The Paul Revere

On June 23rd, 1988, as the temperature in the nation's capital climbed to a record 101 degrees, James Hansen sat before the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources and offered a blunt warning about the threat of global warming. "The greenhouse effect has been detected," he testified, "and it is changing our climate now."

That early alarm earned Hansen a reputation as the "Paul Revere of climatology." His testimony drew on extensive scientific data he had gathered as head of the Goddard Institute for Space Studies at NASA -- but that didn't stop the energy industry from attacking him. When Hansen testified again, the first Bush administration inserted a disclaimer into his remarks, portraying his findings as "not reliable." Hansen, a mild-mannered Iowan, blew the whistle on the White House tampering -- and quietly collected more evidence of global warming. In April, he reported that readings gathered by thousands of robotic sensors from deep in the Earth's oceans show that the planet is "trapping" enough heat to raise average global temperatures by one degree in the next century. "He's a good example of what a citizen-scientist can do," says NASA colleague Ronald Miller. "His work is scientifically rigorous, but he also advises voters on how to deal with global warming."

Hansen, the son of a tenant farmer, is a die-hard Yankees fan who uses baseball statistics to help explain global warming. He made his name as one of the world's leading experts on Venus before switching planets in 1976. What alarms him most, he says, is how the current Bush administration is suppressing evidence of climate change. "In my more than three decades in government, I have never seen anything approaching the degree to which information flow from scientists to the public has been screened and controlled as it is now," Hansen says. "Delay of another decade, I argue, is a colossal risk."

Next: The Messenger: Dr. Robert Watson

Back to Warriors and Heroes