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Dot Earth: From Climate Science to Climate Activism - The Sequel
2010-08-26 02:18:56.42 GMT
By ANDREW C. REVKIN
Aug. 25 (New York Times) -- A couple of years ago, I posted
a piece here describing the journey of Richard Somerville, a
climatologist a the University of California, San Diego, from a
tight focus on research to a role as an advocate for climate
action.
It is a journey that comes with costs and compromises. When
I taught a seminar at Bard College in 2007 on the role of
communication in shaping environmental policy, I had the students
split into defenders of two approaches taken by prominent climate
scientists.
One group had to defend Susan Solomon, the much lauded
atmospheric scientist who, while a co-leader of the 2007 science
assessment by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change,
staunchly refused to provide her personal view of the
implications of global warming research despite the prodding of
reporters.
The other group had to defend James E. Hansen, the NASA
climatologist who had already become a strong advocate for
particular climate policies at that time and, more recently, got
himself arrested in coal country. The debate played out, as you
might imagine, with no easy answers.
Now Hansen has posted a short chapter he has contributed to
a forthcoming book by the photographer J. Henry Fair explaining
his activism. Here's the opening section and a link to the rest:
"How did you become an activist?" I was surprised by the
question. I never considered myself an activist. I am a
slow-paced taciturn scientist from the Midwest. Most of my
relatives are pretty conservative. I can imagine attitudes at
home toward "activists."
I was about to protest the characterization - but I had been
arrested, more than once. And I had testified in defense of
others who had broken the law. Sure, we only meant to draw
attention to problems of continued fossil fuel addiction. But
weren't there other ways to do that in a democracy? How had I
been sucked into being an "activist?"
My grandchildren had a lot to do with it. It happened
step-by-step. First, in 2004, I broke a 15- year self-imposed
effort to stay out of the media. I gave a public lecture, backed
by scientific papers, showing the need to slow greenhouse gas
emissions - and I criticized the Bush administration for lack of
appropriate policies. My grandchildren came into the talk only as
props - holding 1-watt Christmas tree bulbs to help explain
climate forcings.
Fourteen months later I gave another public talk -
connecting the dots from global warming to policy implications to
criticisms of the fossil fuel industry for promoting
misinformation. This time my grandchildren provided
rationalization for a talk likely to draw Administration ire: I
explained that I did not want my children to look back and say
"Opa understood what was happening, but he never made it clear."
[Read the rest...]
Is there a way to reconcile the personal and the
professional sides of life as a scientist working on
consequential, urgent questions?
Is there a way to do that as a journalist? I was asked that
question a few years ago by organizers of a conference at
Willamette University. I'll post my answer before the week is
out.
Copyright 2010 The New York Times Company
-0- Aug/26/2010 02:18 GMT
