James Hansen, whose Senate testimony made waves in 1988, was right about climate change

On a sweltering day 35 years ago this summer, NASA climate scientist James Hansen announced in riveting testimony to the Senate that he was 99% sure that “global warming is affecting our planet now.” He bravely added, “It is time to stop waffling so much and say that the evidence is pretty strong that the greenhouse effect is here.”

Hansen’s testimony was a watershed moment in the movement to combat climate change. The next morning, the front page of the New York Times declared: “Global Warming Has Begun.” That year was also a watershed time for the environment — the planet’s hottest year so far, including a one-two punch of heat wave and drought that stifled much of the country that summer. Wildfires engulfed Western forests — including more than one-third of massive Yellowstone — and garbage, sewage, medical waste, and dead dolphins washed up on East Coast beaches.

The Earth spoke loudly that year. But did we listen? In short, no, as this summer’s brutal heat waves and smoke from Canada’s epic wildfires remind us daily. Last week, the Earth set a record for the four hottest days ever recorded by human instruments, each day beating the prior day’s record.

Greenhouse gas emissions have continued climbing; carbon dioxide now measures 424 parts per million, 51% higher than preindustrial levels — and around 62 parts per million higher than when Hansen testified 35 years ago.

And a warm planet gets warmer. The 10 hottest years ever have occurred since 2010, the last nine years are all in the top 10. Last year was the 46th consecutive year that global temperatures rose above the average yearly temperature during the previous century. The Earth has already warmed 2 degrees Fahrenheit and sea levels have risen between 8 and 9 inches since 1880; both continue climbing.

The consequences, of course, will be enormous. Drowned cities and nations — think Bangladesh — will create millions of climate refugees. Heat waves and droughts will make larger portions of the planet inhospitable. Epic wildfires will scorch many more homes and habitats. Food and water scarcity will accelerate global destabilization. Climate change is fueling an already fierce biodiversity crisis; an estimated one million species face extinction.

If we had listened to Hansen 35 years ago, we might have given ourselves a multi-decades landing path to safer, softer solutions. But we didn’t. Instead, we are faced with only one solution: an all-out, full-court press. Throw everything at the problem while praying enough of it sticks: no more coal-fired power plants, more electric cars, more solar and wind, more efficiency, eat less beef. In short, we need more smarter, greener actions and far fewer fossil-foolish ones.

But trolls, naysayers, fossil fuel apologists, and the many politicians in their pockets still claim the science is uncertain — or worse, fake — when it decidedly is not. And people like me who beg for climate action are dismissed as Marxists wanting to dismantle civilization. Seriously?

At this point, it takes a remarkable level of willful ignorance to actively choose not to see the climate changing right before our eyes.

And while 2024 is an election year (just like 1988), too many other issues — the economy, democracy, gun violence, and racial, reproductive, and LGBTQ rights — are competing for front-burner attention. But these issues are often related to climate change. You can’t have a healthy economy on an overheated, drowned planet, and climate and justice are utterly entangled, as marginalized, economically disadvantaged people are the ones impacted first — and worst. Extreme heat also exacerbates gun violence.

Hansen was right 35 years ago. Global warming is not only coming, it’s here. And just like in 1988, the Earth is speaking loudly.

Will we listen this time?

Mike Weilbacher, a writer-naturalist, offers lectures and field trips on climate change and other topics through www.mikeweilbacher.com, and his book “Wild Philly” was published this winter.