environment Politics: Barack Obama Blue Planet Prize James Hansen
by Warren
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Month 6, Day 28: Honoring A Voice In The Wilderness
Well, James Hansen got another important prize. Meanwhile, he continues to be (shamefully) ignored here at home. Another letter to POTUS? Why not?
Dear President Obama,
This is the second time this year that climatologist James Hansen has been awarded a major international prize for his work in environmental science. Dr. Hansen has just received the Blue Planet Award, considered to be Japan’s version of the Nobel Prize. Earlier this year he was given the Sophie Prize, perhaps the world’s most prestigious award in climate science.
But there is one form of recognition that has eluded Dr. Hansen, and it is the one which would probably make the most difference to him. His work was silenced and censored by administrative fiat during the previous administration, because his warnings about global climate change and the effects of atmospheric CO2 ran contrary to what President Bush and Vice-President Cheney wished to believe.
It is time for the United States Government to recognize Dr. James Hansen as one of the world’s experts on the science of climate change. To be a genuine rather than symbolic recognition, this needs to take two forms. First, Dr. Hansen should be invited to the White House to meet with you; second, he should be invited to be a core participant in your administration’s decisions on environment and climate issues. All the international prizes don’t mean much to a man whose life’s work is ignored in his native land.
James Hansen has been sounding the alarm on global climate change for well over a decade. His predictions have been proven accurate over and over again. Isn’t it time that you and your administration took him seriously?
Yours Sincerely,
Warren Senders
environment Politics: 350 Barack Obama British Petroleum James Hansen
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Month 6, Day 19: Saturday POTUS
I had finished writing this last night, but hadn’t had time to tag it. Then my wife and daughter called from India and I put it away for the morrow. In this letter I’m combining current events with some old exhortations. How I wish James Hansen was wrong. How I fear that he’s right.
Dear President Obama,
Congratulations on securing British Petroleum’s commitment to set aside twenty billion dollars in escrow. Given how long it usually takes the victims of corporate negligence to have their day in court, this is a tremendous accomplishment.
The behavior of BP and its contract partners has been appallingly irresponsible. But while it’s easy to blame the oil companies, we need to do more. As you correctly pointed out in your oval office address, our nation (and, indeed, the world) needs to end our addiction to fossil fuels.
We’re going to run out of them, sooner rather than later. Often the money we spend on them goes to countries that regard us as enemies. These are good enough reasons. But the real reason for us to stop burning oil and coal is the enormous damage inflicted on the planetary biosphere by increased greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. It is crucial for humanity’s survival and well-being in the centuries to come that our levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide be brought below 350 parts per million, as noted by Dr. James Hansen, the climatologist whose work was silenced by the Bush administration (surely a piece of irresponsibility that can rank with British Petroleum).
Your administration will be remembered with gratitude by generations yet unborn if you can start this process. The window of opportunity is rapidly closing; the environment is going through an increasing cascade of “tipping points,” each one of which makes recovery to a hospitable climate more difficult.
Right now Dr. Hansen is on record as saying “Obama doesn’t get it.” He thinks you don’t take the likelihood of a climate catastrophe seriously.
I think it’s time for you to prove him wrong.
Yours Sincerely,
Warren Senders
environment Politics: Barack Obama James Hansen Sophie Prize
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Month 4, Day 10: Saturday POTUS
I figured I’d send the President a letter urging him to take James Hansen more seriously. I mean, now that he’s won the Sophie Prize and all.
Dear President Obama,
I write to urge you to extend public recognition from your Administration to Dr. James Hansen, the eminent climatologist who has just been awarded the Sophie Prize. Especially given that Dr. Hansen was subjected to flagrant censorship by the Bush administration, it would be a significant gesture for you and your environmental experts to acknowledge the value and relevance of his work. It would be even more appropriate for you to offer Dr. Hansen a place in your administration’s climate-science team; his work is of the highest possible quality and the greatest possible significance.
The Bush Administration’s suppression of Dr. Hansen’s results is shocking and shameful (although it was a foregone conclusion that it would do no good, I wrote them letters at the time protesting this terrible behavior). The appalling fact is that our national politics has been infected with a virulent and pernicious form of stupidity; George W. Bush and his anti-science cohort were (and are) symptoms of this disease, and because his conclusions failed to fit their predetermined narrative, Dr. Hansen had to be censored.
While your administration is an enormous improvement on its predecessor, I am still waiting for signs that you can address global climate change with the degree of urgency that is needed. One such sign would be a public acknowledgment that Dr. Hansen was shamefully treated by the previous administration — and that he is a scientist of immense value to the fight against catastrophic climate change.
Such an acknowledgment would be both morally appropriate and scientifically sound. We need James Hansen’s voice, now more than ever.
Thank you.
Yours Sincerely,
Warren Senders
environment: James Hansen Sophie Prize
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Month 4, Day 8: James Hansen Is Recognized!
Dr. James Hansen has won The Sophie Prize.
The Sophie Prize is one of the world’s most generous environment and sustainable development Prizes. The Sophie Prize is established to inspire people working towards a sustainable future.
The Sophie Prize is an international award (US $ 100,000), for environment and sustainable development, awarded annually. The Sophie Prize is established to inspire people working towards a sustainable future. The Prize was established in 1997 by the Norwegian author Jostein Gaarder and his wife Siri Dannevig.
I was getting tired of writing doomy gloomy letters, so I sent Dr. Hansen a note of congratulations for a change.
Dr. James E. Hansen
Columbia University
Armstrong Hall
2880 Broadway
New York, NY 10025 USAApril 8, 2010
Dear Dr. Hansen,
Congratulations on receiving the Sophie Prize! I am pleased and happy to see that your work is recognized and valued, and I hope this means that you will have more influence with policy-makers here in the United States and in the world. I’m a music teacher by profession, a private citizen with no climatological expertise, but my parents are scientists, in consequence of which I acquired a modicum of scientific literacy. When I first read reports of your work they immediately rang true.
The Bush Administration’s suppression of your results is shocking and shameful (although it was a foregone conclusion that it would do no good, I wrote them letters at the time protesting this profoundly stupid behavior). The appalling fact is that our national politics has been infected with a virulent and pernicious form of stupidity; George W. Bush and his anti-science cohort were (and are) symptoms of this disease, and because your conclusions failed to fit their predetermined narrative, you had to be censored.
While the Obama administration is obviously an improvement on its predecessor, I am still waiting for signs that our current President can address global climate change with the degree of urgency that is needed.
Congratulations again on your receipt of the Sophie Prize. You are a pivotal figure in this struggle, and I thank you not only for your tireless advocacy, but for being an honest and conscientious scientist. Please keep it up!
Yours Sincerely,
Warren Senders