Letter to the Editor
When I read “The Way I See It” in the June 14 edition of the Gazette, I felt that as both a scientist and an educator I should respond. I know the author, Mr. Ellis Knox, and consider him to be a friend. I do, however, believe that he has confused the climate change debate with the partisan Left versus Right political battle that permeates our lives these days. Climate change has nothing to do with politics but is and should be considered a purely scientific issue.
In the opening sentence of his article on climate change, Mr. Knox states “The Wall Street Journal Recently declared that climate change is a dead issue.” The only article I found in the WSJ during the past 30 days was an article by Stephen F. Hayward, which expressed Mr. Howard’s personal opinion on climate change. Hayward relied heavily on the writings of Political Scientist Anthony Downs but ignores any real scientific discourse on the topic. True enough…the politicians on both sides may have beaten the topic to death, but that has nothing to do with the reality of the issue.
In addition, Mr. Knox seems to have been given some erroneous information. For example, Mr. Knox states that “NASA has dropped the global warming debacle” but an internet search on global warming reveals a large section of the NASA.gov site (https://climate.nasa.gov/evidence)
Is devoted to the topic with a clear and concise review of the overwhelming scientific evidence for global warming. I encourage all readers to take a quick look. The information is very compelling.
The opening statement for this section of NASA website states, “Multiple studies published in peer-reviewed scientific journals show that 97 percent or more of actively publishing climate scientists agree: Climate warming trends over the past century are very likely due to human activities, and most of the leading scientific organizations worldwide have issued public statements endorsing this position.” The NASA site then goes on to list position statements from 18 of the most prestigious scientific organizations in North America endorsing the statement above. Included in this list are the American Association for the Advancement of Science, American Chemical Society, American Geophysical Union, American Medical Association, American Meteorological Society, American Physical Society (Physics) and The Geological Society of America.
In short, global warming is real and it is manmade. The evidence is more than compelling; it is unequivocal from a scientific standpoint. It was never a “giant hoax” perpetuated by some sneaky guys who wanted to give Democrats and Republicans something else to disagree and argue about. Global warming will be a
huge problem for future generations and the impact will be far more than rising sea levels.
A warmer earth can fuel more dangerous storms, generate more weather extremes, create an environment more hospitable to viruses and diseases across the globe and ultimately change the very chemical composition of our oceans resulting in acidification. All these impacts can result in less food and fresh water for the growing numbers of earth’s inhabitants. The net result can be even greater political unrest….if that is imaginable.
Don’t believe what either Mr. Knox or I tell you about this important topic. Use the great mind and critical thinking skills God has given you to do your own research. The internet is a great research tool but use common sense! Look for sources with a scientific basis and steer clear of the political rhetoric. Also, steer clear of information sources that have a vested ($$) interest in this topic. Clearly the petroleum industry and the solar power industry would each have their own bias, so you want to avoid information they provide or at least take it with a large grain of salt. The NASA site mentioned earlier is a great place to start along with the National Geographic site https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/climate-change/. Bill Nye (The Science Guy) does a great job of quickly explaining the scientific issues related to climate change in his video Climate Change 101: https://www.climaterealityproject.org/climate-101. Other good sources would be Scientific American - the magazine and the TV network - and the Science Channel.
In short, separate opinion from fact and be knowledgeable about this subject as it will have a huge impact on future generations.
Jim Archer, Ph.D.
Chemistry Professor Emeritus