Category: United States of America

Categories
United States of America

August 4, 1977- “Workshop on Anticipated Plant Responses to Global Carbon Dioxide Enrichment”

Forty nine years ago, on this day, August 4th, 1977,

Duke University in Durham, North Carolina on August 4-5, 1977 for “Workshop on Anticipated Plant Responses to Global Carbon Dioxide Enrichment”….  Five years later, on May 23-28, 1982, a similar “International Conference on Rising Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide and Plant Productivity” was held in Athens, Georgia.

(Idso, 1982: 72- 73)

The amount of carbon dioxide in the air was 333ppm. As of 2026, when this post was published, it is 430ppm. 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 was that from the mid 70s conferences, especially in the US and Europe, about carbon dioxide build up and the social, economic, biological, military implications it was becoming a known fixture on the circuit, the carousel.

The specific context was that the biologists have been banging on about CO2 build up for a long time. See, for example, 1948 Evelyn Hutchinson at the AAAS, and Lamont Cole in the 60s, and so on and so on.

What I think we can learn from this So this is a point I make regularly; You can’t just look at what the climatologists and meteorologists are saying. You also have to look at the ecologists and biologists, George Woodwell, for example.

What happened next There was another conference in 1980 andSherwood Idso wrote a truly demented article that somehow got published in Science. And this came up in the 1980 hearings, [insert quote from co2 newsletter], and Idso kept on being a nut job denialist, unable to accept that he had been wrong, so just doubled down and kept being wrong (see also Reid Bryson) until he died.

On this topic, you might like these other posts on All Our Yesterdays

Xx

References

xx

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.

If you want to get involved, let me know.

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: 

August 4, 1978 – “A Terminal Mesozoic ‘Greenhouse’: Lessons from the Past” 

August 4, 1980 – “Towards a Troubled 21st Century” reports Time Magazine 

August 4, 1988 – Hawke Cabinet asks for “what can we do?” report on climate.

August 4, 2004 – Australian farmers nervous about climate change. Ignored 

August 4, 2008 – Police pepper spray #climate campers 

Categories
United States of America

July 30,  2006 – Murray Bookchin dies

Twenty years ago, on this day, July  30th, 2006,

Murray Bookchin died

The amount of carbon dioxide in the air was 381ppm. As of 2026, when this post was published, it is 430ppm. 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 was that Bookchin was a very big deal in anarchist circles.

Murray Bookchin (/ˈbʊktʃɪn/; January 14, 1921 – July 30, 2006[1]) was an American social theorist, author, orator, historian, and political philosopher. Influenced by the works of G. W. F. Hegel, Karl Marx, and Peter Kropotkin,[2] he was a pioneer in the environmental movement.[3] Bookchin formulated and developed the theory of social ecology and urban planning within anarchist, libertarian socialist, and ecological thought. He was the author of two dozen books covering topics in politics, philosophy, history, urban affairs, and social ecology. Among the most important were Our Synthetic Environment (1962), Post-Scarcity Anarchism (1971), The Ecology of Freedom (1982), and Urbanization Without Cities (1987). In the late 1990s, he became disenchanted with what he saw as an increasingly apolitical “lifestylism” of the contemporary anarchist movement, stopped referring to himself as an anarchist, and founded his own libertarian socialist ideology called “communalism“, which seeks to reconcile and expand Marxist, syndicalist, and anarchist thought.[4][5]

The specific context (around climate) is that his 1965 book Crisis in Our Cities is one of the first warnings about carbon dioxide build-up to appear in mainstream American non-fiction.

On page 187 we have this – 

And this –  “Meteorologists believe that the immediate effect of increased heat leads to violent air circulation and increasingly destructive storms….  theoretically, after several centuries of fossil-fuel combustion, the increased heat of the atmosphere could even melt the polar ice caps of the earth and lead to the inundation of the continents with sea water.”

(warnings would become more stark soon, with shrunken timescales).

What I think we can learn from this- vale Murray.

On this topic, you might like these other posts on All Our Yesterdays

Xx

References

xx

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.

If you want to get involved, let me know.

