On November 9, 1987, 24 days after the Montreal Protocol agreement, NASA’s director, Dr. James E. Hansen testifies as a “private citizen” to the US Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resource, responding to their Nov 2, 1987 letter requesting he provide his “views on the likely pace and regional implications of the greenhouse effect and global climate change…” [1]
Hansen said NASA began their “climate simulations in 1958 when CO2 began to be measured accurately”, measurements of other trace gases such as methane, chlorofluorocarbons (CFC) and nitrous oxide “began more recently”, though their trends were estimated back to 1958. Hansen presented three “trace gas” scenarios from their global climate model running the predictions from 1958 through to 2030.
“The model says that within 20 years global mean temperature [of 15°C] will rise above the levels of the last two inter-glacial periods and the earth will be warmer than it has been in the past few hundred thousand years.” The graph he refers to is in the pivotal paper published November 1988, the beginnings of “Global Warming“.
“…at the present time in the 1980’s in a given month, there are almost as many areas colder than normal as areas warmer than normal…in a few decades from now it is warm almost everywhere.”
“The greenhouse effect is real, it is coming soon, and it will have major effects on all peoples.” Hansen stated, NASA “must have major improvements in our observations and understanding of the climate system”. Which would require funding!