Carl Sagan testifying before Congress in 1985 on climate change

Original source: www.c-span.org/video/?125856-...
DECEMBER 10, 1985
“Witnesses testified on how the greenhouse effect will change the global climate system and possible solutions.”
Instagram: saganism?h...
Twitter: saganism_?s=21
carlsagan.com

[@gorilla1988]

And then congress immediately took action and saved the entire planet happily ever after the end.

[@oatnoid]

BWA HA HA, you're funny.

[@infidelheretic923]

Don’t we all wish

[@Gregorypeckory]

Such a compelling fantasy 😊 If only the owners of the planet hadn't prevented it, and still are. 😠

[@davidlafleche1142]

Not as long as Republicans and Democrats are making a fortune on their Chinese investments.

[@andrewmitchell4764]

But after they didn't the climate suddenly changed

[@d.w.stratton4078]

Imagine Congress today allowing a scientist to speak, uninterrupted, for 15 minutes.

[@MrXispas]

We had that with crovid. But not for 15 minutes, about 23 hours a day and they where not scientists.....

[@-_James_-]

They may not have interrupted, but most of them had already made up their minds long before he stopped talking. You can see it in their eyes.

[@cclaudio8069]

@@-_James_- people need to learn how to listen without the intention of replying. Just listen.

[@shanecormier1]

Don't worry, "it's gonna be great."

[@davidlafleche1142]

@@MrXispas Neither was Carl Sagan. He believed in evolution, for which there is absolutely no scientific evidence. "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth" (Genesis 1:1, KJV). If he couldn't get history right, he couldn't get science right.

[@user-gs9fm6eh6t]

It’s embarrassing that the problem was so clearly explained and then no one took action.

[@steven-cz4bf]

Yet the World is still spinning plants are still growing and no eco apocalypse has happened. Fear mongering then is still the same now just more dramatic

[@EdBate]

@@steven-cz4bfwhat a simpleton take. imagine not knowing about this issue and what problems it will cause. but hey screw the environment.

[@steven-cz4bf]

@@EdBate after 5 decades of getting it wrong. Yes it's time to admit that climate alarmists are frauds. It's simple to assume that this cult is right despite the fact they are overwhelmingly wrong. What's simple is listening to others not follow the rules that they are setting for you. Aka private jets, large envoys, energy consumption and production in relation to carbon footprints. Co2 is not the enemy. Europe is full of climate droughts and heat waves long before the industrial revolution and multi billion population. Blaming the low water supply on man made climate change is just absurd. 1935 was the hottest year on record. Again long before mass industrialization and energy production. Climate activists simply want to pass new taxes to attempt to control the economy and further damage the dollar. Climate taxes is something I'll pass on. You should too

[@tw8464]

It's a terrible thing we're doing to our children and grandchildren both then and today we're still not taking enough action to stop human caused greenhouse effect.

[@racerguy6979]

@@EdBate welllll I think most of the countries have done a lot. It’s the other countries that haven’t done much at all that would at least have us way better off. I’m in Canada and we contribute a very low percentage to climate change and we have carbon tax and blah blah blah on and on. No matter what we do it gets worse. China and Middle East must help out

[@LosJugadores1234]

40 years later, and people are still questioning this mans message

[@anusmcgee4150]

We’re not questioning his message, especially considering how we’re not even remotely close to the dirtiest country on the planet (to be fair, Florida isn’t helping our case). We’re questioning why the hell the rest of the world is ignoring this man’s message.

[@Pierun1-hp8jw]

People dont understand that message :) ecology should be obvious for all but must be explained slowly. Its not a "rocket science", dont produce so much trash and control factories is a start. It's clear this famous scientist is not panicking like people today. You claim "noone" touched this subject and it's just childish. People work to minimize bad influence and another group is making money on panicked people - "nobody saves the planet, we will all die!" :) some day we will but people wiil kill people much faster than greenhouse effect. There is something to focus on.

[@DeadCat-42]

Only those who watched Saudi owned fox "news" propaganda.

[@LarsLarsen77]

Nobody's saying the climate doesn't change. We're saying the world isn't ending in 12 years or whatever insane bullshit people are pushing politically. If you read the IPCC report it actually says if we go to zero emissions tomorrow, which is impossible, that sea level rise and atmospheric warming will continue unabated for CENTURIES. So literally anything that we experience in our lifetimes is UNAVOIDABLE.

[@tabularasa0606]

@@anusmcgee4150 Well the US is. You can't blame China for the pollution they're making for the products the US is buying cheaply. Their pollution is for the benefit of the western world.

[@dereklawrence8843]

Viewing this video from 40 years ago, I am struck by how the senators are actually listening, quietly, respectfully, paying attention without interrupting Dr. Sagan during this cogent, intelligent remarks. A far cry from the performative nature of government hearings today.

[@syproful]

They clearly didn’t listen good enough.

[@dereklawrence8843]

@@syproful unfortunately indeed

[@gaburieruR]

They listened, but the lobbyists, who pay them, didn't care, so no action was made

[@HamptonGuitars]

He'd be lucky to get three words out before some GQPer went nuts.

[@davidowens5898]

And doing.....absolutely NOTHING meaningful to address this terrifying issue when it would have actually made a difference,

[@PsyloSatan]

I just realized I had totally forgotten what it was like when everyone in congress could manage to shut the hell up for a quarter of an hour until someone was done talking. Listening to Carl while they were doing that was icing on the cake. Miss this guy a lot.

[@Strain601]

I also miss him and we need more rational minds like his, but I think this was just his opening statement. His chance to have his say before questions and bickering.

[@RicardoAum]

I can even hear the squeaky voice of ted Cruz asking something genius like "But may I ask, if you say we can;t see the gasses, how can we be sure they are here?"

[@SPBurt1]

Yes they were listening to a nice 7th grade science lesson and little more. The predictions have been wrong and will continue to be wrong. Yes the Earth's climate is changing and we can do nothing to stop it. Nothing wrong with looking to new renewable energy source, (those that actually work and are actually renewable). Unfortunately nefarious new world order Marxists have hi-jacked the issue. What the climate accords and green new deals attempt to accomplish have no relationship with naturally accruing climate change. Do not conflate truth with lies.

[@RicardoAum]

@@SPBurt1 Yeah the earth is flat. Feminists are stealing our jobs. White racism exist. Trump won the elections. Keep it up wokeman. Save us from the reptilians.

[@griznatle]

@@RicardoAum lelelle

[@duckofdeath3266]

38 years later, corporations are still patting each other's backs for how grandiose pledges they are making for _next_ decade.

[@tenochmorales9009]

Look at the bright side!! I am completely sure that in 38 years from now the corporations will be fairly patting each other's backs because they succesfully will take all the necesary actions... which will start the next decade

[@margaretneanover3385]

Exactly

[@zedooncadhz]

I work at a corporation and we just funded a whole new windfarm. What have you done?

[@duckofdeath3266]

​@@zedooncadhz Cool story brah! That justifies how humanity is polluting more today than 38 years ago.

[@zedooncadhz]

@@duckofdeath3266 what relevance does what I said have to humanities choices for the past 4 decades? I wasn't alive to help back then but I am now. What are you doing except whining? Give me an example of what you actually do

[@fallingstar7347]

Carl Sagan was as an inspiration, R.I.P. he could explain the most complex subjects in the simplest terms that even a child could understand. An extraordinary teacher.

[@canddidd]

Nah he went too far with words like microns, wavelength, radiate. I bet they were all clueless

[@GeorgiosD90]

Extraordinary, when someone believes that Venus has a greenhouse effect. If you are a child of course you will believe him without thinking further.

[@dt9913]

Carl is sorely missed especially by people with an open mind.

[@rrkunath]

He did a terrible job of separating science fiction from science facts.

[@dt9913]

@@rrkunath Even a child could understand. But not you.

[@cybergothika6906]

Hearing an intelligent mind speaking fluently and uninterruptedly for 16 mins straight is like brain massage to me, in this date and age.

[@HeroDiablo]

how ironic how you comment 5 days ago and then tiktok comes before congress and becomes the most absolute shitshow

[@cybergothika6906]

@@HeroDiablo Indeed. It is beyond embarrassing at this point

[@-wasagoodday]

The one who said, "aaaaa" over a hundred times in his short speech.

[@Dr.Cosmar]

Buzz word, butzz word, my political enemy **smear***, buzzword, triggerword, vote, change, uplift word, fearmonger, uplift, buzzword. Yeah, that gets old ^^^^

[@pauljmorton]

Too bad all the ears back then were still deaf. They let him speak, but they didn't listen. Not sure that's any better than how they behave today.

[@gubzs]

Within 10 seconds of the video starting you can see how much people's respect, intelligence, and general demeanor have changed. It's _scary_ I had no idea it was this bad.

[@Copterman]

And yet this modern generation lives to cast judgment on the past.

[@arth0heen]

Carl Sagan was demonized by the majority of Americans (as the majority, not just plurality was Christian) during his time. The deep influence of the church reverberated across schools and homes alike because Sagan challenged creationism. Let's not pretend that he got respected by a majority of Americans when he was alive.

[@progKansas]

That's before FoxNews, the Freedumb Causas, and Citizens United.

[@primalmythic386]

DUHHHH

[@mikemcwilliams7801]

i didnt see that... how did you tell that?

[@short_macchiato3222]

I have never come across a more simple, eloquent explanation of a complex topic.

