...99 percent confident that the world really was getting warmer and that there was a high degree of probability that it was due to human-made greenhouse gases.
James HansenRead
Coal is responsible for as much atmospheric carbon dioxide as other fossil fuels combined and it still has far greater reserves. We must stop using it.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Coal significantly contributes to carbon dioxide emissions and is more abundant than other fossil fuels, necessitating its phase-out.
James Hansen emphasizes the detrimental impact of coal on the environment, highlighting that its carbon dioxide emissions rival those of all other fossil fuels combined. He argues for an urgent transition away from coal use due to its ample reserves and its substantial role in climate change, advocating for immediate action to protect the planet.
Themes
CoalCarbon DioxideFossil FuelsClimate ChangeEnvironment
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used in an environmental presentation to highlight the urgency of reducing coal usage.
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We have at most ten years - not ten years to decide upon action, but ten years to alter fundamentally the trajectory of global greenhouse emissions... We are near a tipping point, a point of no return, beyond which the built in momentum and feedbacks will carry us to levels of climate change with staggering consequences for humanity and all of the residents of this planet.
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'Goals' and 'caps' on carbon emissions are practically worthless, if coal emissions continue, because of the exceedingly long lifetime of carbon dioxide in the air.
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