The issue is clouded by political and economic implications. It doesn’t help that global warming has only been seriously considered by the media in the recent past. Not long ago, the topic was dismissed as yet another crisis invented by tree-hugging ecologists.

The media avoided the issue partly because they’re better at handling gossip, scandals, and trivia and partly because the issue is incredibly complicated. The terms and concepts of climatology are based on principles and measures that are unique to this science. Yet, as the 1950 article below indicates, climatology — and the concern for global warming — is not so very new.

In “Is the World Getting Warmer?” [PDF download] Albert Abarbanel and Thorp McClusky noted that many persons suspected, and a few scientists knew, that  “mysterious changes are happening to the world’s climate.”

Cumulative studies now indicate that the climate of vast areas is warming rapidly.

This is the first fluctuation in the endless series of past and future climatic variations in the history of the earth which we can measure, investigate and possibly also explain.

For the past three winters a colony of Penobscot Indians who live on an island in the Penobscot River, near Old Town, Maine, have been plagued by unseasonable thaws. Since time immemorial, the tribe has used the ice as a bridge to the mainland from November until April, walking back and forth and even driving trucks and automobiles on sawdust laid across the slippery surface. Until recently the ice had never gone out in January, as the memories of older tribesmen and the results of annual betting pools on the day and hour of the spring breakup attested.

But since 1948 there has been a January thaw every year — to the astonishment of Indians and Old Towners alike. In 1949 the ice went out so suddenly that 610 Indians were marooned on their island for three days. Now the state of Maine has decided to build a bridge across the river to the island. “God has really been good to us,” says Mr. Bruce Poolaw, wife of the chief. ” If He hadn’t changed the weather we’d never have had the new bridge.”

Such observations caused scientists to speculate, five decades ago, whether glaciers could be melting:

"The choking dust storms of America’s Midwest, the freak New England hurricane of 1938, the fact that Utah’

It’s impossible to say. Recent coastline surveys off the coasts of New Guinea and South Australia indicate that, at the peak of the last great glaciations, the ocean surface was 300 feet below its present level. Estimates of the amount of water still immobilized in the frozen, rigid state vary greatly, due to the fact that we know almost nothing of the underlying land contours of both Greenland and Antarctica. In a given spot, the ice may be three miles deep or it may be only a thin sheath atop a mountain peak or plateau. Some scientists calculate that melting of all the planet’s ice would raise the oceans no more than ninety feet; others assert the rise would be in the neighborhood of 500 feet. In either event, all present seaports would be seriously affected while the majority would be completely inundated. Millions of square miles of land surface, including most of England, for example, would disappear beneath the waves.

Is the sun throwing out more heat, perhaps getting ready to explode and snuff out all life on earth in a matter of seconds? Is the solar system, in its twelve-mile-a-second spiral through the Milky Way, or Sol’s home galaxy, emerging from the last filmy fringes of a cloud of cosmic dust which, for centuries, has prevented a small but critical portion of our luminary’s radiation from reaching the earth? Has atomic experimentation upset delicate thermal balances, perhaps by increasing molecular activity in the atmosphere? Is the warming-up process worldwide or merely regional?

The scientific community of 1950 offered two explanations for the warming trend. The first was a rise in energy from the sun:

Many meteorologists agree that an increase in solar-energy output is responsible for the changing climate. According to Prof. Carl-Gustaf Rossby, Swedish meteorologist, ‘…the most plausible cause is some change in the activity of the sun. It may be that more ultraviolet light is being produced. Such an increased production of ultraviolet light might affect the upper atmosphere and so make the climate warmer. Should we succeed in finding the cause, we may well be able to estimate how long the warming process will go on.’

The other explanation suggested a swing in temperatures across several milleniae.

The earth is emerging from the last lingering chill of one of a succession of little ice ages that followed the last great ice age some 15,000 years ago.

Note that the theories say nothing about the human activity affecting global temperature. The world in 1950 was still enormous. The sky was infinitely capable of absorbing the coal smoke of steel mills and the leaded exhaust of automobiles. The rivers and seas could easily absorb runoffs of nitrate fertilizers and heavy metals.

Environmental disasters were not uncommon back then, but they weren’t taken seriously. It was only after industrial waste in Ohio’s Cuyahoga River caught fire in 1969 and caused millions of dollars in damage that the government established the Clean Water Act and the Environmental Protection Agency. The river had caught fire before — at least nine times since 1868 — but pubic tolerance finally snapped in ’69.

Unfortunately, the signs of global warming aren’t as clear. It will probably require another disaster to prompt Washington to take action. (It can hardly be expected to come from business.)

At one time, politicians and business owners could deny “climate change.” Today, they’ll concede something is happening to our climate, but they ask for more time to study the problem.

More time.

Why is it that we have so few facts 60 years after knowing about this issue?

Read “Is the World Getting Warmer?” by Albert Abarbanel and Thorp McClusky, July 1, 1950 [PDF download].

Global Warming Sixty Years Ago The Saturday Evening Post

While Tulsans were naturally downhearted at the unveiling, there was a sadder spectacle that was generally overlooked. Placed on the car seat were jugs of gasoline.

