2008-06-25
There were no climate-science bombshells from James E. Hansen on Monday on his trip to Capitol Hill... He said everything he has been saying for years: unabated warming would erode the ice sheets, flood coastal cities and drive many species into extinction. The briefing was organized by Representative Edward Markey, the Massachusetts Democrat and chairman of the House Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming, and for the first half he was the only lawmaker in a room... (Representative Jay Inslee, Democrat of Washington State, came late.) Committee staff explained that the main goal was to honor Dr. Hansen by hosting a briefing for him on the 20th anniversary of the 1988 hearing, even though the sleepy, muggy days of late June had many lawmakers on the road. In his methodical, low-key Iowan way, Dr. Hansen ran through his climate slides as he has done innumerable times. The scene was a far cry from the tumult and ranks of television cameras 20 years earlier, when Dr. Hansen's testimony generated evening news reports and front-page stories. The young people in the room seemed energized by his call [to action, but... the political aides and officials appeared uncomfortable, seemingly feeling the size of the disconnect between Dr. Hansen's prescription... and the realities of politics and economics. Is the climate challenge... fundamentally a bad fit for Washington?" [Editor's note: For a transcript of Hansen's testimony (PDF, 4 pp), click here.]
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