James Hansen

James Hansen is an American climatologist whose research helped establish the scientific case for human-caused global warming. He is also known for publicly advocating policies to limit climate change.

Syukuro Manabe: A Japanese-American meteorologist whose climate-modeling research established foundational links between atmospheric carbon dioxide and global temperature. Manabe’s modeling and Hansen’s observational work supplied complementary evidence for climate warming.
Greenhouse effect: The warming of a planet’s surface and lower atmosphere when gases absorb and re-emit outgoing infrared radiation. Hansen’s projections rested on how increasing greenhouse gases alter Earth’s energy balance.
1988 United States Senate climate-change testimony: A congressional hearing at which climate scientist James Hansen testified that human-caused global warming was underway. The testimony brought Hansen’s climate findings to national attention.
Climate communication: The communication of climate science, risks, and responses among scientists, policymakers, media, and the public. Hansen’s congressional testimony became a landmark example of climate science in public communication.
Charles David Keeling: An American geochemist whose measurements revealed the long-term rise of atmospheric carbon dioxide. The Keeling Curve documented the greenhouse-gas increase central to Hansen’s climate arguments.
Global temperature record: A reconstruction of changes in Earth’s average surface temperature from instrumental and other observations. NASA’s temperature record provided observational evidence used in Hansen’s climate analyses.
Climate litigation: Legal proceedings that address climate change, its causes, or responses to its effects. Hansen has supported legal efforts seeking remedies for climate-related harms.
Scientific advocacy: Public engagement by scientists intended to influence policy or social responses to evidence. Hansen’s activism prompted debate about scientists’ responsibilities beyond research.
Al Gore: An American politician and environmental advocate who helped bring climate change into public debate. Gore and Hansen both translated climate science into prominent public advocacy.
Climate model: A mathematical representation of the climate system used to simulate its behavior and response to changing conditions. Hansen used climate simulations to estimate how warming would unfold under different emissions paths.

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Anthropogenic climate changeRelated: His testimony made the emerging scientific warning a major public and political issue.