NASA Climate Expert James Hansen: The Future Is Now—and It Is Hot

[marmar]

from YES! Magazine:


NASA Climate Expert James Hansen: The Future Is Now—and It Is Hot
Climate change is already increasing the likelihood of weather extremes—like the droughts and heat waves like we’ve seen in recent years—according to a new report by one of NASA’s top climate scientists.

by Jeff Raderstrong
posted Nov 13, 2012


James Hansen, director of the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies and a well-known voice on climate change, published a report in August with a strong new take on global warming. The peer-reviewed report is “Perception of Climate Change,” published by the National Academy of Sciences. Using statistical analysis of temperature records rather than climate prediction models, Hansen and co-authors show that climate change is already increasing the likelihood of weather extremes, especially unusually hot weather.

Hansen says his research shows that extremely hot temperatures covered about 
0.1 percent to 0.2 percent of the globe in the base period of the study, from 1951 to 1980. In the following 30 years, Hansen says, those extreme temperatures have become much more common and now occur on about 10 percent of the globe.

Those who deny that global warming is man-made typically argue that climate cycles occur naturally. But describing his latest findings for The Washington Post, Hansen wrote: “The odds that natural variability created these extremes are minuscule, vanishingly small. To count on those odds would be like quitting your job and playing the lottery every morning to pay the bills.” ................(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.yesmagazine.org/issues/what-would-nature-do/hansens-hot-new-statistics-on-weather-record

[lalalu]

1. Gore was on the weather channel today saying the same.

[marmar]

2. Al was on the Weather Channel? Sorry I missed it.

nt

[lalalu]

4. Yes, it was pretty early and it was a live discussion.

[occupymybrain]

3. Maybe someone will listen

We have got to get people to listen and understand this or we face impossible tasks ahead. The sea level alone will displace millions and that's just the beginning.

[AverageJoe90]

5. Yes indeed.

Now, I wouldn't quite say impossible, though.....more like "challenging(it's a tad of an understatement but it does fit, I think)".

The good news is, though, is that Sandy's really gotten people to talk lately and that's definitely a good sign.

[AverageJoe90]

6. Good article.

Just one slight quibble: The only time extremely hot temperatures ever occurred on 10% of the Earth's surface, was during this summer, and to be perfectly honest, it's more than possible that this particular event was not much more than an extreme anomaly(hey, these things do happen!).

Other than that, a job well done by Yes! magazine.