[@plica06]

Have you no formal education? Don't you follow any science education channels on KZbin? There are many to choose from.

[@short_macchiato3222]

@@plica06 how have you arrived to the conclusion that I may have no formal education - hilarious

[@garylewis327]

If Mr. Sagan was alive today, I can't imagine how discouraged he would be in seeing how little has been done to fight this global threat, due in no small part to the massive resistance by those who benefit from the continual poisoning of this planet, and those who so readily believe them.

[@lw3646]

People have generally been pretty good at reacting to an immediate threat like Pearl Harbour or a killer virus. Long term threats though we are not geared up well to deal with, most governments think only in terms of the next 5 years of their term, also the fossil fuel industry obviously out a lot of effort into delaying or denying need for change.

[@simulation5627]

And he would be embarrassed by how goofy the environmentalism has gone.

[@jarren32]

You have no idea what you're talking about. And I feel very sad for you. You falsely believe our planet is dying based off of a faulty understanding of the impacts of global warming. I mean this from my heart because if I believed the incorrect popular narrative, I, too, would be shitting my pants

[@moritzfinke4518]

​@@jarren32Oh so understand climate science better than tens of thousand physicists studying and simulating with success the effects of climate change?

[@jarren32]

@moritzfinke4518 no, I trust the OTHER thousands of scientists that the corporate mainstream media doesnt talk about. Also, don't act like you can read literally any of the hundreds of studies out there on either side. Not something us regulars can do properly. So take your stuffy nose elsewhere

[@RogerRosenquist]

"If you don't worry about it now, it's too late later on." Carl Sagan, 1985

[@PapiCthulu2]

Sadly, We are proving he was right

[@truthpilldotnet]

That's how you know he was lying

[@flashg1160]

Apparently he was wrong.

[@DAFIZZIF]

oof

[@boxychubbo6922]

@@PapiCthulu2 says who? 😀

[@danieljdeleon873]

How depressing to know this hearing took place in 1985. And yet here we are.

[@BigMacProDaddy]

thanks to republicants

[@civiccc]

​@@BigMacProDaddy this is why nothing changes. You're playing in their game, left right this that... you're brainwashed

[@fredschnerbert1238]

Where is that? *With Glacier National Park having to take down the signs that predicted they would be GONE by* *2020??* *SURELY the SNOWS of Kilimanjaro are NO LONGER there RIGHT??* *AL GORE PREDICTED THEY would be gone in 2015 or something...WRONG, again*

[@fredschnerbert1238]

​@@BigMacProDaddy *With Glacier Park Glacier's still there??* *WAS OBAMA Admin the ones who put those signs up saying by 2020 they'd be gone??*

[@KeithRingo]

Wait until its 50 years old and we're looking back

[@domalash]

What a great last line. "...because we're all in this greenhouse together."

[@Ted...youtubee]

Yet.. Corporations, governments, billionaires see nothing wrong with private jet use. COP28 and WEF in Davos are prime examples.

[@mintheman7]

Climate change was a bipartisan issue back then because it was considered a “future threat.” As soon as it was clear it is a much urgent issue, the disinformation machine of the petro industry kicked in (they even hired the same PR firms as big tabaco) and the “cultural war” on climate change was born.

[@izaruburs9389]

It's also amazing how big coporations turned it into a personal issue rather than a political one. Consumers have almost no impact on the total output of pollutants, the industry has. The only way to stop the massive destruction and pollution of the nature we need to survive is to force coporations with laws and regulations.

[@tasantana1174]

Like humanity the industries too will die. They are only hurting themselves and their families future.

[@1989Azrael]

your timeline seems to be a bit messed up. Petrol industry, or to be more precise Exxon, financed the first scientific study about climate change, its threats and the possibility of human origin. This was several years before this interview here. And as soon as they got the study results, the misinformation campaigns started. The most iconic proof for the knowledge of the petrol industry and that they believed in it was the change in the recent years going from "not our fault" to greenwashing in such an hilarious scale that I'd like to puke everytime I see a sample of it.

[@guyonthecouch007]

Nobody interrupts this man when he speaks... .learned more in 1985 than in 2022.

[@Hboogie182]

Michio Kaku in 2022: am I a joke to you?

[@guyonthecouch007]

@H Boogie Michio Kaku merely emulates someone like Carl Sagan who focuses on present matters. Michio Kaku is someone who says we're at level "zero" as a civilization cause we don't have a "dison sphere" around the sun, and because of that we're primitive and dumb!

[@Hboogie182]

@@guyonthecouch007 we're primitive to aliens that are thousands of years more advance than us.

[@riverzend1033]

@@Hboogie182 😆

[@lorenzoblum868]

The carbon footprint of the military industrial complex anybody?

[@greatbutler]

It's sad that we don't elect people who are intelligent enough to understand anything this man is saying; and ethical enough to do the right thing.

[@RocketdogandSeptembr]

Yet more than 35 years later, the world is fine despite emissions skyrocketing... moron

[@peterrick3339]

It's sad that we are not intelligent enough and ethical enough to elect people with ethics that understand these issues and do something about them. Thing is, doing something would directly cost the taxpayer money and affect the 1st world lives they lead. Until it's too late, and then it's too late.

[@jehandesains8674]

@@RocketdogandSeptembr the world is not fine, bigger moron. We get more droughts, more floods, bigger storms, heat waves, a disrupted polar vortex (hence the very cold American winters of late), crop failures, permafrost melting, polar ice caps melting, entire regions becoming uninhabitable due to the heat, etc. The world is not fine. It's going straight to proverbial hell, because of morons like you.

[@kx7500]

You don’t live in a legitimate democracy

[@Pistolita221]

It's bankers protecting the petrodollar (and therefor the entire international exchange system has a vested interest in global warming denial) not just fossil fuel companies

[@Tcb0835]

One of my childhood heroes. The TV series Cosmos, changed my life. Great man.

[@daviboiify]

our government needs to be filled with people like this, not former corporate lawyers and executives.

[@Space_Rebel]

RIP Carl Sagan. A brilliant and inspirational man.

[@jamiehalifax4954]

🖖

[@happyjohn1656]

Star Wars Rebel

[@christ-centeredcrypto]

Highly likely he's in hell, far from resting in peace, because he rejected the one and only atonement for sin which every human is offered but sadly, many reject.

[@jamiehalifax4954]

@@christ-centeredcrypto so is yo momma

[@Kawabongahlive]

@@christ-centeredcrypto a god that would torture the soul of a man who hurt nobody is no god at all, but a malevolent demon-

[@MotoTvWoodsFarm]

Imagine living in a time when people of different political beliefs actually listened respectfully to each other.

[@augustojoa2496]

yes...! but perhaps was because we didn't know back then what we know now. Get it ?!

[@riverside321]

We don't need politicians it doesn't matter if they listen

[@johnstrawb3521]

@Moto Tv Woods Farm Yeah, like when the FBI assassinated Fred Hampton? Please don't be childish.

[@doobidoo095]

Carbon dioxide at 0.04% is a 2,500th part of the atmosphere. that means to warm the climate by just 1"c carbon dioxide molecules must capture 2,500"c of heat energy. That is impossible. It also breaks the fundamental laws of thermodynamics. Methane at 0.00017% is a 600,000th of the atmosphere so it's even more impossible. To cause 1°c of heating methane would have to capture 600,000°c of heat energy. Problematic as this is over a hundred times hotter than the surface of the sun. (Methane rapidly breaks down in sunlight). However, the climate is changing. This is because of deliberate geoengineering programmes, inparticular ozone thinning away from the poles. Though largely unreported ozone thinning effect is directly observable producing an unnaturally bright sun and even s bright moon. Under these conditions the pain felt when looking at the sun is not only from the increase in visible light but the much larger increase in infrared. (Look up at the sky and you will see a range of geoengineering operations in progress, these include chemtrail induced cloud or hazing, ripple patterns caused by HAARP installations, bizarre and unnatural cloud formations). Climate change is a programme to force change in accordance with the implementation of agenda 21/2030. Current events demonstrate this transition is well underway and will involve massive population cull through injected nanotech (re transhumanist programme). Agenda 21 also sees the permanent loss of all property rights with the introduction of universal basic income (ref nesara/gesara) and has/is being promoted by the World Economic Forum. 'You will own nothing and you will be happy' WEF In a depopulated world the surviving brainwashed and controlled population will be confined to mega cities. Carbon limits will be used to restrict consumption and liberty. Meanwhile the re-greened wilderness will be the exclusive playground of the ultra rich elite posing as conservationists. The co2 hoax amounts to the theft of the world and the enslavement of humanity by a parasitic few. Welcome to the future! _________ I have included a debunking of 'accumulated heat' as it is so often used to explain how trace elements, so called 'greenhouse gasses', can warm the planet. Accumulated heat whilst sounding a reasonable explanation of how heat can build up is rather nothing more than gobbledygook. In fact it shows those using such arguments do not even understand what heat is. When we measure temperature we are measuring the heat energy a thing is losing. In short heat is a measurement of flow, the transfer of heat energy and this will always be in the direction towards the colder. For this reason a thing can never 'accumulate heat' in the way those advocating co2 climate change describe. The temperature of a body is the measure of heat output, it can never be greater than the measure of heat input. Output = input. When a thing is warmed it is heated to an equivalent of the heat input. If this input is not maintained it will cool. Those that propose that heat can build up to be hotter than the total measure of heat input at a given time either do not understand what heat is or are being deliberately misleading. To illustrate, an object being heated by a flame can never become hotter than that flame, it's temperature cannot rise inexorably to the temperature of the sun for instance. heat cannot be accumulated. When we think about it common sense tells us this must be the case. Nasa and even nobel prize winning physicists have expounded 'accumulated heat' as the explanation how co2 is able to warm the atmosphere. They claim that over hundreds of years co2 has captured heat energy and this heat has 'accumulated' to produce a serious warming effect. As I have just explained, this is totally impossible and fundamentally violates all the laws of thermodynamics. That respected scientists should support such uneducated, unthinking nonsense is disturbing and only reflects that in terms of being able to think clearly about a subject they have no facility or inclination. These are the dark ages of science. Belief has outweighed logic or any critical thought. It tells us that we should not unquestioningly accept anything we are told, that experts can be fools. (nb: Be aware of attempts to discard thermodynamics by talking about biology. eg. 'it only takes a drop of arsenic to kill a person.' This would be somewhat desperate, muddled thinking. clearly biological processes based on the reaction of a cell are not the same as the laws of physics/thermodynamics).

