Expert Panel on Global Warming

Expert Panel on Global Warming

According to the many sources the five most immediate dangers of global warming are: 1) the melting of the polar ice caps, 2) the effects on the economy, 3) the increased probability and intensity of droughts and heat waves, 4) the likelihood that warmer waters will generate more hurricanes, and 5) the spread of disease (Simmons).

Three experts have been invited to sit on a panel to discuss this question, "What is the impact of global warming on our community and what will the consequences be here, where we live?" These experts are Dr. James Hansen, Dr. Kathleen Miller, and Dr. Thomas J. Wilbank.

James Hansen was formally trained in physics and astronomy. He attended the University of Iowa attended where he earned a B.A. In Physics and Mathematics with highest distinction in 1963, an M.S. In Astronomy in 1965 and a Ph.D. In Physics, in 1967. From 1962 to 1966 Hansen participated in the NASA graduate traineeship. Between 1965 and 1966, he was a visiting student at the Institute of Astrophysics at the University of Kyoto and in the Department of Astronomy at the University of Tokyo. In1967 Dr. Hansen began work at the Goddard Institute for Space Studies. During the late 1960's and early 1970's Hansen studied the atmosphere of Venus where he hypothesized that the hot surface was the result of aerosols trapping the internal energy of the planet. More recent studies have suggested that several billion years ago Venus's atmosphere was much more like Earth's than it is now, and that there were probably substantial quantities of liquid water on the surface, but a runaway greenhouse effect was caused by the evaporation of that original water, which generated a critical level of greenhouse gases in its atmosphere. This research early in his career lead Dr. Hansen to look at Earth's atmosphere in the 1980's. Today he is considered a leading expert on global warming.

Dr. Kathleen Miller is an expert on the economic and social impacts of climate change. An economist, Dr. Miller collaborates in multidisciplinary research on climate impacts, vulnerability and adaptation. Currently she is a Scientist III working with the Institute for the Study of Society and Environment (ISSE) at the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colorado. Her research focuses on human exploitation of climate-sensitive natural resources, and the socioeconomic and institutional factors affecting resource management decisions in the context of uncertainty and competing interests.