Ex-NASA scientist Dr. James Hansen: We need to act now to preserve our planet for future generations

We speak with Hansen in Minneapolis about the valve turners, the recent IPCC report about the imminent threat of climate change and what must be done to save the planet from destruction.

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SOURCEDemocracy Now!

As Hurricane Michael barreled down on Florida, famed climate scientist Dr. James Hansen traveled to Minnesota earlier this week to testify on the imminent danger of climate change. He was supposed to be an expert witness at the trial for the “valve turners,” the anti-pipeline activists who staged an unprecedented coordinated action to shut down the flow of oil from the United States to Canada in 2016. But the judge ruled she would not allow witnesses like Dr. Hansen to testify on the clear and present danger posed by climate change. On Tuesday, valve turner activists Annette Klapstein and Emily Johnston were acquitted. We speak with Hansen in Minneapolis about the valve turners, the recent IPCC report about the imminent threat of climate change and what must be done to save the planet from destruction. Hansen is the former top climate scientist at NASA. He is now the director of Climate Science, Awareness and Solutions at Columbia University’s Earth Institute. We also speak with Klapstein and Johnston.

Guests

  • James Hansen

    former top climate scientist at NASA. From 1981 to 2013, he was the head of the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies. He is now the director of Climate Science, Awareness and Solutions at Columbia University’s Earth Institute. He traveled to Minnesota to testify at the trial for the valve turners.
  • Emily Johnston

    poet and co-founder of 350Seattle.org. She is one of the five climate activists known as the “valve turners” who in 2016 temporarily shut down the flow of tar sands oil from Canada into the United States.

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