2012 Stephen H. Schneider Award for Outstanding Climate Science Communication Bestowed Upon James Hansen

SAN FRANCISCO, Nov. 27, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Climate One at The Commonwealth Club announced today that NASA scientist Dr. James Hansen will be awarded the second annual Stephen H. Schneider Award for Outstanding Climate Science Communication. The $10,000 award is given to a natural or social scientist who has made extraordinary scientific contributions and communicated that knowledge to a broad public in a clear and compelling fashion. The award was established this year in honor of Stephen Henry Schneider, one of the founding fathers of climatology who died suddenly in 2010.

The award jurors are Professor Larry Goulder (Chair of the Economics Department, Stanford University), Dr. Ben Santer (Climate Researcher, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory), and Bud Ward (Editor, The Yale Forum on Climate Change & the Media). The jury solicited nominations from a broad spectrum of anonymous experts in the fields of science and communication. The jury unanimously decided that Dr. James Hansen exemplifies the rare ability to be both a superb scientist and powerful communicator in the mold of Stephen Schneider.

In choosing Dr. Hansen, juror Ben Santer said "Throughout his entire career, Dr. Hansen has been an honest broker of information on the science of climate change. His focus has always been firmly fixed on performing the best-possible science, and then letting the chips fall where they may."

Regarding Dr. Hansen's communication prowess, juror Bud Ward said "Jim Hansen's diligence and stick-to-it-ive-ness in informing the public  while under intense "enemy fire" makes him a most deserving winner of a prize honoring the late Steve Schneider."

"Steve Schneider stood out not only for his quick mind and elocution, but for his courage in speaking out even when fellow scientists did not appreciate it," said Dr. Hansen.

Dr. Hansen will receive the award in San Francisco on Tuesday, December 4^th at The Commonwealth Club of California. The award is underwritten by Tom R. Burns, Nora Machado, Michael Haas, and ClimateWorks Foundation.  

Dr. James Hansen
Dr. James Hansen heads the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies in New York City and is Adjunct Professor of Earth and Environmental Sciences at Columbia University's Earth Institute. He was trained in physics and astronomy in the space science program of Dr. James Van Allen at the University of Iowa. His early research on the clouds of Venus helped identify their composition as sulfuric acid. Since the late 1970s, he has focused his research on Earth's climate, especially human-made climate change. Dr. Hansen is best known for his testimony on climate change to congressional committees in the 1980s that helped raise broad awareness of the global warming issue. He was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 1995 and was designated by Time Magazine in 2006 as one of the 100 most influential people on Earth. He has received numerous awards including the Carl-Gustaf Rossby and Roger Revelle Research Medals, the Sophie Prize and the Blue Planet Prize. Dr. Hansen is recognized for speaking truth to power, for identifying ineffectual policies as greenwash, and for outlining the actions that the public must take to protect the future of young people and the other species on the planet.

Dr. Stephen H. Schneider
Dr. Stephen H. Schneider was the Melvin and Joan Lane Professor for Interdisciplinary Environmental Studies, Professor of Biological Sciences, Professor (by courtesy) of Civil and Environmental Engineering, and a Senior Fellow in the Woods Institute for the Environment at Stanford University. Dr. Schneider received his Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering and Plasma Physics from Columbia University in 1971. He studied the role of greenhouse gases and suspended particulate material on climate as a postdoctoral fellow at NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies. He was awarded a postdoctoral fellowship at the National Center for Atmospheric Research in 1972 and was a member of the scientific staff of NCAR from 1973-1996, where he co-founded the Climate Project. In 2002, Dr. Schneider was elected to the National Academy of Sciences.

Internationally recognized for research, policy analysis and outreach in climate change, Dr. Schneider focused on climate change science, integrated assessment of ecological and economic impacts of human-induced climate change, and identifying viable climate policies and technological solutions. He also consulted with federal agencies and/or White House staff in the Nixon, Carter, Reagan, G.H.W. Bush, Clinton and G.W. Bush administrations. His work is chronicled at climatechange.net.

Climate One
Climate One is the sustainability initiative at The Commonwealth Club of California, a nonprofit and nonpartisan public forum founded in San Francisco in 1903. The mission of The Commonwealth Club of California is to be the leading national forum open to all for the impartial discussion of public issues important to the membership, community and nation. Climate One convenes top thinkers and doers from business, government, academia and advocacy groups to advance the discussion toward a clean energy future. In addition to ongoing programs focusing on the full range of climate topics, Climate One focuses on food and agriculture, transportation, and building and land use. Its programs, hosted by founder Greg Dalton, are broadcast on KQED FM and other public radio stations around the country. Climate One's monthly TV program is broadcast on KRCB TV 22 in Northern California. Climate One. http://www.climate-one.org

SOURCE Climate One