James Hansen

James Edward Hansen

n Storms of My Grandchildren, Dr. James Hansen the nation s leading scientist on climate issues speaks out for the first time with the full truth about global warming: The planet is hurtling even more rapidly than previously acknowledged to a climatic point of no return. Although the threat of human-caused climate change is now widely recognized, politicians have failed to connect policy with the science, responding instead with ineffectual remedies dictated by special interests. Hansen shows why President Obama s solution, cap-and-trade, which Al Gore has signed on to, won t work; why we must phase out all coal, and why 350 ppm of carbon dioxide is a goal we must achieve if our children and grandchildren are to avoid global meltdown and the storms of the book s title. This urgent manifesto bucks conventional wisdom (including the Kyoto Protocol) and is sure to stir controversy, but Hansen whose climate predictions have come to pass again and again, beginning in the 1980s when he first warned Congress about global warming is the single most credible voice on the subject worldwide.

The Truth about the Coming Climate Catastrophe and Our Last Chance to Save Humanity

Storms of My Grandchildren

Dr James Hansen, the world's leading scientist on climate issues, speaks out for the first time with the full truth about global warming: the planet is hurtling to a climatic point of no return. Hansen - whose climate predictions have come to pass again and again, beginning in the 1980s when he first warned US Congress about global warming - is the single most credible voice on the subject worldwide. He paints a devastating but all-too-realistic picture of what will happen if we continue to follow the course we're on. But he is also a hard-headed optimist, and shows that there is still time to take the urgent, strong action needed to save humanity.

One of the most critical technical decisions made during the conduct of Project Apollo was the method of flying to the Moon, landing on the surface, and returning to Earth. Within NASA during this debate several modes emerged. The one eventually chosen was lunar-orbit rendezvous (LOR), a proposal to send the entire lunar spacecraft up in one launch. It would head to the Moon, enter into orbit, and dispatch a small lander to the lunar surface. It was the simplest of the various methods, both in terms of development and operational costs, but it was risky. Since rendezvous would take place in lunar, instead of Earth, orbit there was no room for error or the crew could not get home. Moreover, some of the trickiest course corrections and maneuvers had to be done after the spacecraft had been committed to a circumlunar flight. Between the time of NASA's conceptualization of the lunar landing program and the decision in favor of LOR in 1962, a debate raged between advocates of the various methods. John C. Houbolt, an engineer at the Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, was one of the most vocal of those supporting LOR and his campaign in 1961 and 1962 helped to shape in a fundamental way the deliberations. The monograph that is printed here is an important contribution to the study of NASA history in general, and the process of accomplishing a largescale technological program (in this case Apollo) in particular. In many ways, the lunar mode decision was an example of heterogeneous engineering, a process that recognizes that technological issues are also simultaneously organizational, economic, social, and political. Various interests often clash in the decision-making process as difficult calculations have to be made and decisions taken. What perhaps should be suggested is that a complex web or system of ties between various people, institutions, and interests brought forward the lunar-orbit rendezvous mode of going to the Moon in the 1960s. This is the fourth publication in a new series of special studies prepared by the NASA History Office. The Monographs in Aerospace History series is designed to provide a wide variety of investigations relative to the history of aeronautics and space. These publications are intended to be tightly focused in terms of subject, relatively short in length, and reproduced in an inexpensive format to allow timely and broad dissemination to researchers in aerospace history.

Monographs in Aerospace History Series #4

Enchanted Rendezvous: John C. Houbolt and the Genesis of the Lunar-Orbit Rendezvous Concept

Fred Gale

Michael Jewison

China is playing an important role in global agricultural markets as it emerges from isolation, liberalizes its economy, and experiences rising living standards. Policymakers, analysts, researchers, and the public need information about China's growing, multifaceted role in agricultural markets. This report examines China's recent emergence as a major agricultural importer and its implications for global markets. It analyzes trade patterns employing U.S. and Chinese trade statistics, summarizes alternative projections of future imports, and discusses how Chinese officials are adjusting their strategic approach to agricultural trade as imports grow. A strong agricultural trading partnership has developed between China and the United States that is likely to persist into the future. However, Chinese interventions to preserve self-reliance create volatility and uncertainty that can disrupt markets.

China's Growing Demand for Agricultural Imports

Melanie Coddington

Joe Simmons

An indispensable resource, whether your parish has an established cantor program or is just initiating this ministry. Jim Hansen, an experienced and talented cantor long involved with NPM Cantor and Lector Schools, has updated and expanded this classic text.