[@doobidoo095]

Continued... It is impossible to trap more energy than the energy available. This is the first law of thermodynamics. Furthermore, climate change models require that this heat must be from radiant heat from the Earth's surface. The reason this must be so is explained by the thought experiment as follows: 'Five photons of energy from the sun, one photon is absorbed by CO2. Does the planet warm more than if all five photons had hit the surface? ' Anything that captures radiant energy will in turn radiate 50% of its energy back to space. This is as much a point of logic. It is also easily proved by everyday experience. When a cloud passes overhead it immediately becomes colder, this is because radiant energy is absorbed by the water molecules and the same will be true of CO2. Carbon dioxide can only reduce surface temps though as I explained the proportion of CO2 is so fractional as to have any measurable effect. Clouds, and the fact that nights are colder than days, also demonstrates that Earth loses heat extremely quickly and shows the importance of surface heating from direct sunlight. It also explains why all those peddling the CO2 climate hoax have to ignore infrared in direct sunlight. Were they not to do so the whole charade falls apart as it means half of all infrared energy from the Sun will be radiated back out to space. This is problematic as almost half of the Sun's radiant energy IS INFRARED!!! ... OUCH! Fractional elements have fractional effects. We understand this in everyday common sense as proportion. To imagine carbon dioxide can capture this magnitude of energy is absurd and breaks the basic law of thermodynamics. Were it so all energy needs could be solved through the magical energy capturing power of CO2. There are many other fundamental problems with the CO2 climate change model. Eg that CO2 is highly soluble and is washed out extremely quickly in rainfall; that CO2 levels fluctuate drastically seasonally showing on earth with its high rainfall CO2 is not a gas that accumulates; that heat cannot be trapped in oceans as described in climate models as they are more 'energy dense' than the adjacent air, rather if oceans are becoming warmer it can only be from direct sunlight; that increasing biomass increases CO2 because it increases the carbon in cycle; that correlation is not causation otherwise it could be said daisies cause hot temperatures because there are more daisies when it is warm; that there is extremely dodgy Victorian science/politics behind Ice Ages which is never questioned or examined - eg mammoths despite claims otherwise are not adapted to cold but rather appear to be cold temperate animals similar to highland cattle, their blood is not antifreeze as claimed, they have no sebaceous glands, hair is long but sparse - even yaks being hairier, mammoth remains as far south as Mexico; that how can ice cores be an accurate record of the past if miles of ice have supposedly melted?; that Milankovitch Cycles mean that the Southern Hemisphere is currently in the middle of it's Great Ice Age; that the hypothesis that burning of forest subsequent to Ice Ages resulted in warming is logically inconsistent as 'no new carbon' has been introduced into cycle this all being carbon already in cycle and in any case would be washed out almost immediately; that CO2 levels are at a geological low; that the oxygen cycle is intertwined with the carbon cycle and dependent on it; that life is carbon based and CO2 is essential; that a halving of CO2 levels would result in the extinction of nearly all plant species - problematic as it in turn means theorised measures of atmospheric CO2 during Ice Ages cannot be correct - contrary there was a proliferation of megafauna; that alarmingly, plants already struggle to get enough CO2 for growth which is why farmers will often increase CO2 in greenhouses to promote yields; that the so called 'proofs' showing CO2 is able to capture radiant heat energy only prove the opposite and how very minor this is - that atmospheric concentrations of 0.04% CO2 thermal effect would be far too fractional to even be measured; that comparisons to other planets eg Venus/Mars prove CO2 does not capture the proportion of energy claimed and maybe this is why these comparisons are done less and less; that in order to explain vastly higher concentrations of CO2 in the geological past the sun is deemed to have increased its output this despite losing solar mass (gravitational mass) as fuel, this in turn meaning that the orbits of all the planets are all moving away from the sun - such hypothesis where solar activity is used to exactly compensate for holes in the CO2 climate theory is to ignore other evidential explanations of stars such as the 'electric universe theory'; that the geological archive shows periods of millions of years when CO2 and temperature were heading in opposite directions... etc). Please be aware of organized attempts to dismiss this comment including: - Irrelevant questions and attempts to confuse. This will include misdirection to mainstream narratives. - Closing-down questions and thought by deferring to 'experts'. - Counter accusation. - Contradictory statements that are not supported. - Condescension, abuse and accusation. I have put out this information because it is important. I am aware most will choose to dismiss it and be upset and angry to have beliefs challenged. I have no interest in arguing online. All the necessary info is there in my comment for others to confirm or reject.

[@TehJumpingJawa]

Spoken when I was 5 years old, and only now am I hearing it! Carl was such a great communicator, and shockingly prescient in his analysis.

[@blakespower]

tthats why is show COSMOS was so popular in the 1970's

[@GeorgiosD90]

He only repeated the propaganda, nothing special.

[@gottagowork]

Also most predictions done back then when the science itself was fairly new and with far less computing power than today has been spot on. And Sagan's quotes nails it, he foresaw everything that's happening today, including the anti science "don't look up" crowd. Edit: This one: “I have a foreboding of an America in my children's or grandchildren's time -- when the United States is a service and information economy; when nearly all the manufacturing industries have slipped away to other countries; when awesome technological powers are in the hands of a very few, and no one representing the public interest can even grasp the issues; when the people have lost the ability to set their own agendas or knowledgeably question those in authority; when, clutching our crystals and nervously consulting our horoscopes, our critical faculties in decline, unable to distinguish between what feels good and what's true, we slide, almost without noticing, back into superstition and darkness... The dumbing down of American is most evident in the slow decay of substantive content in the enormously influential media, the 30 second sound bites (now down to 10 seconds or less), lowest common denominator programming, credulous presentations on pseudoscience and superstition, but especially a kind of celebration of ignorance”

[@GeorgiosD90]

@@gottagowork He didn't foresee anything, he just presented the pseudoscience, which is being done till today. If a theory is false, that does not depend on computing power.

[@gottagowork]

@@GeorgiosD90 Thanks. I wanted to mute you.

[@EthikosResearch]

Imagine every senator and politician being this brilliant, objective and factual

[@pajanightbadger1713]

Imagine a comments section with no PR reps

[@MaTe-du2lw]

i m so bored of every clown uses this 'imagine blablabla" @@pajanightbadger1713

[@jvgs920]

Al Gore has demonstrated through his actions that he understood this message and is willing to take risks against the Maga cult and Trump who believes that when it snows in New York, it is proof that global warming is a hoax ( his favorite word for anything that he disagrees with)

[@HiroKone]

Amazing. The clarity. 40 years ago. And even now you still have people not understanding things he addresses.

[@thewhosjoe]

especially china

[@LeDrummerDu88]

​@@thewhosjoeEspecially US and Europe. Don't blame China as Carl said for using that energy to develop as much as we did for more than a century now. In Pekin they suffocate each summer so i think China is cleary awared of the situation. As Carl said, we need a worldwide cooperation to take these decisions not as nations, but as a specy.

[@secondchance6603]

@@LeDrummerDu88 Stop making excuses for China and their appalling record on the damage they do to the planet and I'll throw in India as well.

[@donaldduck830]

Carl Sagan certainly was a great man and a great scientist. But it needs to be noted that he was a physicist, not a geologist or planetologist and certainly not a climatologist. We also got decades more of data and thought about this. He failed to take into account the gas pressure on Venus and how the composition of gases would be unimportant due to adiabatic pressure and temperature. Else Mars, with an almost entirely CO2-atmosphere would have a similar greenhouse effect and temperatures. Secondly he failed to take into account saturation. He correctly states that, if we saw the world in the absorption spectra, it would be black. Adding further absorbers is irrelevant when everything at 50microns already is absorbed, cause nothing more can be absorbed at these wavelengths. So, this endorsement of a globalist fight against climate change should be discarded for the fundamental scientific failures Carl Sagan made in this speech, I am very sorry to say.

[@patrickrobertshaw7020]

@@donaldduck830 Not sure which yahoo you got this information from but you've been duped. Compression of gasses (what you're calling adiabetic pressure) does indeed cause a temperature rise, but only when going from lower pressure to higher pressure. In contrast a lowering of pressure causes a sudden drop in temperature. However the atmosphere of venus is not changing pressure. It's high pressure, but it's stable and unchanging. Thus there is no warming as a result of that pressure. The high pressure of venus is relevant here because it means that the amount of total CO2 in the atmosphere is MUCH higher than just reading the composition would expect. As Carl Sagan correctly states, this is an extreme example and not the expectation for earth. Mars is barely worth mentioning. While it is 95% carbon dioxide, the atmosphere is so thin that this is almost irrelevant to anything.

