Science Forums 2

[Michaelangelica]

Anti-global warming comments political, not scientific

November 18, 2008


William Gray (Soapbox, Nov. 6) states: “Most people are not aware of how flimsy are the physical arguments behind the human-induced warming scenario.”
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He may come with the label “scientist,” but his arguments are all political, eschewing the scientific method. He “conveniently” ignores the scientific studies demonstrating human responsibility (1), like the ice core samples from Greenland that go back some 400,000 years showing an approximately 100,000-year recurring natural cycle of CO2 concentration topping out at around 280 ppm, while our current concentration is at 380 ppm and continuing to climb rapidly (2).

He tells us computer models are not perfect at reproducing precipitation events, so their predictions can safely be ignored. What he fails to convey are the facts of global environment transformation: ice at the poles is melting far faster than the models predicted; (3) the unfreezing of the arctic permafrost is releasing vast amounts of formerly trapped methane gas (4) (methane is a greenhouse gas 27 times more powerful than CO2); the Greenland ice sheet is melting at a much faster rate than predicted. Computer modeling may not be 100 percent correct, but it does not follow that we can safely ignore their warnings.

He resorts to the conservative propagandist’s ploy of pitting “the economy” against “green energy.” This conveniently ignores the societal — and very real financial — costs of continuing to destroy the environ-ment we all depend upon for our very existence. True scientists . . .

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