“This generation has altered the composition of the atmosphere on a global scale through . . . a steady increase in carbon dioxide from the burning of fossil fuels.”
-President of the United States, Lyndon B. Johnson, in a Special Message to the U.S. Congress, February 8, 1965.
President Johnson was concerned about the dangers of CO2 emissions, enough to address Congress about it, having been briefed by two scientists, Charles Keeling and Roger Revelle. If you’ve followed my Brief History of Climate Science, you’ll recognize their names from Episodes 3 and 4. This is what Charles Keeling’s curve of his direct measurements of global atmospheric CO2 concentration looked like back then:
It was a subtle rise, but I have no doubt Keeling and Revelle explained to the President that it was statistically significant, consistent with calculated fossil fuel usage, and linked to measured increases in global temperature that had long been theoretically predicted to result from such CO2 increases. Apparently, President Johnson was convinced.
As a result of Johnson and other presidents believing scientists — both Republicans and Democrats — we have done a lot of constructive things over the past 5 decades. We’ve conducted research and development to create more sustainable ways of harvesting the sun’s energy. These sustainable methods are now developed to the point of economical viability. We (the United States) have led the world in inadvertently causing this challenge, recognizing this challenge, and moving to develop superior technologies to address this challenge.
Now, the evidence looks like this:
We also know it’s even worse, because data from ice cores shows the CO2 increases were already well underway before Keeling started his direct measurements. And the matching temperature record looks like this:
And our 2018 President says global climate change is a hoax, and has pulled us from the Paris climate agreement, in which we should be playing a leading role. And, somehow, roughly half of our Congress and half of us agree. Even though the effects are readily observable and figuring significantly in many of our lives.
The President in 1965, on this issue, was speaking from a position of knowledge, responsibility, and strength.
The President in 2018, on this issue, is speaking from a position of willful ignorance, amorality, and provincial weakness.
We must find ourselves again. Our children, and their children, depend on it.
#rescuethatfrog