[@kashphlinktu]

It’s so awesome that everyone listened to him and quickly came together to decisively solve the climate issue like responsible adults

[@brentsummers7377]

The United Nations can hardly decide which 5 star catering company gets to supply the food for the Security Council meetings😂😂

[@AwakenedAvocado]

Politicians are generally not intelligent enough to grasp the concepts he'd talk about. They would pretend to understand and do nothing, as they do with everything else.

[@manta567]

I'm so glad that this whole problem was acknowledged and addressed back in the days and is of no concern for current and future generations. Everrising sea levels, everrising temperatures and extreme heat, wildfires, migration movements, intensifying of extreme wheater, droughts and floodings sure don't sound so good, but I'm relieved everyone was aware of the incredible inertia of the global climate system and humanity together solved that problem.

[@frogwood1713]

I can't tell if you are joking, but these problems are still prevailing in many ways

[@Praisethesunson]

​@@frogwood1713Yeah it's a joke. The politicians back then were at least trained enough to not interrupt the experts that don't impact policy decisions. Today politicians overtly make it clear they don't care what any expert says unless it is service to our corporate masters.

[@MalaysianPerspective]

I never knew Mr Sagan or met him. But I did watch his documentary Cosmos, all of it as an adult in the early 2000s. The cosmos was broadcast in Malaysia in early 80s. But some very "smart" tv program executive in Radio Television Malaysia scheduled it after my 8 year old bedtime at 10pm. So I did not see it in the 1980s. I got my first telescope in 2003 after watching the whole cosmos series and realizing I actually love astronomy. I wished I watched Cosmos in 1980s and made a different career choice but I made the most of the past 20 years. 😊, I am happy. Tq Mr Sagan. RIP

[@rchydrozz751]

Carl. Its 2023 and they still dont listen. RIP.

[@randalluthe4792]

The biggest thing that stood out to me was the uninterrupted silence while he spoke. You would never see that in congress today.

[@randalluthe4792]

@@user-ke5wk2kr9y Nope, it's the behavior issue.

[@thegreencat9947]

Not even a cough or chair squeak.

[@dufushead]

No BS, he told it as it was, calmly, effectively and now we all know he was telling the truth. How was the world hijacked by con artists ?

[@Cedders001]

How the world was hijacked by con artists is a question that induced scientists like Naomi Oreskes and Geoffrey Supran to move into the humanities to answer it. Have you seen 'The Power of Big Oil' (PBS title( or 'Big Oil Vs The World' (BBC title)'? We should stop the slow poison to the world's carbon cycle at source, but we should also stop the slow poison to democracy at source.

[@Robpires2]

do you mean "artists"? propaganda spreaders of big bussiness?

[@rkwjunior2298]

What truths has he proven 40+yrs later?. There has be no change in sea-levels as he stated to be in "meters" and we are well into the next century.

[@davedixon2068]

Its called dumbing down, only do things so that the lowest common denominator can understand, make exams that everyone can pass not to improve everyone, keep the prolls dumb then we can tell them anything we want, see it happening all the time in the States but its spreading everywhere

[@markmorenault765]

you people are naive and gullible, do you know how much carbon dioxide is in the air? take a guess, i'll tell you right now that at .02% carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, plantlife starts dying off! we have .04% carbon dioxide in the atmosphere today, we went from .03% to .04% in 60 years, and bounce back and forth between those two numbers, and this isnt my opinion, or theory, this is solid 100% fact, and science, we are in no danger of climate change, not for a long time yet, do you people realize that 7.8 billion people will fit in a state the size of new york? we are still pretty insignificant to this planet, what is messing things up is the poisoning of the oceans with radiation, and the removal of sand from our oceans, this is causing 1000 times more problems than andy climate issues, and it doesn't help you have our governments let whoever play with weather manipulation, the human species is stupid!

[@FirstClass-]

This gentle genius was taken too soon.... RIP Carl 😪

[@smellylettuce]

Such a great speaker and communicator. His ability to explain this concept clearly and accurately has yet to be matched by anyone else I've heard so far.

[@GeorgiosD90]

He just explained how Venus has a greenhouse effect, even though it is impossible for Venus to have a greenhouse effect. Maybe it is not that the is a good communicator but a good deceiver.

[@Ewww1219]

​@@GeorgiosD90why do you believe that it is impossible for Venus to have the greenhouse gas effect?

[@GeorgiosD90]

@@Ewww1219 It is impossible, because Venus has a dense atmosphere in super critical state, which allows only a very small amount of sun radiation to reach the ground and reflected, therefore it cannot cause any warming to the atmosphere. It is an example used frequently to deceive the masses, that know nothing about Venus.

[@readysetcomedypodcast1341]

​@GeorgiosD90 it's impossible? It's proven fact that it does, so I'd be very interested in your take and can't wait to congratulate you on your Nobel prize

[@GeorgiosD90]

@@readysetcomedypodcast1341 It is impossible for Venus to have a GHG effect, as it has very low sun radiation reaching the surface and proving it is simple physics no nobel price is necessary. Check it out for yourself. This guy is talking out of his ass about things he doesnt know of.

[@ridiculous_gaming]

Carl Sagan's absence is seriously missed, for what a fantastic speaker. It's too bad that increased wealth dictates change and not intelligence.

[@bezdelnicar]

If we have intelligence on this planet,this monetary system would not exist,politicians would not exist,army would not exist,countries would not exist etc

[@mediamonster4936]

Couldn't agree with you more! No one has ever explained climate change better than Carl Sagan! In fact many of his key point's he makes are repeated word for word by others but either come off too boring or biased. Carl Sagan explains in better in 15 minutes than Al Gore in a hour. Also he was respected by people on both sides of the isle.

[@rxw5520]

I would say he would make a massive difference in the discussions and decision processes if he were still alive, but I’m afraid he may be drowned out in the sea of Twitter drones and full time bloggers (ie, popular science and political news sites) like nearly everything else of importance has been. Or worse, he would just be politicized and ignored.

[@KB-jh3rt]

If you miss his absence that means you wish he wasn't here.

[@rxw5520]

@@KB-jh3rt hahaha you’re “that guy”

[@LordJossy]

"we are all in this greenhouse together", well said

[@markmorenault765]

you people are naive and gullible, do you know how much carbon dioxide is in the air? take a guess, i'll tell you right now that at .02% carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, plantlife starts dying off! we have .04% carbon dioxide in the atmosphere today, we went from .03% to .04% in 60 years, and bounce back and forth between those two numbers, and this isnt my opinion, or theory, this is solid 100% fact, and science, we are in no danger of climate change, not for a long time yet, do you people realize that 7.8 billion people will fit in a state the size of new york? we are still pretty insignificant to this planet, what is messing things up is the poisoning of the oceans with radiation, and the removal of sand from our oceans, this is causing 1000 times more problems than andy climate issues, and it doesn't help you have our governments let whoever play with weather manipulation, the human species is stupid!

[@rosemarieroth1984]

Remind the Republicans of that....

[@rawbmar1166]

@@rosemarieroth1984 Can I remind the left about their failed vaccine program and nazi shit they did the last few years or will the truth just trigger you? The right sucks too but you morons take the cake in recent times.

[@csibesz07]

​​@@rosemarieroth1984Let's paint the house red first.

[@sinDhor]

Except that greenhouse has a different physics (solid insulative material) to atmosphere (buffer with particles). It was not the first time where Sagan was wrong - eg. the Dragons of Eden regarding sleep and development of brain.

[@Polydueces]

Carl Sagan has the best voice.

[@jirskyrjenkins1959]

What I always find interesting about Sagan is how relevant his comments often remain, despite the enormous advances in science in the decades since. He could have made this speech yesterday and only the fashion sense and use of term "greenhouse effect" really give away the time period. He had an uncanny ability to emphasise certain facts and make notable predictions which means even now his speeches remain relevant.

[@Destrate]

Our government wouldn't let him today, unfortunately, or at least one side of it.

[@donaldduck830]

@@Destrate Actually neither side would want to hear him. One side due to his globalist stance, the other because he is a white male. But it needs to be noted that Sagan was a physicist, not a geologist or planetologist and certainly not a climatologist. He failed to take into account the gas pressure on Venus and how the composition of gases would be unimportant due to adiabatic pressure and temperature. Else Mars, with an almost entirely CO2-atmosphere would have a similar greenhouse effect. Secondly he failed to take into account saturation. He correctly states that, if we saw the world in the absorption spectra, it would be black. Adding further absorbers is irrelevant when everything at 50microns already is absorbed, cause nothing more can be absorbed at these wavelengths. So, this endorsement of a globalist fight against climate change should be discarded for the fundamental scientific failures Carl Sagan made in this speech, I am very sorry to say.

[@GeorgiosD90]

He just explained the same propaganda that we are told today, that is why he was allowed to be put on record talking about something as stupid as a greenhouse gas effect on Venus.

[@Destrate]

@@GeorgiosD90 you're too blind to see beyond your own backyard to understand how real climate change is and the damage it's going to cause for future generations. You're the one being fed propaganda by the corporations and those being paid by said corporations. Try seeing the whole world instead of just your home.

[@Matt92Machine]

Greenhouse effect is an outdated term?

