From Conservation Hawks:
BIGFORK, Mont. – Conservation Hawks, a group of hunters and anglers working to defend America’s sporting heritage, has released the following statement in response to a recent New York Times op/ed by NASA scientist James Hansen:
Climate scientists usually speak in terms of “probability” or “confidence.” While they may express very high confidence (90 percent or greater) that the earth is warming because of increased CO2 levels, they rarely make definitive statements like “We are forcing temperatures higher with our fossil fuel emissions.”
This fact makes Dr. James Hansen’s recent New York Times op/ed, “Game Over for the Climate,” truly exceptional. Dr. Hansen, who heads NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies, writes that climate change is placing the entire planet at risk, and that President Obama has failed to provide the necessary leadership on the issue.
Dr. Hansen’s message is unusually blunt:
“Global warming isn’t a prediction. It is happening.”
“If … we do nothing, it will be game over for the climate.”
“If this sounds apocalyptic, it is. This is why we need to reduce emissions dramatically.”
When an eminent scientist like Dr. Hansen abandons the language of probability and declares that temperatures are rising “because we are forcing them higher with fossil fuel emissions,” we should pay attention. When Dr. Hansen writes that President Obama is not providing leadership, we need to recognize just how unusual it is for a world-renowned scientist to challenge the president of the United States in the New York Times.
Dr. Hansen’s forceful language conveys the serious threat that climate change represents to our American way of life. If we choose to ignore Dr. Hansen’s clear warning, we do so at our peril.
Learn more about Conservation Hawks and its vision for the future of hunting and angling.
