Hanson backs power station damagers - September 04, 2008
The closest thing climate science has to a super-star scientist (vice president ‘Ali G’ doesn’t count) has turned up at a court in the UK to defend six activists who damaged a power station.
James Hanson, who heads up NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies in New York, is backing the Greenpeace protesters, who claim that climate change is a excuse for the damage they caused to a chimney during a protest (see Climate fights trump property rights, claims Greenpeace). According to the Guardian, Hanson said he agreed with Gore’s line that more people should chain themselves to coal power stations to stop carbon dioxide emissions.
“The US, UK and Germany are responsible on a per capita basis for most of the world’s emissions and someone needs to step forward, draw a line in the sand and say: ‘No more coal fired power stations’,” Hanson told the court (Sky News).
He added, “Somebody needs to stand up and take a leadership role. ... If we are to avoid disintegration of the ice sheets, minimise species extinction and halt or reverse ... climate change there is just time to accomplish it, but it requires an immediate moratorium on new coal-fired power plants that do not capture or sequester CO2.” (Independent.)
Hanson is famous for his 1980s testimony to the US government on global warming, his staunch opposition to both the Clinton and Bush administration stances on climate issues, and – if you’re the BBC – being Al Gore’s advisor.
Image: NASA
Comments
Obviously Hanson has proven that he is a complete hypocrite. Coal burning power plants are bad, but it's okay to fly a jet overseas to participate in a trial for a bunch of vandals. Got it.
Posted by: David | September 4, 2008 07:33 PM
This could be a ground breaking case for climate-activism. It is a great platform for him to try and talk about the real threats of climate change, and the immediate need for us to stop the production of new coal-fired power plants. Of course he'll do whatever he needs to do to be part of a great opportunity to get out his message and affect the trial of people fighting for what he believes in. I'm sure if there was an electric airplane flying to the UK he would have paid the extra 1000 bucks to take that one instead. Don't harp on little details to try and derail what is actually a really important message to the world, and possibly a defining moment for how the world views climate activism.
Posted by: Amanda | September 5, 2008 04:48 PM