[@ignskeletons]

His ability to talk to them in a way that they would understand as non-scientists is incredible. He speaks so clearly and conveys his points so well. We'd have been better off with him in congress!

[@mattfox9063]

We would be better off without a Congress that can bought and paid for

[@Andytlp]

If more master degree scientist types went into politics we would have the right laws passed and corporations ravaging earth would stop in a few decades.

[@PsyloSatan]

@@voltaire4839 Doesn't matter if you're the local plumber or Elon Musk, the moment you wield those powers, you're on the clock as a politician.

[@rigneyte]

All representatives should have a science degree of some sort, this country is run by lawyers, that's why we're doing so great. Carl was where he belonged, acurately predicting the future in 50 years. F'in amazing, both that he was so dead on and that these slack jawed yokels didn't remember any of it after lunch

[@kristjanpeil]

A scientist is also a human being. That is to say that, in order to understand stuff, one needs to be able to dumb it down for oneself as well. We have this saying: "if you can't explain it to your grandma, then you don't know what you're talking about."

[@ToreDL87]

When you resort to screaming and shaming people for not being 1200% behind everything you say, this is what you'll miss out on. No doubt some things were not optimal back then, but they could at least coherently communicate and respectfully disagree.

[@aadityapratap007]

KZbin has the best recommendation algorithm. I loved the way it randomly pops up in my feed.

[@bjarnesegaard5701]

Sagan is sorely missed. Brilliant man.

[@thecaptain29]

Brilliant, but not a climatologist and definitely wrong here on nearly every point. The data shows no significant change to the climate due to human activity. None.

[@bjarnesegaard5701]

@@thecaptain29 You have obviously no f.. idea what youre talking about and like with flat earthers I dont really care what you dont know,

[@mikemcwilliams7801]

i dont miss him at all

[@seanleith5312]

Briliant man? how?

[@user-xi4os2jw7y]

​@@troyhaileydon't slander him like this

[@BM-wf9uf]

Sagan also perfectly predicted the political and cultural state America currently finds itself in.

[@RebeccaTurner-ny1xx]

Seeing this on KZbin - a site for comments riddled with deliberate ignorance, religious delusions, hate, stupidity and fascism - is a reminder of the best we can be. Rest in peace, Prof. Sagan.

[@faustinreeder1075]

Look at Al Gore …. He’s thinking “ if I continue this fear porn I could get rich”

[@RebeccaTurner-ny1xx]

@@faustinreeder1075 When you present good evidence countering the enormous quantity and high quality of studies showing the seriousness of the climate crisis, I will read it. "Projections created internally by ExxonMobil starting in the late 1970s on the impact of fossil fuels on climate change were very accurate, even surpassing those of some academic and governmental scientists, according to an analysis published Thursday in Science by a team of Harvard-led researchers. Despite those forecasts, team leaders say, the multinational energy giant continued to sow doubt about the gathering crisis. In “Assessing ExxonMobil’s Global Warming Projections,” researchers from Harvard and the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research show for the first time the accuracy of previously unreported forecasts created by company scientists from 1977 through 2003. The Harvard team discovered that Exxon researchers created a series of remarkably reliable models and analyses projecting global warming from carbon dioxide emissions over the coming decades. Specifically, Exxon projected that fossil fuel emissions would lead to 0.20 degrees Celsius of global warming per decade, with a margin of error of 0.04 degrees - a trend that has been proven largely accurate." news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2023/01/harvard-led-analysis-finds-exxonmobil-internal-research-accurately-predicted-climate-change/

[@catra195]

If we would have listened to Carl Sagan we wouldn't all be watching this underwater right now !

[@Noise_ninja]

@@catra195 hilarious, especially considering my neighbours are living in my spare room due to a flood the likes of which even the aboriginal people who have been here for 55,000 years have never seen. they're stupid right wing climate change deniers too lol, and they lost EVERYTHING THEY OWN hahahaha. such a funny joke isn't it? Florida goes under first. Again, laughing my ass off here at that.

[@kevmang7339]

As a wise man once said, if the prefix “con” is the opposite of “pro”, is congress the opposite of progress?

[@Sharkbait_Soybomb]

I was raised with hardcore creationist parents and they completely demonized Carl Sagan. As an adult I have learned more about him and have listened to him speak and educate and I am always blown away by not only his passion for science but his compassion for the life around him. He is a national treasure.

[@Euro.Patriot]

He was morally fucked, he got divorced twice.

[@hosersupreme]

I submit that he is a treasure to all humanity, now and in perpetuity

[@Lupinicus1664]

I'm sorry to hear this, I assume you've now reached the conclusion that hardcore creationists are in fact idiots.

[@giovannicamino5713]

Same here my friend. I was raised by creationists. Now we are adults. You chooses the way you live and your family .

[@undrwatropium3724]

Why do people go to extreme religions? To deny reality in favor of things that can't be proven is strange to me.

[@ShaynaFilion]

This was the calmest climate change talk I’ve ever heard. I think laying out the facts in a more objective way like this is so important, people can only grab onto the facts

[@Klopp619]

Exactly why it's not like that anymore. One side doesn't want facts to be grasped, so they yell and scream and distract.

[@Cedders001]

I'm a big fan so scientific objectivity, but thinking facts alone will convince people is sometimes criticised as the 'deficit model'. Unless you are more motivated to learn and understand than you are to protect them perceived interests of your community, you may ignore or reject uncomfortable knowledge however you can. See Sagan in 1990 on Croesus versus Cassandra and how relating to climate change 'denial is not just a river in Egypt'. There's also a famous quotation of his about how painful it's is to admit you've been bamboozled by charlatans. So there need to be honest channels of communicating besides facts. You might be interested in Prof Katherine Hayhoe's book "Saving Us" about the importance of bonding and finding common ground with people and inspiring them with effective climate action. It seems many people whose political tribe or personality compels them to remain silent on global threats still see the local benefits of wind power and EVs. If facts aren't the problem, why am I writing all this :)

[@davedixon2068]

this is almost 40 years ago and people are still walking around with their eyes closed fingers in ears saying LA,LA,LA, as loudly as they can

[@Cedders001]

@@davedixon2068 And there are still people selling sand to ostriches. Surveys show (Yale Six Americas) most people aren't like that. The majority are concerned, but want to know what to do. Sagan's answers to that are broadly still correct, but other experts (like Mike Berners-Lee and Katharine Hayhoe) are a bit more up-to-date.

[@alanpritchard4573]

​@@davedixon2068 That's an optimistic view. For every person doing the 'LALALA', there are 3 people who are so over their heads working 3 jobs to make ends meet they have no time to consider the future, and 1 person screaming 'trans - culture war - witch hunt - woke - great replacement - child abuse - baby killer - fascist' at everyone they meet, whilst engaging in or supporting at least one of the things they are screaming at others about. When those last people manage to elect an immature narcissist to 'the leader of the free world', alongside other countries where they don't even elect their own less immature and more deadly narcissist dictators, there is not a hope for real consensus to deal with the most important problems - they are less important than feeding the endless void of such leaders.

[@coronado4222]

His closing message was succent and spot on: "I think that what is essential for this problem is a global consciousness. A view that transcends our exclusive identifications with the generational and political groupings into which, by accident, we have been born. The solution to these problems requires a perspective that embraces the planet and the future, because we are all in this greenhouse together."

[@matdem509]

It is absolutely insane how nearly 40 years ago, Carl Sagan predicted the issues we are dealing with today with such accuracy and it is absolutely scary to think that someone in his field that was so highly respected was not able to have the impact he should have had. And here we are, living through this shit that he has warned us, again with high accuracy. It seems to me that it will be too late if it isn’t already before something is done, and it’s all due to political and financial reasons. The people that stand to profit will not be around to see the end. And if we don’t do something yesterday we are all screwed and the next generations will not stand a chance. I forget who said this but what is true is that we are the first generation that can tell our children that we had it better.

[@matdem509]

I wanted to add that like many have stated in the comments, he was respected and was given the time to say what needed to be said which is rare these days. There are other changes that will be needed before more people like him will be heard

[@donaldduck830]

What issues? Did any of the catastrophic climate predictions come to pass? The club of Rome was wrong and Al Gore was wrong with everything and Carl Sagan made an oopsie here, too. Carl Sagan certainly was a great man and a great scientist. But it needs to be noted that he was a physicist, not a geologist or planetologist and certainly not a climatologist. We also got decades more of data and thought about this. He failed to take into account the gas pressure on Venus and how the composition of gases would be unimportant due to adiabatic pressure and temperature. Else Mars, with an almost entirely CO2-atmosphere would have a similar greenhouse effect and temperatures. Secondly he failed to take into account saturation. He correctly states that, if we saw the world in the absorption spectra, it would be black. Adding further absorbers is irrelevant when everything at 50microns already is absorbed, cause nothing more can be absorbed at these wavelengths. So, this endorsement of a globalist fight against climate change should be discarded for the fundamental scientific failures Carl Sagan made in this speech, I am very sorry to say.

[@tw8464]

You're absolutely right. It was actually well known decades ago to scientists about the greenhouse effect. It's insane the fossil fuel companies were allowed to stymie progress and still are, condemning humanity's children and grandchildren the world over to terrible upheaval and suffering.

[@mangore623]

What shit? I lived in Nova Scotia, and it’s always experienced hurricanes. However, the media is now saying they’re more common, and more destructive. They’re not. They’re were quite a few forest fires in Canada this year. Media spin? Climate change. The truth? The vast majority of them were due to arson.

