12333 Form 2017-2024

I'm going to show you a presentation given by Carl Sagan in 1990. It describes how human activity is contributing to global warming and what we can do about it. I believe it is just as relevant now as it was 27 years ago. I present it here partly in response to those who claim that the idea of greenhouse warming is a hoax made up by Al Gore in 2006. It should be obvious to anyone who bothers to do some honest research that climate scientists have understood the connection between burning fossil fuels and rising global average temperatures for much longer than that. Additionally, the temperature has been noticeably warming beyond our expectations since the 1970s. In his presentation, Carl Sagan also discusses the hole in the ozone layer, which has become less of a problem now due to an international agreement to stop manufacturing CFC gases. He also mentions the rising human population. Since the talk was given, human numbers have increased by over two billion. However, these implications are rarely discussed. Now, let's hear from Carl Sagan speaking to a largely religious audience in 1990. (Applause) Thank you, Jim, for that generous introduction. I'm very happy to be here with you. We seem to be running a bit behind schedule, so I'll try to shorten what I had intended to say. It is truly a peculiar issue that humans have become, in this innocent manner, a danger to themselves. We are not discussing nuclear war, where there is at least some intent to harm. We are talking about the most innocent acts, such as burning coal or using harmless materials in refrigerators and air conditioners. Who would have thought that these actions could pose a danger? When we humans started out 200,000 years ago, or even millions of years...