Listening to the Climate Models, and Trying to Wake Up the World

In the stormy world of climate science, Dr. Jerry D. Mahlman, 63, is considered a giant.

Until three years ago, Dr. Mahlman, now a senior researcher at the National Center for Atmospheric Research here in Colorado, headed the federal Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory in Princeton, N.J.

There he studied how the earth's troposphere and stratosphere work. To that end, he developed mathematical models showing how natural forces and chemicals interact in the atmosphere. The models consistently show that carbon dioxide emissions are likely to heat up the air, water and land.

It was this prediction of an overly warm future that transformed Dr. Mahlman into a reluctant activist. He travels the country on his own time, warning religious, civic and educational groups about the dangers of global warming.

"I don't like having to talk to people about something they don't particularly want to hear," he said in an interview, "but I see what the climate models are telling us. I think by ignoring projections on global warming, we are making a negative gift to our successors — human, animal and plant — of enormous dimension."
[more]

  thanks to Progressive Review