Dr. James Hansen, NASA scientist and head of the Goddard Institute of Space Studies, issued a warning about the planet’s future, as the worrying global warming matter begins to show its effects. He signaled that the United States’ current policies are not at all what they should be and that the country must take the lead, and not drag its feet, as the US is the only country that can begin such a demanding mission and organize the phases needed to complete it.

Hansen demands the introduction of a direct carbon tax on emissions, as the cap-and-trade did not manage to show any reduction of the greenhouse emissions.

"We cannot afford to put off change any longer. We have to get on a new path within this new administration. We have only four years left for Obama to set an example to the rest of the world. America must take the lead," he said. In his opinion, the soaring carbon emissions threaten to soon lead to global flooding, species loss and also significant weather disruption.

This is not his first effort on bringing light on the issue. Back in 1988 he warned that the Earth was in danger from climate change, but at the time the matter did not appear to be urgent in many people’s eyes; many still consider the facts blown out of proportions. Still, the situation is a lot worse than it was in 1988. The melting process of the polar ice is happening significantly faster than initially anticipated and without an immediate strategy for dealing with the planet’s main polluters, we will soon find ourselves in a critical situation.

In order to better explain his statement, James Hansen presents a chart on his Web site with the rising temperatures of the plant, which indeed show a boost over the past five years.

There are also several suggestions forwarded: first of all, the cap-and-trade schemes, in which emission permits are bought and sold, must be replaced by a carbon tax; secondly, he argues for a moratorium on new power plants that burn coal, which is the world’s worst carbon emitter.

The first major noticeable effect will be the rise of the sea level, which has been estimated at about 40 cm over the next several years. Hansen claims that these prognoses are far too conservative, as the accelerated ice melting process will cause a much greater increase of the sea’s level. In his opinion, the rise will be of about 1.4 meters, which will most likely lead to numerous floods in many cities and also in low-lying areas from places such as Holland and Bangladesh.

Even though the support of the government would organize and speed things significantly, people must understand that each single effort is important. Nobody must think that it is useless to turn off the computer when leaving the house, or take the train to work instead of the car, because by putting together all these actions we can turn the situation around. And once the government will get on board, the matter will surely take a turn for the better.