NASA climate scientist retires to pursue global warming activism

New York Times : Climate scientist James Hansen has decided to retire after 46 years at NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies in New York City. In recent years he has become a political activist, protesting against the government’s failure to limit greenhouse gases. By retiring, he hopes to devote more time to that cause. As early as the 1970s, Hansen had begun publishing scientific papers and testifying in Congress to urge the government and the public to take action to address climate change. Often criticized for overstatement and exaggeration, he has nevertheless come to be seen as a maverick who was among the first to speak out about the dangers of global warming. Arrested for the first time in 2009 at a coal protest, he has continued to join with student groups on various causes. “At my age,” he said, “I am not worried about having an arrest record.”