Uploaded January 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
James Hansen’s Most Recent Blog: Glimpses of his Thoughts on His Upcoming Book “Sophie’s Planet”
I chat about climate scientist James Hansen's latest thoughts in his blog, as he readies his book "Sophie's Planet" for publication in the Spring (hopefully)?
References
Dr. James E. Hansen: Climate Science, Awareness and Solutions Program, Earth Institute. Columbia University https://www.columbia.edu/~jeh1/
Latest blog posting:
Three Things, All at Once, All the Time
13 January 2026
James Hansen
https://www.columbia.edu/~jeh1/mailings/2026/ThreeThings.2026.01.13.pdf
Wikipedia entry on Rainbows: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rainbow
Landmark Hansen scientific article from 2016:
Ice melt, sea level rise and superstorms: evidence from paleoclimate data, climate modeling, and modern observations that 2 °C global warming could be dangerous
acp.copernicus.org/articles/16/3761/2016/acp-16-3761-2016.html
Abstract. We use numerical climate simulations, paleoclimate data, and modern observations to study the effect of growing ice melt from Antarctica and Greenland. Meltwater tends to stabilize the ocean column, inducing amplifying feedbacks that increase subsurface ocean warming and ice shelf melting. Cold meltwater and induced dynamical effects cause ocean surface cooling in the Southern Ocean and North Atlantic, thus increasing Earth's energy imbalance and heat flux into most of the global ocean's surface. Southern Ocean surface cooling, while lower latitudes are warming, increases precipitation on the Southern Ocean, increasing ocean stratification, slowing deepwater formation, and increasing ice sheet mass loss. These feedbacks make ice sheets in contact with the ocean vulnerable to accelerating disintegration. We hypothesize that ice mass loss from the most vulnerable ice, sufficient to raise sea level several meters, is better approximated as exponential than by a more linear response. Doubling times of 10, 20 or 40 years yield multi-meter sea level rise in about 50, 100 or 200 years. Recent ice melt doubling times are near the lower end of the 10–40-year range, but the record is too short to confirm the nature of the response. The feedbacks, including subsurface ocean warming, help explain paleoclimate data and point to a dominant Southern Ocean role in controlling atmospheric CO2, which in turn exercised tight control on global temperature and sea level. The millennial (500–2000-year) timescale of deep-ocean ventilation affects the timescale for natural CO2 change and thus the timescale for paleo-global climate, ice sheet, and sea level changes, but this paleo-millennial timescale should not be misinterpreted as the timescale for ice sheet response to a rapid, large, human-made climate forcing. These climate feedbacks aid interpretation of events late in the prior interglacial, when sea level rose to +6–9 m with evidence of extreme storms while Earth was less than 1 °C warmer than today. Ice melt cooling of the North Atlantic and Southern oceans increases atmospheric temperature gradients, eddy kinetic energy and baroclinicity, thus driving more powerful storms. The modeling, paleoclimate evidence, and ongoing observations together imply that 2 °C global warming above the preindustrial level could be dangerous...
Wikipedia entry: Senate Hearing of James E. Hansen (1988)
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Senate_Hearing_of_James_E._Hansen_(1988)
Wikipedia entry: Van Allen Radiation Belt
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Van_Allen_radiation_belt
Wikipedia entry: Jule Gregory Charney
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jule_Gregory_Charney
Wikipedia entry: Hendrik C. van de Hulst
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hendrik_C._van_de_Hulst
From my friend Heidi:
Hello! I wanted to share something important with you. Paul Beckwith is doing incredible work to educate people about climate change and extreme weather, but he needs our support to continue this vital mission. Every donation, no matter the size, can make a difference in helping him reach more communities. Please consider clicking the link below to donate or share it with others who care about our planet. Thank you!
Year end - Year start GoFundMe: https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-paul-...
Please donate to PaulBeckwith.net to support my research and videos connecting the dots on abrupt climate system mayhem.
Please subscribe to my YouTube channel. As well as my website, and YouTube, you can find me on Patreon, Facebook, Twitter/X, LinkedIn, Instagram, Reddit (multiple climate channels within), Quora, TikTok, Discord, Mastodon, Twitch, Vimeo, Bluesky, TruthSocial, Threads, Substack, Tumblr, Pinterest, etc...
