James Hansen, one of the world’s leading climate scientists, visited the University Saturday to talk about the scientific impacts of climate change on the Earth’s species and the importance of protecting the planet for future generations.
Hansen, a Columbia University professor of earth and environmental sciences, used photographs of his grandchildren as a means of portraying the importance of preserving the planet for future generations, and said that the government has been incompetent in handling environmental problems, citing U.S. President Barack Obama’s lack of action during the Gulf oil spill and not urging for alternative energy sources.
University students, Eugene citizens and youth from around the Eugene area were in attendance to listen to Hansen talk about global warming and get their own questions answered.
So many people were in attendance at the University’s law school that an overflow room was necessary.
Mary Wood, law professor and faculty director of the Environmental and Natural Resources Law program, introduced Hansen and Alec Loorz, a 16-year-old climate change activist and public speaker nicknamed “the next Al Gore.”
During her introductions, Wood said that global warming will have the greatest impact on youth, so it is important for older generations to listen to younger generations.
“This is not some distant remote issue for our great-great-grandchildren to worry about,” Wood said. “This is a window of opportunity.”
She said that hope rests in the judicial branch to make laws to protect citizens from the effects of global warming.
Loorz, a high school student originally from Ventura, Calif., took the podium after Wood. He saw Al Gore’s movie “An Inconvenient Truth” when it was released in theaters and said it changed his life.
“I believe it’s up to the youth to start a revolution and change the mind-set of everyone,” Loorz said.
After seeing “An Inconvenient Truth,” Loorz gave his own global warming presentations throughout California. He eventually met his hero, Al Gore, when he was invited to Gore’s Climate Project, an NGO committed to increasing public awareness of the climate crisis, and Loorz became the youngest presenter. Now he tours the nation inspiring youth to take action on global warming.
“I feel that my generation is being called to stop global warming in our lifetimes,” Loorz said.
Hansen took the podium after Loorz. Hansen, who is not only a Columbia University professor, but is also a member of the National Academy of Sciences and director of the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies in New York City.
Humans’ dependency on fossil fuels is changing the planet’s climate.
“The future climate is going to be determined by humans, not by natural causes,” Hansen said.
To remedy the issue of the excessive release of carbon dioxide into the Earth’s atmosphere, Hansen proposed a fee on fossil fuels. He said the money from the fee should be distributed to the public, possibly in coupon form to be used on sustainable and alternative energy solutions.
The lecture was sponsored by the Wayne Morse Center for Law and Politics and the University’s Environmental and Natural Resources Law program, according to a law school press release.
All the royalties from the sale of Hansen’s new book, “Storms of my Grandchildren” will go to 350.org, an international campaign to unite the world around solutions to the climate crisis, according to its website.
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