A leading scientist considered to have been instrumental in sparking serious debate over global warming suggested in August 2000 that emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) from burning fossil fuels were not the main culprit in global warming, and that the world should have focused on reducing other pollutants, such as chlorofluorocarbons and nitrogen oxides (NOx) to reduce the global warming. Below: James Hansen arrested for heading a protest against pollutants.

Dr James Hansen from the National Aeronautic & Space Administration’s Centre for Climate Systems Research had argued that those other pollutants-and not CO2 from burning oil and coal-are the real culprits in global warming. Hansen added that reducing those emissions instead of CO2 would eliminate many of the political hurdles that slow efforts to curb global warming. “We argue that global warming in recent decades has been driven mainly by non-CO2 greenhouse gases such as chlorofluorocarbons and (NOx), not by fossil fuel burning”, he said.

The Graph below is by James Hansen head Climatologist at NASA.

The Graph below by the CRU East Anglia and British Meteorology Office agrees with Hansen’s data , but what had caused him to change his mind? The answer was that the space scientists at NASA had discovered a new method of measuring planet temperatures which meant they could, not only measure the earth’s at a stable 15 C (59 F), but all the planets in the Solar System.

The British readings showed that the average global temperature in 1988 was 0.612 degrees Fahrenheit higher than the long-term average for the period 1950 through 1979, which is a base for comparing global temperatures. The average worldwide temperature for that 30-year period is roughly 59 degrees Fahrenheit, the British researchers said.The 1988 average temperature was 0.018 degrees higher than the average for 1987, the previous high year.Dr. Phil Jones, a climatologist at East Anglia, said global temperatures rose on average about one degree Fahrenheit since the beginning of the century. He said the six warmest years on record were, in order, 1988, 1987, 1983, 1981, 1980 and 1986.

Scientists from the British Meteorological Office and the University of East Anglia’s Climatic Research Unit said that last year’s temperature results continued a pattern of record high temperatures throughout the 1980’s that was reported last year.

Global Warmth In ’88 Is Found To Set a Record – The New York Times