Senate Hearing of James E. Hansen (1988)

High school (ages 12+)
Environment & Earth

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/senate-hearing-of-james-e-hansen-1988

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the date of hearing?June 23, 1988
2. What is the witness?James E. Hansen, Director, NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies
3. What was the 1988 Senate hearing about James Hansen?The hearing was a meeting where Dr. James Hansen, a climate scientist, told U.S. senators about the Earth's warming and how humans are making it worse. It helped bring climate science into politics and the news.
4. Why did James Hansen talk to the Senate?Hansen spoke to the Senate because the planet was getting hotter and he wanted lawmakers to hear the science so they could make rules to protect the Earth.

Anthropogenic Global Warming: The observed increase in Earth's average temperature attributed to human activities, primarily greenhouse gas emissions.
Greenhouse Effect: The process by which atmospheric gases trap heat, warming the planet's surface to a temperature necessary for life.
Climate Models: Computer simulations used by scientists to study and predict climate patterns and changes based on various factors.
Fossil Fuel Combustion: The burning of coal, oil, and natural gas, which releases greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.