[@readysetcomedypodcast1341]

It's really not that insane. It's just simple calculations. What's insane is people still not believing it.

[@9Ballr]

The world was a much better place with Carl Sagan in it.

[@beantown_billy2405]

Yup, long before the transsexualism fad

[@dvdortiz9031]

It is today!!!

[@moonbaby6134]

It is a much better place because he was.

[@jennifer60515]

To think there was a time when we had mature adults in Congress who listened when people appeared to speak to them and it was not all about party politics. I miss these days. They still didn’t get anything done, but at least they listened respectfully.

[@anandpandey795]

I remember growing up and watching him in tele serial like #Cosmos. Since my school days I really admired him, not because of his intelligence but the vibes that I could get through the media of course, that this a gentle soul was something not to hate but to only love and take his genuine intelligence and care seriously and do something good to the mankind and the universe as a whole.

[@princesspumpkinpanty]

I thought this would be a mario maker speedrun

[@jonrichmond1098]

Imagine being this intelligent and having to explain this to the U.S congress🥴

[@Vislav]

And imagine almost nothing being changed a couple of decades later.

[@lucideandre]

He points out how they’re saying “it’s not our problem”, and leaving big problems for future generation. And the senators thought “oh, that’s a good idea, let’s do that more”

[@vinista256]

4:14 - That guy, right there, wrote a book and made an award-winning film about climate change. If the Supreme Court hadn’t stopped the Florida recount in 2000, he also would have been our President and would have vigorously pursued policies to mitigate climate change. Instead, we got Dubya, whose administration forbade the mention of climate change in government documents.

[@TA.Muscle]

Like the massive federal deficit....let's leave it for future generations to deal with. Who cares about government fiscal responsibility when the government can just print more money to cover their irresponsible spending, and they wonder why the US is facing extreme inflation and recession.

[@lucideandre]

@@TA.Muscle honestly, I couldn’t care less about money. Seems a bit more important to take steps to ensure current and future generations can survive, have their rights, lives, and health protected from actually real threats. Climate change, disease, violence, homelessness. Those are more important than the economy, which only requires an agreement that it’s fine and suddenly it is, because that is only based on the fiction of money. Not to mention that it’s been demonstrated that when a government that actually takes care of people’s quality of life, the economy tends to improve as well, so by actually ensuring the former you solve the problems with the latter

[@joeo6378]

Good thing they took this seriously and we don't have to worry about it anymore. Good leadership is priceless. /s

[@Smoove_J]

They immediately began “the Manhattan project of fusion,” and in 10 years the world had a limitless source of clean energy. It’s hard to believe we ever worried about cooking the planet.

[@noterrormanagement]

Carl was ahead of his time. Sadly things will get worse because the US alone can't reverse climate change.

[@RebeccaTurner-ny1xx]

Sadly, things are getting worse because the USA's government and its corporate class are working hard to accelerate climate change in the name of corporate profit making.

[@snarkvoid]

Sadly things will get worse because this video was 40 years ago, and we have only barely begun to take the problem seriously

[@MSM4U2POM]

Carl Sagan. Probably one of the most engaging and fascinating communicators of the 20th century. If you've ever watched his TV series Cosmos, you'll know what I mean.

[@SwMurugananda]

a brilliant man with great skill at lucid communication on a complex , convoluted subject with clarity and right to the point. Love it.

[@mgntstr]

a brilliant and woefully uninformed man 40 years, nay, 60 years in current scientific understanding in the past. No. The Earth did not boil over when the Chinese started using fossil fuels to power their half of the Eurasian Continent, and neither will it boil over when the Africans do. The atmospheric increase in greenhouse gasses has very little impact on the climate outside the equators. There is no scientific proof for a positive feedback loop. There is no observable data that points us in the direction of a climate disaster. Weather events are de-escalating. The earth is getting warmer, only natural considering we are exiting an Ice Age. for crying out loud.

[@deaddocreallydeaddoc5244]

It is important to understand that Carl Sagan was probably the world's leading Skeptic. He was the director of "The Skeptical Inquirer," which is a quarterly that questions and investigates claims of the paranormal and soft science.

[@AvantGardenWanderer]

If he were speaking nowadays, he would (among many other things) be accused of being a Communist for giving credit to anything the Soviets did well.

[@jeremyhodder9319]

One thing I'm not seeing anyone point out here, is that he is straight out suggesting we could use Nuclear energy to help this worldwide issue. But it would seem a fair amount of the people worried about climate change are against Nuclear.

[@NuntiusLegis]

This was before Chernobyl and Fukushima.

[@kerryrestante]

@@NuntiusLegis and he still said they had their own problems, but he was presenting facts on the greenhouse effect.

[@billaddington831]

And Nuclear Energy wouldn’t help all the carbon burning cars and trucks billions of them. And nuclear energy is the most expensive and dangerous way mankind has come up with to simply boil water.

[@naayou99]

RIP Carl. Your memory will live on long and it will always prosper.

[@calamar1e320]

I'm copying this over from another comment and I think the message is worth sharing: Fossil fuel companies will not change their production methods unless the cleaner alternative becomes more widely perceived as undoubtedly better from an economic perspective. I'd advise anyone worrying about this problem to, in whatever small way you can, encourage the research and optimization of, and growth of renewable energy sources in the market- whether that be through your own technological innovation, through the education or inspiration of those who can and others that it isn't over yet. It isn't "too late" for us to do anything, but things do get worse every year spent not doing anything. Instead of barking up the tree of demanding government change, I believe our energy would be better spent on ensuring that companies would undeniably profit in both the short and long term through that switch. Profit runs the world, so expecting government regulation to quash something that is widely perceived as more economically efficient is totally unrealistic and a drain on valuable effort for all of us.

[@SebastienBaumert]

Valid in a capitalist world.

[@IMEMINE.]

38 years ago And today most Americans can’t name A book

[@feliscorax]

I really feel as though Jeff Goldblum based his portrayal of Ian Malcolm in Jurassic Park on this man - and added in some rocket-fuel rockstar charisma for good measure. The voice tone and pitch height, and the use of prosodic stress, are a near-perfect match. Carl Sagan was a very good scientist, but most importantly, he was an extraordinary communicator; he really uses his voice like a Juilliard-trained actor, draws his audience in, and this gives his words a weight and a sincerity that is unmistakable as well as impossible to ignore.

[@whitechair3846]

I was thinking who does he remind me of...you nailed it!

[@alexmurphy5289]

Nice, I never knew that and can definitely see it

[@nunzioification]

Not really, not really at all lol

[@feliscorax]

@@nunzioification That’s okay- blindness is nowt to be ashamed of, friend.

[@internationalartprojects8660]

Spot on I was thinking the same

[@meman24]

@4:18 a young Al Gore thinking "Damn....how inconvenient, yet truthful......"

[@ClickDecision]

lmao

[@ericwallman7361]

More like Gore thinking "I can make money off this idea"

[@Dave_the_Wave5888]

What a beautifully eloquent and succinct speech. He was without doubt one of the most charismatic and unique orators of our times. Rest easy Carl, you are deeply missed x

[@Toopa88]

From my understanding, it's a rabbit whole: - Business know they exploit the planet to maximize revenue. - Governments know about business exploiting the planet for profit. - Governments want to stay in power and depend on those business in many aspects, hence why almost nothing changes. Nowadays it's a full-time job to know which business and products are harmful.

[@mothrecorder]

Carl Sagans unparalleled ability to communicate has me lamenting his death. He taught me more about learning and science than any other. We still miss his counsel we still need his clarity and I valued his incorruptibility among many other things. I wonder about what he'd have to say now. The prognosis for us wouldn't be good at all.

[@justthink5854]

yup. great communicator. gore/obama copied him. they were all wrong. Sagan was honestly wrong. the later two are just con artist hypocrites.

[@glennandrews7689]

@@justthink5854 What a lunatic; come off of this crazy narrative. I'm no liberal or screaming "snowflake" but your incendiary and uneducated comment is just plain ignorance. When you take the time to learn the science of atmospheric science (meteorology) and then study basic chemistry and physics you will come to a new realization. Your weather isn't created for "your" or me by "God" or any other divine being; it's the process of the Laws of Thermodynamics when combined with the earths rotational movement, incoming solar radiation, and water. Speak when you can explain the process of a thunderstorm: how it forms, why and how there is lightning, and what makes hail and ultimately rain?! Then you will have a basis of knowledge that is demonstrable; not some trite dribble and passive, baseless insult. If you are so motivated, watch some videos of the brilliant Brian Cox (physicist, not athlete) for quick catch-up courses on science you seemingly missed out on. Good luck.

[@InvestingForTomorrow24]

Guy McPherson, David Suzuki, and Bill Nye are among the climate scientists carrying on what Carl Sagan explained in those days. They are described as "doomists".

[@bigverybadtom]

@@InvestingForTomorrow24 Bill Nye is no more a real scientist than Telly Savalas was a real NYC policeman. A quick check will reveal this.

[@tuckerbugeater]

Science worshipers are cultists.

[@66PHILB]

I watched this Congressional session just after watching Carl give a Royal Institution lecture for children on another subject. He was able to pitch his delivery to such differing audiences without losing any of his message or its power.

