Global Warming: Beyond The Ivory Tower

Why are you so compelled to educate people about global warming?

Global warming is the most serious environmental problem, and maybe the most serious problem of them all, that the world faces in this century. I want to make sure the world that gets passed onto my children and grandchildren is one that I would want to live in. The only way that I think I can ensure that is by getting into the fight, making sure that each of us does what we can do to stop the problem, making sure that our politicians take the measures to assure that we are going to slow global warming, stabilize the atmosphere and again pass on a world to our children and grandchildren that we would want to live in.

Were there any figures in your life who ingrained a specific type of science reasoning or thought process?

I learned different things about using science and learning science from different people - from my mother, from my brother, from my thesis advisor, from the scientists I worked with when I was young, or from my colleagues. Even today I'm still learning. Science is a process of learning. A scientist who stops learning stops being a scientist. That's what makes it such an interesting, vital experience. What's even more terrific is that in today's world, it's accepted that scientists have almost an obligation to apply that knowledge to helping better humanity. That's what I think we're doing in talking about the greenhouse effect.

Can individual efforts to stop global warming really have an impact?

The efforts that you and I take as individuals can have a significant impact, although they can't totally solve the problem of global warming. The impact is partly in educating ourselves and getting ready for the day when governments set up rules and regulations that help us reduce our emissions. The measures that we take today help teach the politicians that the average person can live with a world that has less greenhouse gas emissions - in fact, can live better in some respects. The measures that we take today give politicians the understanding that it doesn't bankrupt the economy to deal with global warming and, in fact, there are economic benefits. The measures basically give us understanding, as individuals, and our leaders political courage, so that together we can solve this problem quickly.

Are we too late to stop global warming?

It's not too late to stop global warming. The future remains largely in our hands. The earth is warming already and it's going to warm more, but there's a vast difference between a modest warming and a catastrophic global warming. That's the choice that we still hold in our hands today. If we start moving quickly, we can assure a soft landing. If we just sit back for a decade or two and do nothing, we're going to have a crash landing.

How important is it for scientists to agree on the causes of global warming?

It's very important that scientists have a common understanding of the problem of global warming in order to give governments the faith that they're going to be acting on a problem that's worth solving. We have certainly reached that level of understanding in the scientific community. In fact, the consensus has been there for at least 10 years. It's really past time that governments should be acting seriously.