Climatologist: Nuclear Power Only Way To Curb Climate Disruption
Fossil fuel emissions bar chart We've added about 370 gigatons of carbon dioxide from burning fossil fuels to the atmosphere since the start of the industrial age. Keeping the total to 500 gigatons or less to avoid "dangerous climate change," says James Hansen, means slashing coal-fired power in favor of nuclear, renewables. Hansen, et al./PLOS One Polluters must pay for their carbon dioxide emissions, and nuclear energy must expand, says climatologist James Hansen, who retired this year from the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies. Otherwise there is little chance the world can avoid the worst disruptive impacts of climate change, like unstable coastlines and mass extinctions of animal and plant species. Hansen spoke at Wednesday's session of the American Geophysical Union fall meeting in San Francisco. From the outset of industrialization through...