James Hansen’s Most Recent Blog: Glimpses of his Thoughts on His Upcoming Book “Sophie’s Planet”
I chat about climate scientist James Hansen's latest thoughts in his blog, as he readies his book "Sophie's Planet" for publication in the Spring (hopefully)?
References
Dr. James E. Hansen: Climate Science, Awareness and Solutions Program, Earth Institute. Columbia University https://www.columbia.edu/~jeh1/
Latest blog posting:
Three Things, All at Once, All the Time
13 January 2026
James Hansen
https://www.columbia.edu/~jeh1/mailings/2026/ThreeThings.2026.01.13.pdf
Wikipedia entry on Rainbows: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rainbow
Landmark Hansen scientific article from 2016:
Ice melt, sea level rise and superstorms: evidence from paleoclimate data, climate modeling, and modern observations that 2 °C global warming could be dangerous
acp.copernicus.org/articles/16/3761/2016/acp-16-3761-2016.html
Abstract. We use numerical climate simulations, paleoclimate data, and modern observations to study the effect of growing ice melt from Antarctica and Greenland. Meltwater tends to stabilize the ocean column, inducing amplifying feedbacks that increase subsurface ocean warming and ice shelf melting. Cold meltwater and induced dynamical effects cause ocean surface cooling in the Southern Ocean and North Atlantic, thus increasing Earth's energy imbalance and heat flux into most of the global ocean's surface. Southern Ocean surface cooling, while lower latitudes are warming, increases precipitation on the Southern Ocean, increasing ocean stratification, slowing deepwater formation, and increasing ice sheet mass loss. These feedbacks make ice sheets in contact with the ocean vulnerable to accelerating disintegration. We hypothesize that ice mass loss from the most vulnerable ice, sufficient to raise sea level several meters, is better approximated as exponential than by a more linear response. Doubling times of 10, 20 or 40 years yield multi-meter sea level rise in about 50, 100 or 200 years. Recent ice melt doubling times are near the lower end of the 10–40-year range, but the record is too short to confirm the nature of the response. The feedbacks, including subsurface ocean warming, help explain paleoclimate data and point to a dominant Southern Ocean role in controlling atmospheric CO2, which in turn exercised tight control on global temperature and sea level. The millennial (500–2000-year) timescale of deep-ocean ventilation affects the timescale for natural CO2 change and thus the timescale for paleo-global climate, ice sheet, and sea level changes, but this paleo-millennial timescale should not be misinterpreted as the timescale for ice sheet response to a rapid, large, human-made climate forcing. These climate feedbacks aid interpretation of events late in the prior interglacial, when sea level rose to +6–9 m with evidence of extreme storms while Earth was less than 1 °C warmer than today. Ice melt cooling of the North Atlantic and Southern oceans increases atmospheric temperature gradients, eddy kinetic energy and baroclinicity, thus driving more powerful storms. The modeling, paleoclimate evidence, and ongoing observations together imply that 2 °C global warming above the preindustrial level could be dangerous...
Wikipedia entry: Senate Hearing of James E. Hansen (1988)
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Senate_Hearing_of_James_E._Hansen_(1988)
Wikipedia entry: Van Allen Radiation Belt
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Van_Allen_radiation_belt
Wikipedia entry: Jule Gregory Charney
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jule_Gregory_Charney
Wikipedia entry: Hendrik C. van de Hulst
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hendrik_C._van_de_Hulst
From my friend Heidi:
Hello! I wanted to share something important with you. Paul Beckwith is doing incredible work to educate people about climate change and extreme weather, but he needs our support to continue this vital mission. Every donation, no matter the size, can make a difference in helping him reach more communities. Please consider clicking the link below to donate or share it with others who care about our planet. Thank you!
Year end - Year start GoFundMe: https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-paul-...
Please donate to PaulBeckwith.net to support my research and videos connecting the dots on abrupt climate system mayhem.
Please subscribe to my YouTube channel. As well as my website, and YouTube, you can find me on Patreon, Facebook, Twitter/X, LinkedIn, Instagram, Reddit (multiple climate channels within), Quora, TikTok, Discord, Mastodon, Twitch, Vimeo, Bluesky, TruthSocial, Threads, Substack, Tumblr, Pinterest, etc...