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: 

July 30, 1968 – the UN says yes to an environment conference 

July 30, 1979 – scientists warn US Senators about synfuels and carbon dioxide build-up 

July 30, 1979 – synfuels would be sinful…

July 30, 1989 – UK Conservative politician warns “we have at most 25 years to take action.” 

July 30, 2005 – John Howard versus the climate 

Categories
United States of America

July 28, 1981 – “Will the polar icecaps melt?” (Why yes, yes they will…)

Forty five years ago, on this day, July 28, 1981, Michael Schlesinger gives a talk on “Carbon dioxide proliferation: Will the polar icecaps melt?”

https://www.atmos.illinois.edu/~schlesin/cv.pdf

https://web.archive.org/web/20120426140635/https://www.atmos.illinois.edu/~schlesin/cv.pdf

The amount of carbon dioxide in the air was 340ppm. As of 2026, when this post was published, it is 430ppm. 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 was that from the early 1950s, when Gilbert Plass (building on the work of Arrhenius and Callendar) pointed out that burning fossil fuels would lead to sea-level rise etc, scientists (many American, but also other nations) had been beavering away.  By the mid-late 1970s, it was all become clear enough for scientists to be going puce.

The specific context was the first World Climate Conference had happened in Geneva, and a flurry of meetings and conferences was also taking place. Those in the know, knew.

What I think we can learn from this – we can’t say we were not warned.

What happened next – more emissions, higher concentrations. We slipped into the Fafocene without even really understanding it.

On this topic, you might like these other posts on All Our Yesterdays

See also John Mercer’s landmark 1978 article in Nature.

References

xx

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.

If you want to get involved, let me know.

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: 

July 28, 1970 – American journalist warns about melting the icecaps… 

July 28, 1990 – science writer John Gribbin explains why caution is wrong on global warming 

July 28, 1990 – American #climate denial comes to London 

July 28, 2003 – James Inhofe shares his genius 

July 28, 2005 – AP6 announced 

Categories
United States of America

July 25,  1977 – the Ironwood Daily Globe tells the truth

Forty-nine years ago, on this day, July  25th, 1977,

In reporting the “Energy and Climate” study, the Ironwood Daily Globe (Ironwood, Michigan) ·of Mon, 25 Jul 1977 tells the truth on page 1.

The amount of carbon dioxide in the air was 333ppm. As of 2026, when this post was published, it is 430ppm. 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 was

that newspapers had been writing stories about carbon dioxide build up for over twenty years by this point. A flurry in the 1950s, mostly around Gilbert Plass’s work and then the studies before and during the International Geophysical Year. Then frequency had dipped a bit, but picked up in the late 1960s.

The specific context was that a two year study by the National Academies of Sciences, on ‘Energy and Climate’ had been released with some fan-fair.

What I think we can learn from this – this news was not restricted to the coastal elites – those in ‘flyover country’ were aware too,

What happened next

There was an effort to get the carbon dioxide issue onto the agenda by a host of scientists (and also the geologist William Barbat). It failed not because they weren’t smart or talented enough, but because, well Thatcher, but then Reagan and his goons. It was not until 1988 that the problem finally became an issue.

On this topic, you might like these other posts on All Our Yesterdays

Xx

References

xx

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.

If you want to get involved, let me know.

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: 

July 25, 1977 – New York Times front page story “scientists foresee serious climate changes”

July 25, 1989 – “Mineral Fuel Alternatives and the Greenhouse Effect” 

July 25, 1989 – Australian Environment Minister admits was blocked by Treasurer on emissions reduction target 

July 25, 1996 – Australian PM John Howard as fossil-fuel puppet 

July 25, 1997 – US says, in effect, “screw our promises, screw the planet” 

July 25, 2001 – Australian Environment Minister says the quiet part out loud about Kyoto 

July 25, 2008 – More economic “modelling” against an emissions trading scheme  

Categories
Science Scientists United States of America

July 19, 2010 – Stephen Schneider dies

Sixteen years ago, on this day, July  11st, 2010 scientist Stephen Schneider died.