Back in 1957, the far-sighted planners reasoned that, within the next 50 years, automobiles might no longer be powered by gasoline. The jugs of gasoline ensured the car could be operated in the distant future when gas stations might have all disappeared.

There was no need to worry. The gas stations are still around. We’re just as dependent on oil as ever. The only change is that America had moved away from leaded gasoline.

America occupied a highly enviable position in the post-war world. Its cities and businesses had emerged whole and hearty from the war. Its infrastructure hadn’t been wrecked by bombings and sabotage. We had the only intact economy in the Western world, and plenty of oil. There was little interest in conserving fuel now, especially with articles like “Now We Have Plenty of Oil,” which appeared in the Post in 1950.

“Turn up the oil burner. Fill the gas tank, the cigarette lighter, the kerosene range. Order a new diesel locomotive, a jar of cold cream, a jet plane, and make free with petroleum products any way you fancy. Forget that rumor you heard just a few years back—the one that predicted that we would shortly run out of oil and into calamity. It was not true. There is oil in quantity under American soil. Having had less than a hundred years to regularize its cycles, the calendar of perpetual petroleum alarm and reassurance is not yet as accurate as a barometer, but at this points it reads calm, comfort and all the gasoline you want. The next cycle of worry over oil shortage may be a decade or more away, to be followed no doubt by surplus, to be followed no doubt by shortage, to be —

“Anyway, right now oil is easy, and this should be a powerful load off the national mind. The importance of whether or not we have enough oil in America grows greater every year.

“… perhaps it is permissible to point out that the record of oil ups and downs is at least odd, if not downright hilarious. No decade has passed in the present century without some authority writing off our oil future as failing and soon doomed. Crankcases today are full of oil that was once seriously described as nonexistent.

“Take the notable warning of 1919, when the chief geologist of the United States Geological Survey flatly predicted complete oil exhaustion in this country by 1936. Or the comparatively recent fright of former Secretary of the Interior Ickes in 1943, who solemnly divided known oil reserves by consumption and pointed out that we had a supply good for only fourteen years.”

The writer spoke of unlimited oil, and new fields of crude that had recently been located in Texas. What he failed to tell readers was that, since four years earlier, the United States was starting to consume more oil than it could produce domestically. As early as 1946, we were losing our energy independence.

Even so, the confident tone could still be heard in 1962. In that year, another Post article, “The Oil of the Arab,” addressed the rising nationalism of Arab nations, which were providing us with most of our gasoline. He quoted Sheik Abdullah H. Taliki, Saudi Arabia director of oil:

“’Allah made nothing without cause,’ he says. ‘He made the great desserts that are useless to man. But he buried oil beneath them. It is Arab oil. It must be used for the Arab’s benefit. Today others can use our oil to further their interests, which may not coincide with ours.’

“The oil, buried in a great basin that stretches from the southern slopes of Turkey’s Taurus Mountains to the shores of the Arabian Sea, and from Iran’s eastern borders to Saudi Arabia’s western shore, constitutes what is probably the world’s greatest reservoir of mineral wealth. Reserves estimated at 181,000,000,000 barrels, two thirds of the free world’s known oil supply, have already been discovered; millions of square miles, on land in the waters of the Persian Gulf, remain to be explored. Tiny Kuwait, a sun-parched desert little bigger than Connecticut, has proven reserves of 62,000,000,000 barrels, exceeding the total reserves of North and South America combined.  Beneath the dunes and bare gravel plains of Saudi Arabia lie 50,000,000,000 barrels more. Iraq has 25,000,000,000 barrels in reserve, Iran 35,000,000,000.

“The total reserves in the United States are estimated at 33,500,000,000.

“’Some day,’ he says, ‘we will unite. Once we are strong enough to shut down all the wells, and close the Suez Canal and shut off the pipelines—even if only for a few days—the companies will suddenly see a great light. The world cannot live without the Mideast’s oil.’”

Well, it was easy for the author to see why the Arabs would never succeed in exerting its power.

“The weakness in Mr. Tariki’s position lies in the fact that at the moment there is more oil available than the world can use…”

Oil Boom and Bust The Saturday Evening Post

Click on the images for a larger view.

Zippo – 5/8/54

Courtesy of Zippo

Zippo lighters were—and still are—the definition of a quality product that will stand the test of time. However, from today’s perspective, they may seem a slightly unlikely gift for Mother’s Day. This ad is suggesting Mom might enjoy a Zippo lighter and makes a fantastic argument about why indeed it would be a great gift for her. The picture in the ad shows a devoted dad and son giving Mom breakfast in bed and a Zippo lighter, and she couldn’t be more pleased. This ad is as unique as it is classic.

Whitman’s – 5/1/54

Courtesy of Whitman's

This beautiful Whitman’s ad for a chocolate sampler is a classic! Fifty years later, many moms still get chocolates and/or flowers for Mother’s Day. It begs the question, “If it’s not broken, why fix it?” when it comes to great Mother’s Day gifts. This cute ad features bright, noticeable colors and a cute note from a child, encouraging the reader to buy Mom Whitman’s for Mother’s Day.

