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Sometimes facts tied to dates and numbers are revealing.

167 years ago (in 1856), Scientist Eunice Foote discovered the role of carbon dioxide in our atmosphere with a simple experiment. Tubes of different air mixtures were left in the sun. The one with the most CO2 heated the most.

In connection with the history of the Earth, Foote theorized that "An atmosphere of that gas (CO2) would give to our earth a high temperature; and if, as some suppose, at one period of its history, the air had mixed with it a larger proportion than at present, an increased temperature from its own action, as well as from increased weight, must have necessarily resulted." Her theory was a clear statement of climatic warming caused by increased levels of CO2 in the atmosphere. *

163 years ago, (in 1860), Scientist John Tyndall was first to quantify in his laboratory that some visually transparent gases are infrared emitters (heat emitters). Proving beyond a doubt, Carbon Dioxide is a greenhouse gas.

127 years ago, (in 1896), Svante Arrhenius was the first person to predict that carbon dioxide emissions from burning fossil fuels and other combustion processes were large enough to cause global warming. His painstaking computations stand today as the basis of our understanding of how the Earth is warming from greenhouse gases.

085 years ago, (in 1938), Guy Stuart Callendar was the first to show that the land temperature of Earth had risen over the previous 50 years. The World Meteorological Organization continues to measure the increasingly warming world. By a wide margin, July 2023 is the warmest month ever recorded.

065 years ago, (in 1958), Charles David Keeling secured funds to build the Mauna Loa atmospheric observatory on the slopes of the Hawaiian Volcano. The precision instruments installed measure the concentration of CO2. By the 1970s, it was well established that the increase of atmospheric carbon dioxide was ongoing due to anthropogenic emissions. "Anthropogenic" means man-caused greenhouse emissions.

035 years ago, (in 1988), Scientist James Hansen, then Director of NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies, testified before the US Congress, "The greenhouse effect has been detected, and it is changing our climate now."

002 years ago, (On November 15, 2021), The Bi-partisan Infrastructure Law was signed by President Joe Biden. Money was committed to passenger rail, electric vehicle chargers, national power infrastructure, and other programs to make US infrastructure resilient and reduce emissions.

001 years ago (on August 16, 2022), President Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act, which includes the most significant federal climate change investment in American history ($391 billion). Go to RewiringAmerica.org to see what money is available for you to reduce your emissions and lower your fuel bills.

Last month, (in July,2023), the Canadian Interagency Fire Center reported their national fire situation.

Normally I do not take the time to check out the Canadian Wildfire details. The smoke-filled air is evidence of what is happening to the North. But I had to urge to check one day in the last week of July. I read this in the fire report: "1 new fire, 1038 current fires, 5009 fires year to date, 31,135,278 acres burnt, and 666 fires out of control. While 666 uncontrolled fires is a beastly number, the nation has forged ties with allies. Three thousand seven hundred foreign firefighters are fighting fires in a grateful Canada. The international firefighters deployed are from France, Chile, Costa Rica, the United States, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, South Korea, Chili, Costa Rica, Portugal and Spain. The race to save the planet is on and the world is slowly coming together.

*I am pleased to end this column with a quote by Joseph Henry of the Smithsonian Institute at the 10th annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). I include this short quote because the United States has and will make dramatic progress.

At the 1856 AAAS annual meeting, for reasons unknown, Eunice Foote did not present her groundbreaking work. Mr. Henry presented her, "Circumstances Affecting the Heat of the Sun's Rays" for her. He started with this eloquent introduction:

"Science was of no country and of no sex. The sphere of woman embraces not only the beautiful and the useful, but the true."

In 1856 Eunice could not even vote. Today women are voting and serving as exceptional scientists. As a nation, we can and will move forward if we have the willpower. To move forward wisely, we must educate ourselves and elect representatives who reflect our earned wisdom.

References: Many passages above are direct from Wikipedia. All match what I have learned from various reputable sources in my last ten years of diligent study.