Revelle and Keeling Sent Early Warnings from Scripps of Climate Change: Why So Little Action?

The pioneering work of Roger Revelle and Dave Keeling at the Scripps Institute of Oceanography, as well as Revelle’s crucial role in founding UC San Diego, figure prominently in Jay Hakes’ just-released book “The Presidents and the Planet: Climate Change Science and Politics from Eisenhower to Bush.” In introducing his book, Hakes will discuss the work of Revelle, Keeling and other Scripps scientists, their previously unreported impacts on public policy, and the climate challenges that lie ahead.

In his research, Hakes delved deeply into the records held at UC San Diego regarding these pioneering climate scientists as well as those of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (of which Revelle served as president). To better understand the interaction between climate change science and politics, he combed through papers archived at presidential libraries.

The UC San Diego Bookstore will offer copies of “The Presidents and the Planet” for purchase, with signing by the author. A reception will follow with light refreshments.

About the author

Jay Hakes is a leading expert on energy, environmental, and presidential history. In addition to publishing three books in these fields, he has headed the U.S. Energy Information Administration and the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library. Congressional committees have invited him to testify on more than twenty-five occasions, and he has lectured at a number of the world’s major universities.

Hosts

The Oct. 7 event is hosted by the School of Arts and Humanities and UC San Diego Library, cosponsored by the School of Social Sciences and the Institute for Practical Ethics.

More ways to see Jay Hakes

Hakes’ return to UC San Diego coincides with the 60th anniversary of the 1964 introduction of an undergraduate college system to what was then a four-year-old research university. In a separate event on Wednesday, Oct. 9, he will address Revelle’s role in developing the plan for UC San Diego and changing the trajectory of American science.