Pyrex – 5/6/50

Courtesy of Pyrex

This full-page Pyrex ad “hits two birds with one stone”—encouraging the purchase of Pyrex products for both Mother’s Day and summer weddings. The colors and variety of products in this ad make it quite reasonable that anyone reading it would agree that Mom would really enjoy the “perk” that perhaps she will make you that delicious cherry pie with the pie plate you bought her for Mother’s Day? It seems like a win/win situation.

Western Union – 5/8/54

Courtesy of Western Union

In today’s world of Internet, cell phones, and instant communication, it is hard to imagine a world in which someone was not reachable immediately. Western Union got in on the Mother’s Day bandwagon and encouraged people to “wire” her a Mother’s Day telegram. Note the “P.S.” at the bottom encouraging married men to “remember her mother, too.” Just like a man occasionally needs a reminder today, he needed one in 1954 as well.

Enger-Kress – 5/6/50

Courtesy of Enger-Kress

It’s interesting how this ad was laid out in the original magazine. It is a “half-page” ad, but the designers made the best use out of their space by putting the original ad “going down” the page. The reader had to physically flip the magazine to get a look. The ad promotes the purchase of billfolds, wallets, and other leather products not only for Mother’s Day, but Father’s Day, graduations, and weddings, too.

Dormeyer – 5/2/53

Courtesy of Dormeyer

This black and white double-page ad took up a lot of magazine “real estate” and advertised getting Mom any variety of Dormeyer products for Mother’s Day. The ad features numerous kitchen products including mixers, fryers, coffee makers, or a blender. However, if Mom is not a chef, perhaps a nice electric blanket for the bedroom would suit her better? No matter Mom’s tastes, Dormeyer had a product to suit her likes.

Whitman’s – 5/2/53

Courtesy of Whitman's

Another Whitman’s ad beauty was featured in this May 1953 ad. The most striking aspects of the Whitman’s ads were the bright and attractive colors. The ad was targeted to reach dads who would be doing the “purchasing” for Mother’s Day. What dad would not love to see his wife and child so pleased with his selection of Whitman’s?

Dormeyer – 5/1/54

Courtesy of Dormeyer

This is another Dormeyer ad from 1954. The “full-page” black and white ad would have been very noticeable and attention-getting for the reader going through the latest edition of The Saturday Evening Post. Also, Dormeyer was sure to feature not only a variety of products, but a variety of price ranges for potential buyers. The ad also assures that purchasing a Dormeyer will make your “Darling’s” life all the easier and lighten her meal-making efforts in the kitchen.

Mother’s Day Vintage Ad Gallery The Saturday Evening Post

Reprints of these and other Post covers are available at curtispublishing.com.

Stan the Man – John Falter – 5/1/54

Stan the Man
John Falter
May 1, 1954

Not only did these St. Louis kids have to miss school (awww!), they had to sit and pose with Stan the Man Musial. What a rough life. The lucky youngsters wound up with forty Musial autographs. “Wow!” one said in awe. “Will we clean up selling these at school!” We’re sure at least one of them has wished he’d kept it.

Yogi Berra – Earl Mayan – 4/20/57

Yogi Berra
Earl Mayan
April 20, 1957

Who doesn’t love Yogi Berra? Long before he became famous for maiming the English language, Berra was catcher for the New York Yankees. Artist Earl Mayan got him to pose in Yankee Stadium for this cover. Love the fan faces! The editors informed us they were friends of the artist and “were real nice-looking people till he asked them to look like baseball fans.”

Family Baseball – John Falter – 9/2/50

Family Baseball
John Falter
September 2, 1950

While we admire the pros, there’s nothing like a family baseball game. It’s 1950 and Uncle Baldy can’t decide whether to pitch or throw to Aunt Sally in the yellow dress on second base and catch the guy out. We have to say Aunt Martha’s batter’s stance is interesting. The editors speculated that the umpire was selected “because he has a natural chest protector”. Well, a natural belly protector, anyway.

Sliding into Home Place – Fischer – 4/16/10

Sliding into Home Place
Anton Otto Fischer
April 16, 1910

It’s no surprise that they played baseball in 1910, as we see in this cover. What surprised us was the artist – none other than Anton Otto Fischer. Mostly famous for his masted ships rolling over foaming waves, Fischer also was great at painting people. This slice-of-landlubber-life captures the action perfectly. Interesting catcher’s mitt!

Oregon Baseball – Clymer – 4/21/51

Oregon Baseball
John Clymer
April 21, 1951

Artist John Clymer was known for his beautiful landscapes. Sure, he manages here to paint Oregon in all its spring glory, pink blooms, Mount Hood and all. But the eye is drawn here to the fine pitching form of Miss Pigtails and the concentration of the batter. The trees may be budding and the grass greening, but kids’ thoughts turn to baseball. It must be spring!

Classic Covers: Baseball The Saturday Evening Post