Stephen H. Schneider 1945-2010

Dr. Stephen H. Schneider was the Melvin and Joan Lane Professor for Interdisciplinary Environmental Studies, Professor of Biology, Professor (by courtesy) of Civil and Environ mental Engineering, and a Senior Fellow in the Woods Institute for the Environment at Stanford University. Dr. Schneider received his Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering and Plasma Physics from Columbia University in 1971. He studied the role of greenhouse gases and suspended particulate material on climate as a postdoctoral fellow at NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies. He was awarded a postdoctoral fellowship at the National Center for Atmospheric Research in 1972 and was a member of the scientific staff of NCAR from 1973-1996, where he co-founded the Climate Project.

Internationally recognized for research, policy analysis and outreach in climate change, Dr. Schneider focused on climate change science, integrated assessment of ecological and economic impacts of human-induced climate change, and identifying viable climate policies and technological solutions. He consulted with federal agencies and/or White House staff in the Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan, G.H.W. Bush, Clinton, G.W. Bush, and Obama administrations.

[continues]

https://stephenschneider.stanford.edu/References/Biography.html

Trenbeth at American Meteorological Jan 2011.  

https://ams.confex.com/ams/91Annual/webprogram/Paper180230.html

The amount of carbon dioxide in the air was xxxppm. As of 2026, when this post was published, it is 430ppm. 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 was that Schneider’s first encounter with climate change/media had come in 1971, when he had co-authored a paper which got taken up as “an ice age is coming”. By the mid-1970s he was writing books like The Genesis Strategy and appearing on the Johnny Carson show

September 7, 1977 – #climate scientist Stephen Schneider on Carson for the last time…

. By the late 1970s he was giving clips to documentary makers like this –

Schneider was in Australia for the Greenhouse 88 conference(s), fielding media enquiries and generally doing a good job of being a public intellectual.

He was then first (iirc) ‘thinker in residence’ in South Australia.

Anyway, he died too young and there was a lot more he had to contribute.

On this topic, you might like these other posts on All Our Yesterdays

September 9, 1971 – Stephen Schneider’s letter, and a World Model

December 29, 1972 – Schneider meets Sullivan

November 1, 1975 – Stephen Schneider tries to clear up the “Carbon Dioxide Climate Confusion.”

January 28, 1990 –  Stephen Schneider and the dirty crystal ball.

References

xx

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.

If you want to get involved, let me know.

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: 

July 19, 1968 – “man has already rendered the temperature equilibrium of the globe more unstable.” 

July 19, 1976 – , Scientist warns “ “If we’re still rolling along on fossil fuels by the end of the century, then we’ve had it.” 

July 19, 1977 – American public hears from a climate scientist 

July 19, 1979 – “a political view on C02”

Categories
Energy United States of America

July 17, 1979 – Synthetic fuel hearings

Forty seven years ago, on this day, July 17th, 1979,

U.S. Senate, Committee on Governmental Affairs, Synthetic Fuels, Hearing, 17–20 July 1979)

Googlebooks

The amount of carbon dioxide in the air was 337ppm. As of 2026, when this post was published, it is 430ppm. 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 was the dream of turning coal into oil/gas was an old one. It is, technically doable but only at enormous (financial and ecological) cost.

In the aftermath of the 1973 Arab oil embargo and the quadrupling of energy prices, governments were looking again at synthetic fuels…

The specific context was that the Carter administration had been forging ahead, even as climate scientists (then a new breed) were warning of the carbon dioxide implications…(the first world climate conference had just happened).

What I think we can learn from this:  We are not a terribly bright species.

What happened next – Helmut Schmidt got Abraham Ribicoff switched onto the climate problem. The synfuels never happened.  The emissions and atmospheric concentrations kept climbing. Oh well. 

xxx

On this topic, you might like these other posts on All Our Yesterdays

July 30, 1979 – synfuels would be sinful…

July 30, 1979 – scientists warn US Senators about synfuels and carbon dioxide build-up

References

xx

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.

If you want to get involved, let me know.

