The Presidents and the Planet - by Jay Hakes (Hardcover)

About the Book

"The Presidents and the Planet: Climate Change Science and Politics from Eisenhower to Bush tells the story of the world's greatest environmental challenge through the eyes of the early climate change pioneers. The four-decade narrative begins in the 1950s, when American scientists first began to warn about the risks of pollution that might change the natural climate in dramatic ways, the national media began to cover the story, and congressional committees received early testimony on the topic. It ends in the early 1990s, by which time global efforts to confront the challenge were advancing while political controversy had begun to undermine U.S. leadership, which had been prominent on previous threats to the environment. The Presidents and the Planet also tells the stories of the major players in the history of climate change science. The genial, big-picture oceanographer Roger Revelle exerted influence on eight White Houses during his lifetime and even one after his death (when his former student Al Gore Jr. served as vice president). The soft-spoken and cerebral William Nordhaus had already written seminal works on climate change when President Jimmy Carter appointed him to the Council of Economic Advisors. Four decades later, the Yale professor won the Nobel Prize in economics for his lifetime of work on the subject. These and other academics had more impact than generally recognized on how the upper echelons of government viewed climate change. Some political pioneers on the climate issue, such as Gore, are well known, though there is more to tell. But who remembers John Chaffee? During the Reagan years, this Republican from Rhode Island was the first committee chair in the Senate to offer concrete solutions to the risks of climate change. The drama reached a full pitch in the George H.W. Bush years when an administration filled with strong advocates for climate action and staunch foes of government regulation wrestled over the direction of U.S. energy and environmental policy. To better understand the often-surprising twists and turns of the climate debate in America, author Jay Hakes explored the archives and writings of influential scientists and the pivotal reports of the National Academy of Sciences. He also traveled to presidential libraries to discover how commanders-in-chief and their science, economic, and political advisors addressed the issue. With the advantage of hindsight, congressional hearings dating back to the 1950s took on new relevance. The Presidents and the Planet offers fresh new information that will move the goalposts for when we first "knew" about climate change"--

Book Synopsis

Winner of the PROSE Award for Physical Sciences and Mathematics: Environmental Science

The Presidents and the Planet recounts the story of the world's greatest environmental dilemma through the eyes of early climate change pioneers. It begins in the 1950s, when American scientists first warned about the risks of pollution altering the natural climate in dramatic ways, the national media began covering the matter, and experts first offered testimony to congressional committees on the topic. The story ends in the early 1990s, by which time global efforts to confront the challenge were advancing, while political turmoil had begun to undermine U.S. leadership's ability to address current and future environmental threats.

While some early proponents endorsing climate action are well known, many of the major players have gone largely unrecognized. The oceanographer Roger Revelle exerted influence on eight White Houses during his life and even one after his death, when his former student Al Gore assumed the office of vice president. William Nordhaus had already written seminal studies on climate change when President Jimmy Carter appointed him to the Council of Economic Advisors. Four decades later, the Yale professor won the Nobel Prize in economics for his work on the subject. John Chafee, a Republican from Rhode Island, chaired the Senate's first committee on the problem and provided concrete solutions to face the dangers of a warming planet during the Reagan administration. The drama reached a full pitch during the George H. W. Bush years, as vocal advocates for climate action and staunch foes of government regulation wrestled over the direction of U.S. energy and environmental policy.

To better trace the evolving climate debate in America, author Jay Hakes inspected the archives and writings of prominent scientists and the pivotal reports of the National Academy of Sciences, and traveled to presidential libraries to discover how commanders-in-chief and their science, economic, and political advisors addressed the issue. The Presidents and the Planet affords fresh perspectives that will alter the public's understanding of when officials first grasped the dire consequences of climate change.

Review Quotes

"An indispensable political history of climate change from a veteran White House hand that is deeply researched, comprehensively detailed, nimbly written, and animated by new discoveries and inside dirt. As haunting as it is revelatory."--Nathaniel Rich, author of Losing Earth: A Recent History

"Hakes tells the long-neglected and critically important story of how climate change first moved from scientific experiments to Washington, D.C. The Presidents and the Planet is a well-paced and readable account of scientists, economists, and politicians feeling their way forward. You'll see why Charles David Keeling, Roger Revelle, and James Hansen should be household names along with Galileo and Einstein."--Jonathan Alter, author of His Very Best: Jimmy Carter, a Life

"Jay Hakes's The Presidents and the Planet is a noble and groundbreaking deep dive into how eight U.S. presidents, from Eisenhower to Bush 41, grappled with various alarming reports about how CO2 emissions generated by the overuse of fossil fuels were heating the earth's atmosphere. Hakes combs through reams of primary source documents and reveals that Charles David Keeling, Roger Revelle, and Wallace Broecker were spot-on in their science-based global warming predictions. With climate change the greatest challenge of the twenty-first century, this sober-minded environmental history couldn't be timelier."--Douglas Brinkley, author of Silent Spring Revolution: John F. Kennedy, Rachel Carson, Lyndon Johnson, Richard Nixon, and the Great Environmental Awakening

"With The Presidents and The Planet, Hakes, a preeminent historian of federal energy initiatives, has turned his gaze to climate science and policy. This book is a definitive chronicle of how twentieth-century American presidents learned about the greenhouse effect and ignored the problem for far too long. An essential read on climate change."--Leah Cardamore Stokes, author of Short Circuiting Policy: Interest Groups and the Battle over Clean Energy and Climate Policy in the American States

About the Author

Jay Hakes headed the U.S. Energy Information Administration for seven years and the Carter Presidential Library for thirteen. He is the author of two previous books on the intersections among energy, the environment, the economy, and politics.