If a recent study in the journal Environment led by iconic climate scientist Dr. James Hansen is correct, things are even worse than all of the latest news would make one believe: He claims Earth is about to blow past 2º C above pre-industrial levels. … Some scientists like Dr. Kevin Trenberth, a distinguished scholar at the National Center for Atmospheric Research, say that Hansen neglected to focus on one of the major variables contributing to climate change: water vapor. “Water vapor is at record high levels, and of course so is the ocean heat,” Trenberth said.