NASA Scientist James Hansen told the US Senate that global warming was underway. He projected the global temperature increases to come from burning fossil fuels and urged that action be taken to reduce fossil fuel use. This was reported on the front page of the NY Times the next day with the sub-heading ” Sharp Cut in Burning of Fossil Fuels is Urged to Battle Shift in Climate”.
In articulating the thesis that this was a human-driven shift, and not the result of natural variation, Hansen outlined what would become the scientific consensus a few years later. 30 years later, Hansen’s projected scenarios of temperature change and resulting impacts have been proved eerily accurate.
NASA Scientist testifies at a US Senate hearing – “Global Warming has begun”