‘The Threat to the Planet’: An Exchange

I want to compliment Dr. Jim Hansen for another lucid presentation of the science documenting the human-induced global warming problem. In fact, Dr. Hansen’s article [“The Threat to the Planet,” NYR, July 13] covers a critical topic that Al Gore’s movie omits, namely it gives the reader a good sense of how soon cuts in carbon emissions would have to begin in order to limit warming to 2 degrees Fahrenheit, i.e., through the presentation of his “alternative” scenario. Here Dr. Hansen clearly indicates that humanity has less than a decade to begin reducing the emissions rate of carbon in order to achieve the “benefits” of this alternative scenario when compared to “business-as-usual.” In addition, Dr. Hansen makes the claim that economists would generally recommend that a carbon tax be implemented on all carbon emissions in order to achieve this goal of declining emissions within a decade.

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