Hansen, James (1941-)

DIRECTOR OF THE National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Goddard Institute for Space Studies in New York and adjunct professor in the Department of Earth and Environmental Studies at Columbia University, James Hansen has come to the public attention in contemporary debates about global warming for his harsh critique of the environmental policies pursued by the George W. Bush Administration. He has also unequivocally stated that, because of such criticism, it is increasingly difficult for him to speak freely about the emission of greenhouse gases and global warming. In 2005 and 2006, Hansen claimed, in several interviews with the Washington Post and the New York Times, that officials at NASA headquarters were ordering the public affairs staff to review his coming lectures, papers, postings on ...