[The Washington Post] Rafe Pomerance, who helped sound the alarm on climate change, dies at 79
H simmens
Very sad news.
As some of you may know The New York Times some years ago devoted almost their entire Sunday magazine issue to the work that Rafe did - largely in the 1980s - that according to the author almost stopped Climate change.
Here’s the remarkable article:
 | |
I had read the article but otherwise had not heard of what Rafe had been doing in recent years.
About five years ago I was invited to lead a climate discussion on Zoom with a local synagogue not far from where I live in Silver Spring Maryland.
During the Q&A afterwards there was a particularly incisive question directed at me by one of the participants. When I looked at his name it only said Rafe.
I asked my friend who had invited me to give the talk afterwards if that was the Rafe Pomerance. And indeed it was!
I contacted him and he readily agreed to give one of the very first HPAC member talks.
He also became one of our earliest members, joining our list in January 2022.
I last saw him at the Arctic Repair Conference in Cambridge last June, where are we spent much time discussing what we all could still do to address the crisis.
The cause that seems to have animated him most in recent years was his effort to address sea level rise through instituting a kind of not to exceed target.
I know he worked closely with Aria on this and other issues.
The obituary is written by Sarah Kaplan who I consider one of the finest Climate journalists in the United States.
I think she does justice to his Legacy.
Herb
Rafe Pomerance, who helped sound the alarm on climate change, dies at 79
He pushed for the first congressional hearings on climate change and helped negotiate a landmark U.N. treaty, the Kyoto Protocol.
By Sarah Kaplan
Download The Washington Post app.
Herb Simmens
Author of A Climate Vocabulary of the Future
“A wonderful achievement, a SciencePoem, an Inspiration, a Prophecy, also hilarious, Dive in and see"
Kim Stanley Robinson
@herbsimmens
H simmens
Herb Simmens
Author of A Climate Vocabulary of the Future
“A wonderful achievement, a SciencePoem, an Inspiration, a Prophecy, also hilarious, Dive in and see"
Kim Stanley Robinson
@herbsimmens
On May 21, 2026, at 7:55 PM, H simmens <hsim...@gmail.com> wrote:
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rob...@rtulip.net
Thanks Herb
I really admired Rafe. He was almost the only person I encountered in the formal diplomatic world who had a clear understanding of the inadequacy of emission reduction as a mitigation strategy, and of the high importance of recognising sea level rise as a key measure of climate risk.
His excellent 2023 Foreign Affairs article, The Case for Capping Sea-Level Rise - A More Tangible Way to Measure the Harm From Climate Change, cowritten with Alice C. Hill
Is at https://www.foreignaffairs.com/world/climate-change-case-sea-level-rise and attached. Rafe’s emphasis on finding practical targets that can resonate with the general public is an important inspiration for coherent climate policy.
His 2021 HPAC presentation can be viewed at https://healthyplanetaction.org/a-conversation-with-rafe-pomerance/ A summary of this meeting is also attached with a transcript.
Regards
Robert Tulip
From: planetary-...@googlegroups.com <planetary-...@googlegroups.com> On Behalf Of H simmens
Sent: Friday, 22 May 2026 10:08 AM
To: healthy-planet-action-coalition <healthy-planet-...@googlegroups.com>; Planetary Restoration <planetary-...@googlegroups.com>
Subject: [prag] Re: [The Washington Post] Rafe Pomerance, who helped sound the alarm on climate change, dies at 79
There will be a memorial service Tuesday at 10 AM Eastern that will be available to watch online. When I get the sign in information I will post it here. Those in the DC area can attend the memorial at the Friends Meeting center on Decatur Place.
Herb
Herb Simmens
Author of A Climate Vocabulary of the Future
“A wonderful achievement, a SciencePoem, an Inspiration, a Prophecy, also hilarious, Dive in and see"
Kim Stanley Robinson
@herbsimmens
On May 21, 2026, at 7:55 PM, H simmens <hsim...@gmail.com> wrote:
Very sad news.
As some of you may know The New York Times some years ago devoted almost their entire Sunday magazine issue to the work that Rafe did - largely in the 1980s - that according to the author almost stopped Climate change.
Here’s the remarkable article:
--
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To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to planetary-restor...@googlegroups.com.
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