...99 percent confident that the world really was getting warmer and that there was a high degree of probability that it was due to human-made greenhouse gases.
James HansenRead
Coal is responsible for as much atmospheric carbon dioxide as other fossil fuels combined and it still has far greater reserves. We must stop using it.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Coal significantly contributes to carbon dioxide emissions and is more abundant than other fossil fuels, necessitating its phase-out.
James Hansen emphasizes the detrimental impact of coal on the environment, highlighting that its carbon dioxide emissions rival those of all other fossil fuels combined. He argues for an urgent transition away from coal use due to its ample reserves and its substantial role in climate change, advocating for immediate action to protect the planet.
Themes
CoalCarbon DioxideFossil FuelsClimate ChangeEnvironment
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used in an environmental presentation to highlight the urgency of reducing coal usage.
More from James Hansen
All quotes βWe need to send a message to Congress and the president that we want them to take the actions that are needed to preserve climate for young people and future generations and all life on the planet.
James HansenRead
Coral reefs, the rain forest of the ocean, are home for one-third of the species of the sea. Coral reefs are under stress for several reasons, including warming of the ocean, but especially because of ocean acidification, a direct effect of added carbon dioxide. Ocean life dependent on carbonate shells and skeletons is threatened by dissolution as the ocean becomes more acid.
James HansenRead
Rising carbon price is essential to 'decarbonize' the economy - to remove the nation towards the era beyond fossil fuels.
James HansenRead
We have at most ten years - not ten years to decide upon action, but ten years to alter fundamentally the trajectory of global greenhouse emissions... We are near a tipping point, a point of no return, beyond which the built in momentum and feedbacks will carry us to levels of climate change with staggering consequences for humanity and all of the residents of this planet.
James HansenRead
'Goals' and 'caps' on carbon emissions are practically worthless, if coal emissions continue, because of the exceedingly long lifetime of carbon dioxide in the air.
James HansenRead
Similar quotes
Chimpanzees, more than any other living creature, have helped us to understand that there is no sharp line between humans and the rest of the animal kingdom. It's a very blurry line, and it's getting more blurry all the time.
Jane GoodallRead
I had as much time to prepare for that moon landing as NASA did, and I still was speechless when it happened. It just was so awe-inspiring to actually be able to see the thing through the television that was a miracle in itself.
Walter CronkiteRead
Receiving the National Medal of Science is the thrill of a lifetime, but good science does not happen in isolation.
Sandra FaberRead
Science is simply common sense at its best.
Thomas HuxleyRead
Mathematics is the tool specially suited for dealing with abstract concepts of any kind and there is no limit to its power in this field.
Paul DiracRead
When a scientist is ahead of his times, it is often through misunderstanding of current, rather than intuition of future truth. In science there is never any error so gross that it won't one day, from some perspective, appear prophetic.
Jean RostandRead