Sometimes conspiracy theories are true. The Bush administration ran a systematic campaign to play down the dangers of climate change, demanding hundreds of politically motivated changes to scientific reports and muzzling a pre-eminent expert on global warming, Congress was told yesterday.

Google

Exactly 20 years after warning America about global warming, a top NASA scientist said the situation has gotten so bad that the world’s only hope is drastic action.

James Hansen told Congress on Monday that the world has long passed the “dangerous level” for greenhouse gases in the atmosphere and needs to get back to 1988 levels. He said Earth’s atmosphere can only stay this loaded with man-made carbon dioxide for a couple more decades without changes such as mass extinction, ecosystem collapse and dramatic sea level rises.

Columbia University

Speech given by Dr. James Hansen, exactly 20 years after appealing to congress in 1988 that immediate action had to be taken against climate change. Adds relevant depth to the article below, and provides a thorough assessment of the dangers we – as a planet – face with a rapidly rising climate.