No New Coal

James Hansen is a scientist of great merit who has worked for NASA for a long time. He is considered the top climate change scientist in the country and he first started making waves about it in the early 80's when he testified before congress about the problem of anthropogenic climate change.

But on Monday night, he was clear that he wasn't speaking as a government employee, but as a private citizen.

New things you'll learn from him that were NOT in the Inconvenient Truth

Hansen said the beginning of our current glacial cycle was fifty million years ago when India collided with Asia, causing the formation of the Himalayas. As the weathering of this newly exposed and uplifted rock occured at an alarming (geologic scale) rate, it quickly drained CO2 from the atmosphere and put it into solid forms that were deposited in stream channels and in the ocean.
At right around the same time, the swiss Alps were forming. The added weight of these mountains on the tectonic plate reduced the rate of subduction of the oceanic plate under the continental one. Imagine trying to slide one piece of paper under the other. It's pretty easy, until you push down on the top sheet with your hand. This pressure was the equivalent of the mountains (that's my interpretation, don't take my word for it.)

Prior to these tectonic events the CO2 concentrations were so high that the well known Milankovich cycles could not sway the earth far enough to cool its surface to below freezing temperatures, even at the poles. Which means there was no ice.

Thanks to the Himalayas and the Alps, that blanket of CO2 was reduced and the Milankovich cycles reached a new center point that was much colder. This allowed the formation of ice caps, as well as the periodic glacial advance/retreat.

So ice ages have only been going on for fifty million years.

So that was the scientific side of the post which I find obligatory and awesome, but notice that I saved the best for last which is to say, the social and political aspect of Hansen's talk.

The Global Warming movement has now focused in on the reduction of COAL fired power plants. Preceding the lecture by Hansen, there was a rally outside called No New Coal which was organized by David Merrill and friends to bring awareness to possible coal developments in Montana and the states in general and why they are a TERRIBLE idea that don't benefit the country.

According to my Tree Bio teacher, who is also a climate scientist who has been devoted to disseminating information on climate change science for the last five years, When COAL is burned it is about 30% efficient, meaning we get about a third of the energy that is stored in the coal, it also emits tons more CO2 than burning liquid fuel which yields 90% of its energy storage.


Coal is really bad. I am relieved that now the global warming effort has achieved a focus. No coal. Coal sucks. Also, research has been done to show that those employed by nonsustainable energy industries can be rapidly retrained and offered jobs in sustainable energy. This is something that is instrumental to David Merrill's vision.

Merrill is a local Missoulian who has worked tirelessly on the issue of global warming and he suggests in his "Rosie Revisited" presentation that if America mobilizes to solve Global warming like we mobilized to fight WWII, then "we can do it!" In those days, kids were bringing bacon grease to school so the army could make bombs, farmers were growing hemp to make parachutes, and people were scrapping their bumpers to make guns and ammo and airplanes.

And they were damn proud of it! If we had a leader that could mobilize the people like that We'd be in real good shape. It is NOT TOO LATE to solve global warming.

But we only have about Ten Years. SO it's crucial to communicate to leaders and let them know you want strong global warming legislation now.