[@Cedders001]

I guess his lecture to children was pitched at a suitably higher level. :)

[@javasroe6541]

@@Cedders001 😀

[@daniel51020]

Wow! Almost 40 years ago, Carl Sagan hit the nail on the head! This wise scientist made several points that are still spot on: Climate science; the issue of fossil fuel subsidies; the energy alternatives, which are now becoming mainstream; the massive risks of inaction; the necessity of energy for development; the necessity to include and collaborate with China and Russia on global warming mitigation, and the opportunity to develop "global consciousness" to address this issue while also developing sustainably.

[@justinmelkus5064]

So simple. So clear. This is elementary chemistry. Everything he said is coming to pass. Every obstacle he outlined has played out. None of his "plan" or hope for the future has yet gotten any closer, except perhaps the EU. What a disaster.

[@markilsemann950]

That was 1985?! I’m in awe of this man, and infinitely saddened by 40 lost years.

[@dawnsalois]

more than 40 years. the first outcries were in 1970. saddened to this day. we all knew better and didnt care or didnt have the power to do anything about it. need more objectors, at least. thank you for objecting

[@holdmybeer123]

How did we lose 40 years? We are richer, we have more technology, better manufacturing techniques, and the climate is still good, polar bears are thriving. There still is a lot of time, especially so if we switch to nuclear energy. So I do not agree at all that we lost 40 years

[@ChristianThueringer]

​@@holdmybeer123 hail capitalism.

[@moochinmunchin9784]

There is no man made climate change it’s a naturally occurring phenomenon we have zero control over

[@somethingelse9535]

Yep, 40 years of growth in food production and no apparent sea level rise. None of the alarmist predictions have come true.

[@claysmith6715]

His last point hit me so hard. When he was stressing the importance of coming together for a global awareness of Climate Change. Almost 40 years later and we aren't even close. Damn it Carl, we miss you.

[@knutz7]

Careful what you wish for. WEF/Davos billionaires/club of Rome/IPCC “sustained development”-UN agenda 21/30.

[@nopeteys2424]

Thats the thing, the world has come together, its just that the wealthy powerful people of the world have come together to make sure nothing gets in the way of them making money. They will continue to stop climate action because they are only concerned with their immediate profits, they could care less about the harm they are doing to this planet.

[@jasonlarsen4945]

@@knutz7 I support the U.N. agendas - you should too!

[@johnbeckman8916]

"His last point" was EXACTLY what we have today. An appeal for global elites to run the world for us and let us eat whatever crumbs & scraps that fall from their table. That is the ONLY reason he was the focus of this "Dog & Pony" show PAID FOR BY THE GLOBAL ELITES. "Almost 40 years later" and the temperate is fine, the ice caps are fine, "the massive rise in sea levels" is nowhere to be found and Obama spends 27 million $'s on a Beach front property as he leaves the Presidency and hands over environmental policy to Donald J Trump.

[@johnbeckman8916]

So "Almost 40 years later" the elites have got a wonderful return on their investment to make Lemmings out of a once free people who never pass an opportunity to demonstrate their counterfeit "wokness" and counterfeit virtue all the while funding these Global Elites with the labor of everyday Americans.

[@everythingsucks6942]

I do not know what kind of person would ever dislike this man

[@ziltoid420]

37 years ago. I think it's time to realize this is about control, not the well being of the world.

[@NickCadmium]

Towards the end of this testimony he uses the phrase "looking into the future"; something he had an uncanny ability to do. One of my all-time heroes, who still commands every mote of my respect. The world misses you Carl Sagan.

[@j.calvert3361]

Obviously no-one listened to him.

[@Cedders001]

Some listened but there was little action. The IPCC was set up three years later to summarise the science to 'policymakers', but science alone with all its caveats was not as compelling or direct as Sagan or Hansen. It was clear then we need to end the fossil fuel era, it's clear now we can, if only public pressure can overcome malign vested interests in the minds of 'policymakers'.

[@matthewstone1362]

​@@Cedders001will u fuel my car with your hot air? Keep my lights on and heat my home with your bullshit?

[@bell1435]

Hahahaha, he didn’t look into the future, he just spoke out the agendas these rulers had been planned way in advance and that they told him to spoke out back then. Just like The Simpsons didn’t predict anything but just announced it to us. Wake up, people! Period.

[@jesse75]

Too few share his view. Having designer shoes made from a sweat shop is more important.

[@debdipto]

Good God I miss him. I can only dream of such a conversation today , such a respectful demeanor and the listeners being so equally respectful. You are missed Carl, we who read your books hope to follow your work.

[@anydaynow01]

Being addressed so civilly is mind blowing, and being allowed to speak fully.

[@mgntstr]

@@anydaynow01 they wanted him there to scare the populace into going along with Carbon Taxes. Good Fuck Job. How is paying a tithe solving the climate crisis????

[@halberderdier8073]

How many years we did nothing .....

[@mikemcwilliams7801]

and so much bs coming out of his mouth

[@seanleith5312]

a whole bunch of nosense by Carl Sagan, what a disGrace.

[@youreracist9583]

he predicted the future, but the governments of the world ignored him

[@tattoomas]

loved the respectful introduction an Carl was just fantasticly on point 😍

[@stevejackson9173]

What a great man. Could listen to him all day.

[@ridiculous_gaming]

Taking his classes in university would have been a treat.

[@paulcrawford1108]

@@ridiculous_gaming and then jump into your 4 wheel drive with the heating full blast when you get home. :-)

[@jasonlarsen4945]

@@paulcrawford1108 Having the heat full blast doesn't use any more gasoline than having it off. AC on the other hand does.

[@paulcrawford1108]

@@jasonlarsen4945 I am talking about his dirt hut.............. not his car

[@jasonlarsen4945]

@@paulcrawford1108 A 4 wheel drive hut? You sound pretty smart. 🙄

[@smbsuperfan271]

This is 37 years ago. What in the hell happened to us and our ability to listen to each other

[@videosuperhighway7655]

Watch the movie idiocracy.

[@ekathe85]

Scientific knowledge still had a tad of prestige in the popular eye, from having been instrumental during the Cold War and having put people on the Moon. That prestige has been slowly eroded for decades by charlatans and snake oil salesmen, trying to equate themselves in prestige to scientists by pushing conspiracy theories and miracle cures, to the point where people ignore climate change because "it's cold outside", and avoid vaccinations for fear of being implanted with a government microchip. Let's face it, it's a losing battle. Because it's always easier to convince yourself that the truth is at your level of understanding and can be encapsulated in a meme, than it is to put the hard work.

[@fatso8437]

In a nutshell: the internet. Although invented to progress society it was overtaken and is misused by the vinegar stroke cum-faces of Western Society: the kid that started Facebook, the kid that started Apple, the kids that started Google, the kid that started PayPAL, the kid that started Amazon, the kid that started KZbin, the kids that wrote internet browsers to help all their other vinegar stroke cum-faced friends get rich. In summary, the USA. Want to save the planet? Easy. Remove all these vinegar stroke cum-faced kids and their off-spring from the face of this planet before it is too late. And most of all it is not expensive - a single 0.303 or 7.62mm bullet is the order of about 80c US. Get to it people of the USA wth guns and guns - wipe out the vinegar stroke cum faced zillionaires. Save our planet.

[@johnmorgan8868]

The internet is what happened

[@jakebattersby]

Money, industry, greed. Being human basically.

[@jakel8627]

Crazy how if Carl Sagan gave this speech today, half of congress would've just walked out the room.

[@carsond67]

Amazing to see how before this became such a polarising and politicised topic, scientists could openly talk about the uncertainties in our understanding without fear of undermining the case for action, because they knew the underlying principles were so compelling.

[@ale.salas.m]

Is anyone else bummed this happened in 1985 and we are where we are right now? Just me?

[@TheMax0801100]

Nobody wants nuclear. So no, it makes sense. Not bummed at all.

[@monabuster312]

The Generation in political and economical leading position at this times and even today are just a effing disgrace

[@aprilferrier9280]

He said the effects would really be apperent around this (right now) time but he gave our species too much credit and said the mid to late 21 century.

[@giorgialadashvili4771]

I am bummed too. This whole greenhouse effect was established science for centuries even by 1985. Not decades, mind you, but centuries, with first speculations going all the way back to 1824, when Queen Victoria was a five-year old child. Yet, not much has changed. Hell, I'd even argue it's worse.

[@cyito]

Not just you but he changed some peoples minds at least.

[@garywalls5181]

37 years later and we’ve still done practically nothing to change course.

[@markmorenault765]

you people are naive and gullible, do you know how much carbon dioxide is in the air? take a guess, i'll tell you right now that at .02% carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, plantlife starts dying off! we have .04% carbon dioxide in the atmosphere today, we went from .03% to .04% in 60 years, and bounce back and forth between those two numbers, and this isnt my opinion, or theory, this is solid 100% fact, and science, we are in no danger of climate change, not for a long time yet, do you people realize that 7.8 billion people will fit in a state the size of new york? we are still pretty insignificant to this planet, what is messing things up is the poisoning of the oceans with radiation, and the removal of sand from our oceans, this is causing 1000 times more problems than andy climate issues, and it doesn't help you have our governments let whoever play with weather manipulation, the human species is stupid!

[@markmorenault765]

you people are naive and gullible, do you know how much carbon dioxide is in the air? take a guess, i'll tell you right now that at .02% carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, plantlife starts dying off! we have .04% carbon dioxide in the atmosphere today, we went from .03% to .04% in 60 years, and bounce back and forth between those two numbers, and this isnt my opinion, or theory, this is solid 100% fact, and science, we are in no danger of climate change, not for a long time yet, do you people realize that 7.8 billion people will fit in a state the size of new york? we are still pretty insignificant to this planet, what is messing things up is the poisoning of the oceans with radiation, and the removal of sand from our oceans, this is causing 1000 times more problems than andy climate issues, and it doesn't help you have our governments let whoever play with weather manipulation, the human species is stupid!

