Early Climate Scientist: 'Where Did I Go Wrong?'

"I often wonder: where did I go wrong?" Graeme Pearman tells the Guardian. "Why didn't people respond? Is that my responsibility?" In the early '70s, Pearman rang the alarm about what he saw as an impending climate crisis as part of CSIRO, Australia's government agency dedicated to scientific and industrial research. And for a time, his research on the increase in human-caused carbon emissions in the atmosphere was received seriously. He rose through the ranks of CSIRO, eventually heading its atmospheric research division, and in 1989, was granted a global award by the UN for his work. The following year, Australia considered an aggressive plan to slash greenhouse gas emissions by 20% by 2005. Then seemingly out of the blue, Pearman was asked to leave his role at CSIRO. He suspects pressure by the fossil fuel industry was at play.

Pearman's research began in 1971, when he first drew air samples above a wheatfield in Victoria, Australia. At first he doubted humans could contribute to the growing parts per million of CO2 in his readings, but within a year, he was convinced. He continued to monitor atmospheric gases, and presented his findings everywhere he could. Pearman suspects that joining the Australian Climate Group in 2003, (a group critical of fossil fuels' contribution to CO2), doomed his work at the agency. He was "devastated" when he was asked to leave CSIRO, but continued his work academically, writing papers and presenting at over 500 meetings. At 82, reflecting on the failures of his generation, he pins hope on the youth. "The older people of the community have had their time. It's their time now. Read the full piece here. (Or check out other longforms.)