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Chief Climate Change Scientist
Lara Hansen dives off the island of Ofu in American Samoa to investigate the coral.
(By Eric Mielbrecht)
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So more and more animals will become extinct?
More animals will be listed as threatened. We also see the range of bird species is moving. If we continue on the trajectory we are on, the Baltimore oriole will no longer live in Maryland, where it is the state bird. It will live much further north. It's moving up to Canada. We won't have enough cold winters in Vermont, and all maple syrup will be in Canada -- that will be where the line of cool enough weather is.
What has surprised you most in your research?
How far along the trajectory we are, and what effect that has on the natural world.
Isn't global warming part of the natural process?
The climate change we see today is happening much faster than it has historically, and it is being driven by a concentration of greenhouse gases [from burning coal, oil and gas] in the atmosphere that is higher than it has been for hundreds of thousands of years.
What can we do to prevent this?
First, get "green" energy. You can opt to have 100 percent of your electricity bill come from renewable sources like wind, like solar. You can pick that on your energy bill almost anywhere in the country.
Two, we can all go to our policy makers and say, "This is an important issue for us," or if you live in D.C., you can write to whomever you want and say, "We have to do something to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. We need to put a cap on CO2."
The third thing is reduce the amount of energy you use. Turn down your air conditioner, turn off lights, use compact-fluorescent bulbs, don't drive your car. I ride my bike to work everyday.
Why is climate change such a contentious issue among scientists?
Climate change isn't a contentious issue among scientists. The belief that it is is actually generated by the belief that in order to create balanced news coverage of climate change, you need to present both sides of the story. That's just not appropriate. It is like doing a story on geography and having to include an opinion about how the Earth was quite possibly flat.
Why has the public been so slow to understand climate change?
It's not as simple as deforestation: Cut down trees, they're gone. Climate change is much more complicated. You turn on your light switch, and you effect the global climate -- it's much harder for people to get their minds around.
Are people becoming more aware?
I think people are more aware. The real issue is how do we get people to realize we have a window of opportunity right now where we have to start taking action. The longer we wait, the bigger the problem becomes and the harder it will be to save the things we want to save.
When does that window close?
That's the magic question that everyone wants the answer to. Jim Hansen of NASA says it's about seven to 10 years. I have no reason to doubt [that] but things are accelerating, getting worse. I don't know if it's shorter.
