in college. If you take an economics or a political science course, you’re taught that humans are supposed to be rational wealth accumulators, each acting as an individual to maximize his own wealth in the market. The market is regarded as democratic because everybody has a vote. Of course, some have more votes than others because your votes depend on the number of dollars you have, but everybody participates and therefore it’s called democratic. Well, suppose that we believe what we are taught. It follows that if there are dollars to be made, you destroy the environment. The reason is elementary. The people who are going to be harmed by this are your grandchildren, and they don’t have any votes in the market. Their interests are worth zero. Anybody that pays attention to their grandchildren’s interests is being irrational, because what you’re supposed to do is maximize your own interests, measured by wealth, right now. Nothing else matters. So destroying the environment and militarizing outer space are rational policies, but within a framework of institutional lunacy. If you accept the institutional lunacy, then the policies are rational.

Interview by Yifat Susskind, August 2001 [52]

And also, on heroes

I gather it’s your belief that when we focus on heroes in the movement, that’s a mistake, because it’s really the unsung heroes, the unsung seamstresses or whatever in this movement, who actually make a difference.

They’re the ones, yes. Take, say, the Civil Rights movement. When you think of the Civil Rights movement, the first thing you think of is Martin Luther King. King was an important figure. But he would have been the first to tell you, I’m sure, that he was riding the wave of activism, that people who were doing the work, who were in the lead in the Civil Rights movement, were young SNCC [Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee] workers, freedom riders, people out there in the streets every day getting beaten and sometimes killed, working constantly. They created the circumstances in which a Martin Luther King could come in and be a leader. His role was extremely important, I’m not denigrating it, it was very important to have done that. But the people who were really important are the ones whose names are forgotten. And that’s true of every movement that ever existed.

http://globetrotter.berkeley.edu/people2/Chomsky/chomsky-con5.html

[The amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere was 307ppm. At time of writing it was 419ishppm- but for what it is now,well, see here for the latest.] 

Why this matters. 

Noam has mattered. Movements matter.

Categories
Science United States of America

December 3, 1972 – #climate scientists write “gizza grant” letter to President Nixon

On this day, December 3 in 1972, some climate scientists wrote a “give us money to study climate” letter to President Nixon.

“After the conference the conference organizers, (the late G. J. Kukla and R. K. Mathews) wrote to President  Nixon (December 3, 1972) calling for federal action on possible climate change. At that time, with no consensus on climate change, their letter was an important impetus to expanding research. The letter noted that the “main  conclusion of the meeting was that a global deterioration of climate, by order of magnitude larger than any hitherto experience by civilized mankind, is a very real possibility and indeed may be due very soon.” On the question of “artificial heating” of the atmosphere, as opposed to orbital changes for ice ages, the letter concluded  that “knowledge necessary for understanding the mechanism of climate change is lamentably inadequate and the ultimate causes remain unknown” (Kukla and Mitchell, 1972) [4]  

Hecht, A. 2014, Past, Present and Future: Urgency of Dealing with Climate Change. Atmospheric and Climate Sciences
Vol.04 No.05

[The amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere was 327ppm. At time of writing it was 419ishppm- but for what it is now,well, see here for the latest.]

The context was this – 

Everyone knew there’d be new money for this sort of science, and wanted a piece of the action. Not to be cynical or anything.

Why this matters. 

Kulka and Mitchell were wrong.  We need to remember that there isn’t this “straight narrow line” from ignorance to knowledge. The real world is messy af.

What happened next?

Iirc, they got some dosh, but within a couple of years it became obvious they were wrong

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United States of America

December 2, 1964 – Mario Savio’s “bodies on the gears” speech at Berkeley..

On this day, December 2 in 1964 Mario Savio, American activist, gave his famous “Bodies on the Gears” speech on the Berkeley campus of University of California.

What to do with climate change? Well, the Black Civil Rights movement, (Savio’s speech came at the end of the Freedom Summer), was an “initiator movement” for women’s liberation, gay rights and what we used to call the ecology movement.  We could learn something by studying the history.  And the rhetoric is first rate.

[The amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere was 319ppm. At time of writing it was 419ishppm- but for what it is now,well, see here for the latest.]