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: 

July 17, 1912 – Braidwood Dispatch and Mining Journal on climate change 

July 17, 1968 – Scoop Jackson’s colloquium 

July 17, 1991 – G7 DOESN’T talk about climate… 

July 17, 2006 – Australian Prime Minister shits on renewables, blah blah “realistic” 

July 17, 2014 – Australian elected idiot is highly visibly idiotic 

Categories
United States of America

July 16, 1970 – Nixon aide spots climate problem

Fifty six years ago, on this day, July  16th, 1970,

On July 16, 1970, Nixon aide John C. Whitaker received a set of documents from  the newly created Council on Environmental Quality. One item specifically caught his  attention. “Man’s Inadvertent Modification of Weather and Climate” presented what  Whitaker called a “particularly hairy” problem: the capacity for humans to alter the long- term trajectory of the earth’s climate.2  https://www.worthingtoncaron.com/documents/Climate-Change-and-the-Clean-Air-Act-of-1970.pdf

The amount of carbon dioxide in the air was 325ppm. As of 2026, when this post was published, it is 430ppm. 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 was that Gilbert Plass, building on the work of Arrhenius and Callendar, had started raising the alarm in 1953. By 1965, Presidents (LBJ) were mouthing the pieties.

In the second half of the 1960s the possible dangers of carbon dioxide build-up became wide-spread.

The specific context was that soon after his inauguration Nixon was made to look weak/uncaring at the Santa Barbara oil spill. He then used environmental issues as a way of trying to get NATO to stop wanging on about the slaughter in Vietnam.  By late 1969 you had people like Daniel Moynihan writing memos etc.

What I think we can learn from this – we have known plenty plenty plenty. PS the CEQ documents Whitaker was looking at were almost certainly written by/supplied by Gordon MacDonald.

What happened next

It took another 20 years (well, 18) before American politicians would be forced to pretend to care.

On this topic, you might like these other posts on All Our Yesterdays

Xx

References

xx

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.

If you want to get involved, let me know.

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: 

July 16, 1989 – Paris agreement on climate… 

July 16, 1989 – Paris Agreement….

July 16, 1990 – Canberra Times gives denialist tosh a platform 

July 16, 1992 – American scientist claims “no firm evidence” of #climate change Australian National Press Club #denial 

Categories
United States of America

July 15,  1979 – Carter’s “malaise” speech

Forty eight years ago, on this day, July  11st, 1979,

“We will protect our environment. But when this Nation critically needs a refinery or a pipeline, we will build it.”

1979 15 July – Carter’s  Address to the Nation on Energy and National Goals: “The Malaise Speech”

The amount of carbon dioxide in the air was 336ppm. As of 2026, when this post was published, it is 430ppm. 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 was that from the mid-1960s US Presidents had been getting warnings about carbon dioxide build-up.  It meant some nice speeches and reports, but not much else.  Carter didn’t mention carbon dioxide build-up in his malaise speech – it would have been very cool if he had, but the politics of it would have been terrible.

The specific context was that Carter was putting his finger on something, for all the good it did him.

What I think we can learn from this – people cannot handle very much truth, now can they?

What happened next- those bastards stole the summer

On this topic, you might like these other posts on All Our Yesterdays

Xx

References

There is a book about Carter’s malaise speech, its genesis, its reception and aftermath.

What the Heck Are You Up To, Mr. President?’: Jimmy Carter, America’s “Malaise,” and the Speech That Should Have Changed the Country 

Revisiting Carter’s “Malaise” Speech

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.

If you want to get involved, let me know.

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: 

July 15, 1968 – first(?) UK government attention to the possibility of climate change 

July 15, 1972 – Soviet Weekly on how man affects the weather… 

July 15, 1977 – “Heavy Use of Coal May Bring Adverse Shift in Climate” 

July 15, 1988 – “Racing on Capitol Hill for Title of “Mr Greenhouse” 

July 15, 1991 – RIP Roger Revelle 

July 15, 1994 – ALP and BCA in good cop bad cop routine 

July 15, 2005 – The “Stern Review” into #climate is announced…

Categories
United States of America

July 11, 1979 – New York Times warns about carbon dioxide build-up

Forty seven  years ago, on this day, July 11st, 1979,

WASHINGTON, July 10— In a report to the Council on Environmental Quality, a group of scientists warned today of the rapidly growing impact of carbon dioxide on the earth’s climate and asked that the problem be addressed in the formulation of new energy policy by President Carter.

