James F. Pankow was born in 1951 when atmospheric global CO2 levels were ∼312 ppm. 312 ppm! [View all]

[NNadir]

James F. Pankow was born in 1951 when atmospheric global CO2 levels were ∼312 ppm. 312 ppm! He received his BA (Chemistry) in 1973 from the State University of New York at Binghamton. His desire to do environmental chemistry took deep root there while working in the laboratory of Gilbert E. Janauer (Ph.D., University of Vienna), who taught him what it means to be a good analytical chemist interested in working on important problems. He received his Ph.D. (Environmental Engineering Science) in 1979 from the California Institute of Technology. It was while working there under the guidance of James J. Morgan (Ph.D., Harvard) that he watched how a chemist seeks to develop some knowledge relevant to slowing, and just maybe starting to reverse, our shameless destruction of a beautiful world. He was elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 2009 in recognition of his work in the solution chemistry and formation of atmospheric particles

From the author's biographical note contained in this paper, a viewpoint paper in an issue of this journal dedicated to the memory of Dr. James Morgan: Do Not Steal. The Commons Tale of win–lose, win–win–LOSE, and lose–lose–LOSE James F. Pankow Environmental Science & Technology 2021 55 (21), 14333-14337

People born in the early 1950's represent the generation that did the most to destroy the future world. Some, apparently Dr. Pankow, tried to stop it, but were overwhelmed.

A bleak legacy for my generation, I think, and the author's biography perfectly reflects it.

As of yesterday, November, 5, 2021 at the time of this writing, the concentration of the dangerous fossil fuel waste carbon dioxide in the planetary atmosphere was 414.31 ppm. The annual trough for these concentrations was observed during the week beginning September 12, 2021 and was 2.09 ppm higher than the annual trough observed in the week beginning September 29, 2020. The annual high this year was 420.01 ppm, observed during the week of April 5, 2021, the first reading to exceed 420 ppm, less than ten years after exceeding 400 ppm for the first time. The 420.01 ppm reading was 2.58 ppm higher than the previous year's high, recorded during the week beginning May 24, 2020.

History will not forgive Dr. Pankow's generation, nor should it, but his efforts to stop the insanity will be lost, as Rutger Hauer put it, "tears in rain."