[@central3425]

And 37 years from now we'll have done barely anything either

[@arnoniem]

37 years from now we will be obligated to do something...

[@Christian-qu9ml]

And nearly 40 years later, politicians and their corporate string pullers are still deaf to science. 😢

[@danielelise7348]

This man's mind is unmatched & unparalleled in every way possible,I doubt we'll see another mind like his anytime soon.🤔

[@donalddade5643]

Carl Sagan was also a consultant on the 1984 movie "Threads", about the threat of nuclear arms. It is, by far and bar none, the most frightening movie I have ever seen. He was literally trying to save the world, one measured word at a time.

[@suserman7775]

And in the process set back energy efficiency for decades. His negative effect, therefore, on emissions of greenhouse gasses is massive.

[@imshaunnurse]

but these were not issues until he brought them up. almost as if he was giving them the ideas.

[@ballparkjebusite]

@@suserman7775 How so

[@donalddade5643]

@@imshaunnurse "but these were not issues until he brought them up" That is not how reality works.

[@suserman7775]

@@ballparkjebusite After nuclear energy started making headway and actually improving our energy infrastructure, the Left took a stance against it. They purposely conflated two separate issues, nuclear weapons and nuclear reactors, into one umbrella item to be an activist against. The average person likes to feel like a concerned citizen but at the same time has extremely little knowledge of either "nuke". The result was no growth in reactors since the 80s. Of course, our energy demand didn't shrink an iota, so the shortfall of not having nuclear energy meant extra pollution from coal or gas plants. Thanks Carl.

[@tincho_mnj2429]

To see this right now, almost 40 years later, and seeing that Carl's words were never herd, were never taken in consideration, and that the world is currently going on fast a train with one ticket to a sh1t party, it simply tears my hopes apart, it rips my heart. The man was a genius, a true genius, he had the brains, the empathy and the common sense that most of those people lacked, he was in love with this magnificent miracle of creation, so full of curiosity and wonder... It pains me to rewatch Cosmos and to see that we're most likely never going to unravel all the misteries of the universe because of our own greed. I'm sorry Carl, you were simply too good for this world.

[@steinwey]

His words were never heard? Al Gore was visibly in that room and was largely responsible to help alert large parts of the world with his An Inconvenient Truth.

[@tincho_mnj2429]

@@steinwey oh yeah the alert worked perfectly the world is doing great isn't it?

[@steinwey]

@@tincho_mnj2429 that's neither here nor there. Humans are not very capable of sticking together and working for causes that are global. Besides, warnings like those of Sagan were issued already many decades earlier.

[@tincho_mnj2429]

@@steinwey so then? What's your point dude? Because you're basically saying the same I did. It doesn't matter if Sagan's warning wasn't the first. That was never the point. The point is that the world is going to sh1t and that's an undeniable fact.

[@steinwey]

@@tincho_mnj2429 the point was that what you wrote about Sagan's words never being heard or taken into consideration is not true.

[@eybietie]

people praising congress being silent and "listening" .. you need to remind yourself congress also ignored the warnings... so maybe they did not listen after all ;)

[@FreeTrollCounselingForDummies]

Now I know where Captain Kirk learned to speak. It was in Professor Sagan's Astronomy class at Starfleet Academy.

[@commanderjoj6426]

Carl Sagan has been dead for over 25 years, and our society is still playing catch up with many of this amazing man’s thoughts.

[@thelasthop3035]

We will be for centuries to come, if we make it that far.

[@1nfiniteSeek3r]

These were not his thoughts, he's merely reporting well known scientific facts at that point in time.

[@fuzzywzhe]

All that's changed is we've learned there isn't a run away greenhouse effect, although our stupid governments keep promoting it. It's just another power grab.

[@TheMPBailey]

Carl Sagan was certainly amazing, his thoughts in 1985 spell out the irresponsibility that was put on-ice back then, and is now resurfacing today in 2022 is a testament to the criminality of capitalism. It displays our willingness to destroy this planet many times over then shrug like dumb monkeys about what happened. Perhaps it is a blessing to be an ancient and deceased civilization because our bones and decomposed bodies will not create the lakes of underground oil that the flora and fauna of the dinosaurs did. A future society will have to consider non-fossil fuel sources in order to survive. That is, if they ever get another chance like ours.

[@fuzzywzhe]

@@TheMPBailey "Climate changed" has NEVER been "put on ice". Every few years, our propaganda "news" media predicts eminent collapse of the environment that nearly every single kid between 13 and 23 believes is about to happen, and in about 10 - 15 years. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez did the latest announcement then Greta Thunberg. Cortez said the world was about to end in 12 years in 2018. Gore predicted the end of all major glaciers in under 10 years in 2006 and the north pole being ice free within the next decade. Neither came to pass. We were supposed to run out of oil by 2005 due to Hubbert's Peak in 2005 back in 1990. In 1985 the UN was predicting the Las Angeles, NY, and San Francisco was going to be under water due to ocean levels rising. The Great Barrier Reef was supposed to be gone by 2005 because of an increase in ocean temperatures. It's been going on for 40 years. Some panic that all the "kids" believe, and some of the older ones, it's repeatedly endlessly in the "news" press, and then people forget the predictions never happened. They've been doing this for 4 decades. And people are sick of it. At least An Inconvenient Truth was put on film, and you can see all the predictions there, and see how completely wrong they were. In it there was "the hockey stick", at which point, supposedly, the Earth would hit a runaway greenhouse effect, and it would get hotter and hotter every year, and it was the point of no return. Go see the film. It's all just bunk. In the 1970's the impending disaster was the Population Bomb, and get this - a new ice age. They REALLY said this. How many times do they have to be wrong before you realize they're just full of crap?

[@oliverrojas3185]

If this speech were given in a forum outside of Congress l think it’s fair to say it might render applause. Thanks Carl Sagan, what an extremely adept way of explaining a complicated subject.

[@arth0heen]

I highly doubt that. The majority of Americans detested Sagan during his time due to the massive push by the churches to discredit him.

[@mikemcwilliams7801]

or everyone walking out

[@kenwelch7284]

We multiply, We consume, We destroy Always have, Always Will The planet will continue, just maybe not us

[@herveybaysnakecatchers]

As soon as he said about 2 words I knew exactly where Dr. Malcom from Jurassic Park came from

[@johndunn3492]

I read his book, Cosmos, as a young teenager and it influenced me to study science at university. While I did not turn out to be a natural scientist, I’ve remained very interested in these issues. It seems now that we tend to hear from politicians or activists but rarely from people so reasonable as Sagan.

[@inanitas]

Because everything that has to be said has been said. We need action now. Policians do what is popular with the citizens. But citizens are stupid. So a few activists try to press the issue. But most of them are stupid too, so they overshoot, asking for too much, resulting in the general population being less fond of the topic, resulting in politicians doing less. We're doomed. Just enjoy your life, don't get kids and wait for the end.

[@JHM117]

@@inanitas You are right, humans are fucking idiots. It is like we are living in the Dark Ages again where science means nothing.

[@jensstergard9380]

@@inanitas We are not doomed but we are very late. Mankind will not be extinct because of climate change but possibly from wars it can lead to. Climate change will kill millions and make life very tough to billions, how many of each is up to us. EU is doing something, have you heard of the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism? My representative in the EU-Parliament has played a major role in creating some building renovation rules that will reduce energy consumption, this is copied by the Indian government. And Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium have decided to build 150 GW wind turbines in the North Sea. So I hope you will support the efforts! The reason why we elect politicians which do too little is because we are too poorly educated to elect adequate ones.

[@chumbucket6184]

@@inanitas bugman demoralized into not perpetuating his own bloodline. Another success for globalist propaganda

[@csrb338]

I just need to know what the Kardashian’s are doing.

[@matthew-jy5jp]

I wish we still had Carl with us today. The world lost a kind and thoughtful and brilliant man when he passed

[@susanc4622]

He would probably feel demoralised as to how his analysis was ignored. Instead, there has been hysteria and manipulation. As he said, it is a worldwide problem. A few countries taking action doesn’t solve it.

[@szymonbaranowski8184]

But did he mention possibility that emissions do nothing important while temperature patterns being driven by cyclically through cosmic cycles changing pressure in troposphere? kzbin.info/www/bejne/Z4rCn2VuaMuMmMU This would change everything fundamentally. but this world is not driven by free scientific discourse anymore so you can't expect anything reasonable on this planet anymore either ;-) have a Great day

[@sammyd7857]

He is a shit talker,

[@GuardianApe]

Some numb skulls would have started conspiracy theories about him call him a devil and all sorts of bullshit names .

[@sammyd7857]

@@GuardianApe I see another shit talker

[@Melpheos1er]

For some reason, even if you do not listen actively to Carl and have it in the background, he still has a soothing effect on your mind

[@urbandiscount]

Until you listen to his words and then read present-day headlines.

[@successtraduccionesevr8325]

it's an otherworldly experience to listen to Carl Sagan explaining this theory. this is more a conference than a testimony.

[@michellewalters4484]

This speech is profound in its wisdom and knowledge. Great respect. Pay attention, coal lovers.