Global warming: Whose job is it, part deux

In an interview broadcast earlier today, NASA chief Michael Griffin told National Public Radio that he thought it was "arrogant" to assume that the current climate "is the best climate for all other human beings" and in fact, "I don’t think it’s within the power of human beings to assure that the climate does not change."

When NASA's top climate scientist, James Hansen, heard those comments he "almost fell off my chair," and he called Griffin's statements about global warming "markedly uninformed."

Why? "Civilization developed with – it’s the current climate," Hansen, who heads up NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies, told NPR. "And we have got an infrastructure along coastlines that assumes that our climate is going to stay roughly what it is now. But if we are going to simply allow human emissions to greatly change climate, I think that is extremely arrogant of our species. It will be devastating to many other species on the planet, not to mention many of our own species."

Although Hansen said he hoped Griffin's comments were being taken out of context, he did note that funding for climate change research at NASA have been cut by 30 percent recently.

To hear all of Hansen's interview click on:

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=10577221

--Craig Pittman

Comments

[Melissa Meehan]

This internal NASA debate is fascinating.

It is important to keep in mind that roughly half of our population lives on or near the coast. Hansen is correct -- coastal populations are dependent on a stable climate and face major risks from global warming.

I attended a workshop today hosted by the Coastal States Organization (CSO) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) regarding the future of coastal development. I was very encouraged to see that NOAA and CSO are listening to stakeholder suggestions for improving coastal management. I was also encouraged that climate change was a major topic.

If you would like to submit comments to NOAA and CSO on future coastal management legislation, you can do so at: http://coastalmanagement.noaa.gov/czm/czma_vision.html