The major obstacle to saving the planet from its inhabitants is not technology, insisted Hansen, named one of the world’s 100 most influential people in 2006 by Time magazine.
“The problem is that 90 percent of energy is fossil fuels. And that is such a huge business, it has permeated our government,” he maintained.
“What’s become clear to me in the past several years is that both the executive branch and the legislative branch are strongly influenced by special fossil fuel interests,” he said, referring to the providers of coal, oil and natural gas and the energy industry that burns them.
…
“The industry is misleading the public and policy makers about the cause of climate change. And that is analogous to what the cigarette manufacturers did. They knew smoking caused cancer, but they hired scientists who said that was not the case.”
Hansen says that with an administration and legislature that he believes are “well oiled, our best hope is the judicial branch.”
Last year Hansen testified before the US Congress that “interference with communication of science to the public has been greater during the current administration than at any time in my career.”
- Published April 7th, 2008
- Tagged with Elsewhere
- 2 comments
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2 responses
Ethanol isn’t exactly a great option either. Just read the latest issue of Time magazine for the whole story. Basically, growing crops to produce ethanol means cutting down rainforests to make room. That makes the problem worse, not better.
Once again, the Amish are way ahead of the game.
I think you’re right - long term, the answer isn’t going to be in anything involving maintaining our standard of living (much less spreading it to the rest of the world.)