Day 65: James Hansen Why I must speak out about climate change

Netflix has recently added a TON of TED talks to their watch instant category, and I plan to reap the benefits big time. It's like a super documentary- all the information in half the time.

Today I watched a talk from leading NASA scientist and one of my personal heroes Dr. James Hansen. He leads the Goddard Institute in NYC and has been speaking on the growing concerns of climate change for over a decade. Personally I enjoy hearing someone with so much scientific experience and respect in his field say not only is climate change a real thing, but it's a big problem that's not being treated as the threat that it is. I certainly have always felt that way, but I'm just a dude, what do I know? It's nice to hear really smart people who know what they are talking about.

Dr. Hansen with his grandkids.

Hansen was recently in the news for being arrested in front of the White House during a protest against the Keystone oil pipeline.This was one of the topics he discusses in his speech.

Instead of filling his time with the expected amount of scientific data to prove his points, Hansen's lecture is deeply emotional and personal, focusing on why he personally is concerned with climate change. The evidence proves that it's happening and is a problem, but the reason Hansen cares so deeply about stopping it is for the sake of his children and grandchildren: those who will grow up in the world he's helped create. Hansen believes we all have a responsibility to future generations to preserve the world around us, to ensure there is clean air, water and land for all those to come. Not what I expected from a NASA scientist, for sure.

You can watch the 17 minute lecture here.

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