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--></style><title>Climate change: What Americans knew in 1953,
1958</title></head><body>
<div><font face="Lucida Grande">On February 12, 1958, the American
public saw the first televised warning about the dangers of carbon
dioxide, global warming, and sea level rise. That warning came from
The<u> Bell Laboratory Science Series</u>, which aired its fourth TV
episode, "Unchained Goddess," written and produced by three-time
Oscar winner Frank Capra.</font></div>
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Capra is famous for classic films like "It's a Wonderful Life,"
and not so famous for having a degree in chemical engineering. In this
film, Dr. Research (Dr. Frank Baxter) explains to The Writer (Richard
Carlson) that unrestricted carbon dioxide emissions could lead to a
world where "Tourists in glass bottom boats would be viewing the
drowned towers of Miami":</font></div>
<div><br></div>
<div><font face="Lucida Grande">While this appears to be the first
televised warning, there was a<u> warning broadcas</u>t on the radio
show, "General Electric: Excursions in Science," about the
research of physicist Gilbert Plass.</font></div>
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Back in May 1953, Time magazine reported on Plass's work in an
article titled "<u>Invisible Blanket</u>," which ends, "for
centuries to come, if man's industrial growth continues, the
earth's climate will continue to grow warmer." So did<u> Popular
Mechanics</u>:</font></div>
<div><br></div>
<div>Full text with embedded links here:</div>
<div
>http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2016/02/12/3749275/frank-capra-1958<span
></span>-global-warming/</div>
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"Up until the late 1950s, tillage (plowing) released more carbon
dioxide into the atmosphere than all the burning of oil and coal in
history."<br>
<br>
" ... not tilling the soil begins to build up the
carbon content of the soil. You might call this 'carbon
farming'."<br>
<br>
"Obviously, these programs are currently not big money-makers for
farmers."</font></div>
<div><font face="Arial" size="-1" color="#1A1A1A"><br>
</font><font face="Lucida Grande" size="-1"
color="#000000">"Energy agriculture - carbon farming" Don
Hofstrand co-director AgMRC<br>
Iowa State University<br>
</font><font face="Lucida Grande" size="-1"
color="#0040C2"><u
>https://www.extension.iastate.edu/agdm/articles/hof/HofAug07.html</u></font
><font face="Arial" size="-1" color="#1A1A1A"><br>
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