The scientists warned that a major increase in the burning of fossil fuels, particularly synthetic fuels, could have a disastrous impact on the environment in the relatively near future.

“Man is setting in motion a series of events that seem certain to cause a significant warming of the world climate over the next decades unless mitigating steps are taken immediately,” the report declared.

https://www.nytimes.com/1979/07/11/archives/scientists-warn-us-of-carbon-dioxide-peril-advice-on-energy.html

The amount of carbon dioxide in the air was 337ppm. As of 2026, when this post was published, it is 430ppm. 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 was that in 1953 Canadian physicist Gilbert Plass had warned people about this.  There were further warnings through the 1950s and 1960s. President Johnson name-checked carbon dioxide as a problem in 1965. Nixon was warned about it repeatedly. 

The specific context was that the First World Climate Conference had happened.  Meanwhile, the G7 had name-checked carbon dioxide build-up as a possible problem, e.gHelmut Schmidt, German Chancellor was talking about it. In the US, since 1977, a growing number of scientists had been meeting, comparing notes and warning.  They were especially worried about the Carter Administration’s plans for the creation of oil from shale and coal.

What I think we can learn from this we knew enough to be taking action by 1979.

What happened next. We didn’t take action in 1979. Or 1989. Or 1999. Etc.  Emissions have kept climbing when they should have fallen. Consequently, atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide have kept climbing (soaring), and now the Fafocene has begun. Oh well.

xxx

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.

If you want to get involved, let me know.

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: 

July 11, 1968 – The UN Secretary-General, U Thant, delivers report on Human Environment that mentions carbon dioxide and climate change

July 11, 1972 – Gay rights vs ABC 

July 11, 1989 – Australia says “sure, we’ll take #climate refugees.” Yeah, nah.

July 11, 1994 – Australian Environment Minister admits not clear if Australia hitting targets (spoilers, it wasn’t) 

July 11, 1995 – Chicago heatwave gets going

July 11, 1996 – Celebrity Death Match: Australian fossil fuels industry versus The World (Spoiler: world lost)

July 11, 2013- “don’t be evil” my fat arse….

Categories
United States of America

July 7, 1979 – climate memo on Carter’s desk

Forty seven years ago, on this day, July  7th, 1979, a ,memo lands on President Jimmy Carter’s desk from his chief scientific adviser, Frank Press –

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/jun/14/1977-us-presidential-memo-predicted-climate-change

The amount of carbon dioxide in the air was 337ppm. As of 2026, when this post was published, it is 430ppm. 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 was Lyndon Johnson was the first US president to warn about carbon dioxide build-up, in early 1965 (thanks to the work of Roger Revelle etc).  Between then and 1979, the science had become a lot firmer, especially from the mid-1970s.

The specific context was that various scientists (including Alvin Weinberg) had been beavering away, holding conferences, lobbying Frank Press, etc etc, trying to get the issue onto the agenda.

This met headwinds though, because the Carter Administration also wanted to reduce dependence on Middle Eastern oil, and was pursuing making oil from shale, which would be a climate catastrophe. 

What I think we can learn from this. The second half of the 1970s – fully fifty years ago, is the key period when a community of scientists – not just climatologists – started going “oh shit”.  You can read all about them in William Barbat’s CO2 Newsletter…

What happened next. Press chided Gus Speth of the Council on Environmental Quality for continuing to bang on about carbon dioxide build-up. Carter lost the 1980 election. Reagan the wrecking ball came in, and the last slender chance of avoiding catastrophe was gone. Oh well. 

On this topic, you might like these other posts on All Our Yesterdays

July 30, 1979 – synfuels would be sinful…

May 5, 1980 – Frank Press to Jimmy Carter on climate

References

xx

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.

If you want to get involved, let me know.

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: 

July 7, 1969 – Newsweek writes about the “good earth,” mentions carbon dioxide build-up

July 7, 1970 – an Australian banker goes “Full Extinction Rebellion”, 50 years early…

July 7, 1988 – foolish “Jumping the greenhouse gun” editorial in Nature.

July 7, 1992 – Greenhouse Action Australia briefing  

July 7, 1997 – Alexander Downer tells the truth.

July 7, 2008 – Liberals start back-tracking on climate promises.