[I'd be happy to forward to Hansen any comments people have on his quarter-century-long effort to inform the public and policymakers of the grave dangers we face on our current greenhouse gas emissions path -- in the face of withering attacks by the right-wing deniers and the attempted muzzling by the Bush administration.]

The American Meteorological Society awarded the country’s top climate scientist its highest honor, the 2009 Carl-Gustaf Rossby Research Medal:

For outstanding contributions to climate modeling, understanding climate change forcings and sensitivity, and for clear communication of climate science in the public arena.

Hansen is the longtime director of the NASA Goddard Institute of Space Studies (GISS). NASA also announced:

In a separate announcement on Dec. 30, Hansen was also named by EarthSky Communications and a panel of 600 scientist-advisors as the Scientist Communicator of the Year. Peers cited Hansen as an “outspoken authority on climate change” who had “best communicated with the public about vital science issues or concepts during 2008.”

Kudos to Hansen for these well-deserved awards. I, for one, wouldn’t have started this blog if it weren’t for him. Below is a Hansen primary, for those who want an introduction to the work of this seminal figure in American science:

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This morning, Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly balefully intoned that Carol Browner, President-elect Barack Obama’s selection as his White House climate adviser, was “a leader of a socialist group.” As banners blared “BROWNER BELONGED TO SOCIALIST GROUP SEEKING ‘GLOBAL GOVERNANCE’” and “SOCIALIST TIES,” Kelly interviewed inveterate climate denier Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-OK), who called Browner “pretty extremist” and wondered:

Where do you draw the line between an extreme liberal and a socialist?

Watch it:

The reality is, as the Wonk Room previously reported, that Browner was a member of the Commission for a Sustainable World Society (CSWS), a climate change policy working group established in 2007 by Socialist International (SI), a global coalition of left-leaning political parties. The commission involves top officials and political leaders from democratic allies of the United States, including Great Britain, Sweden, Germany, Spain, Mexico, India, and Brazil. In a typical overreach to sell their talking points, Kelly and Inhofe demonstrated a shoddy understanding of reality: Read more

NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS) has released its final report on “2008 Global Temperatures.” Last year “was the coolest year since 2000.” Given 0.05°C “uncertainty in comparing recent years,” NASA “can only conclude with confidence that 2008 was somewhere within the range from 7th to 10th warmest year in the record.”

The bigger climate news, of course, is that “in the period of instrumental measurements, which extends back to 1880 … The ten warmest years all occur within the 12-year period 1997-2008.” That’s why the climate story of the decade is that the 2000s are on track to be nearly 0.2°C warmer than the 1990s (see “Very warm 2008 makes this the hottest decade in recorded history by far“). And that temperature jump is especially worrisome since the 1990s were only 0.14°C warmer than the 1980s.

The headline coming out of NASA’s report, however, is clearly that they are sticking by their near-term forecast of an imminent record:

Finally, in response to popular demand, we comment on the likelihood of a near-term global temperature record. Specifically, the question has been asked whether the relatively cool 2008 alters the expectation we expressed in last year’s summary that a new global record was likely within the next 2-3 years (now the next 1-2 years).

Since global temperature in any year can be affected by many factors that have nothing to do with the long-term climate trend, and since short-term predictions gone awry are inevitably seized on by the DICKs (denier-industrial-complex kooks) as evidence the long-term predictions are wrong (even though they are no such thing), I’m not sure it is wise for GISS to make such predictions. But they have made the prediction:

Given our expectation of the next El Ni±o beginning in 2009 or 2010, it still seems likely that a new global temperature record will be set within the next 1-2 years, despite the moderate negative effect of the reduced solar irradiance.

Their analysis is certainly worth reviewing since, for better or worse, what happens to temperatures in the next few years may well affect just how much climate action that we are going to take (I will discuss the medium-term temperature forecast in the literature at the end):

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I have written about the serious side of Bush’s legacy many times (see “Bush will go down in history as possibly a person who has doomed the planet” and Why History Won’t Warm to “W”).

Given the misery Bush has brought to so many millions already — and the far greater misery his policies will eventually bring to billions if we don’t reverse catastrophic climate change — one must find what gallows humor we can. In that spirit, here is Slate’s list of W’s Greatest Hits:

1. “Our enemies are innovative and resourceful, and so are we. They never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country and our people, and neither do we.”–Washington, D.C., Aug. 5, 2004

2. “I know how hard it is for you to put food on your family.”–Greater Nashua, N.H., Chamber of Commerce, Jan. 27, 2000

3. “Rarely is the question asked: Is our children learning?”–Florence, S.C., Jan. 11, 2000

4. “Too many good docs are getting out of the business. Too many OB/GYNs aren’t able to practice their love with women all across the country.”–Poplar Bluff, Mo., Sept. 6, 2004

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The Detroit auto show is this week, and the announcements about plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) and pure EVs have been coming fast and furious. Fortunately, the website Calcars.org, run by my friend Felix Kramer as part of his non-profit work promoting PHEVs, has a terrific overview that “summarizes and analyzes the breaking news from Detroit.”

Since this is such an important subject (see “Plug-in hybrids and electric cars — a core climate solution” and “Why electricity is the only alternative fuel that can lead to energy independence“), I am going to reprint Kramer’s entire post below along with his list of “top green cars websites”:

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UPDATE (below): Sen. Kerry embraces a 350 ppm target.

I listened to Chu’s confirmation, not Clinton’s, but Greenwire (subs. req’d) has the scoop on what the Secretary of State designee warned senators about energy and climate:

Testifying before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, the Democratic New York senator vowed to make energy policy a central part of the State Department’s diplomatic mission. She also said the State Department under President-elect Barack Obama will participate in the U.N. negotiations in Copenhagen, Denmark, aimed at finalizing a new global emissions treaty by the end of the year.

“We will pursue an energy policy that reduces our carbon emissions while reducing our dependence on foreign oil,” Clinton told the panel.

Clinton, of course, made energy and climate issues a centerpiece of her campaign(see “Clinton’s outstanding energy and climate plan“). She will be a key play in Obama’s cabinet on these issues (see “Stuff I learned at DOE, Part 1: SOS trumps NSA (Hillary Clinton trumps Gen. Jones”). The story makes clear that Senate leaders on both sides understand the importance of energy and climate to international policy:
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