Cantor Basics

Alien Covenant: Genesis I explores the idea of ancient astronauts - humanoid aliens who came to Earth a long time ago and created safe havens and mankind. It presents a different story of creation, with an imaginative account of how the solar system came to be. As astronauts on a mission, God, Satan and the angels come alive in this revealing adaptation of the banned story of Adam and Eve, where lords and ladies require mono-atomic gold powder for everlasting life. A foreign legion of dragon-dog angels from the Planet of Fates, farming in the Garden of Eden and mining nearby, strike against God, who replaces them with hew-brutes and a hew-man called Adam. But Adam and his helper, Eve, mate against God's law and are expelled into the wilderness. Is this part of God's plan to lead his mission in a new direction? What are the Ancient Mysteries all about? Some may label this book as heresy, even blasphemy, but others who reason will smile at the cleverly suggested origins of names, stories, objects and customs from around the world. While in eighth grade at Catholic school, James Hansen questioned supernaturalism, especially miracles in The Holy Bible. He asked his teacher, "How come the miracles that happened thousands of years ago do not happen today?" Her answer - "It is a mystery." - has been stuck in his mind ever since. James has researched mythology, religion, science and ancient astronauts for more than 40 years. He graduated from Oregon State University and attended graduate school at Harvard. Hansen lived in England for 10 years and has visited 22 countries, working for 24 years as a civil engineering assistant in the U.S. Air Force, retiring as a master sergeant. A recent lymphoma survivor, he lives in Oregon with his wife. Alien Covenant: Genesis I is his first book.

Genesis I

Alien Covenant

Mannava VK Sivakumar

Based on an International Workshop held in Geneva in 2005, this book reviews the advances made so far in seasonal climate predictions and their applications for management and decision-making in agriculture. It also identifies the challenges to be addressed in the next 5 to 10 years to further enhance operational applications of climate predictions in agriculture, especially in developing countries.

Advances and Challenges

Climate Prediction and Agriculture

Daniel E. Osgood

Pablo Suarez

Climate variability poses a severe threat to subsistence farmers in southern Africa. Two different approaches have emerged in recent years to address these threats: the use of seasonal precipitation forecasts for risk reduction (for example, choosing seed varieties that can perform well for expected rainfall conditions), and the use of innovative financial instruments for risk sharing (for example, index-based weather insurance bundled to microcredit for agricultural inputs). So far these two approaches have remained entirely separated. This paper explores the integration of seasonal forecasts into an ongoing pilot insurance scheme for smallholder farmers in Malawi. The authors propose a model that adjusts the amount of high-yield agricultural inputs given to farmers to favorable or unfavorable rainfall conditions expected for the season. Simulation results - combining climatic, agricultural, and financial models - indicate that this approach substantially increases production in La Ni??a years (when droughts are very unlikely for the study area), and reduces losses in El Ni??o years (when insufficient rainfall often damages crops). Cumulative gross revenues are more than twice as large for the proposed scheme, given modeling assumptions. The resulting accumulation of wealth can reduce long-term vulnerability to drought for participating farmers. Conclusions highlight the potential of this approach for adaptation to climate variability and change in southern Africa.

The Case of Malawi

Integrating Seasonal Forecasts and Insurance for Adaptation Among Subsistence Farmers

Dr. James Hansen is the single most credible scientific voice worldwide on the issue of global warming. In his celebrated first book, Storms of My Grandchildren, he presented the full truth about climate change, a truth born out in the years since as climate disasters continue to ravage our world. The urgency is apparent; the response so far, inadequate. But Hansen remains an optimist. In a series of moving and insightful letters to his granddaughter Sophie, he speaks about the fight to preserve life on the planet, a fight that for her generation will be as personal as it is political--as much about policy actions as about the right of the Monarch, Sophie's favorite butterfly, to live and thrive on this earth. Sophie's Planet turns towards solutions, asking: How can we connect the dots from climate observations to necessary policies? What can be done to preserve our planet for the young people that will follow us? And how can we make the climate story clear to these young people, to prepare them for what will be one of their generation's central struggles: the fight for environmental justice. Hansen's conversations with Sophie offer a fascinating glimpse behind the scenes of a life spent at the highest levels of environmental research and policy--including the realms where dark motives prevail--as well as a moving clarion call for the future of the climate change fight.

James Hansen

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