A Naysayer

I know my blog is not read by many people (alas, their loss) but the naysayer of global warming who wrote the My Turn column in this morning's Kenosha News must have read it. How else can you explain it?

However, I once wrote a My Turn column too and I know the lead time is at least a week or two. The column could not have been in response to my blog, but it does give me the opportunity to present another point of view. I do not happen to agree with the columnist. I think he is illogical and inflammatory and just plain wrong, but if you want to read what he has to say, here's the link.

And here's the letter I wrote in response. I hope it gets printed soon.

I realize that the cold weather this winter and record snows last year make it look like global warming is a myth. But don’t be mislead but a few bad days. Look at the big picture. Look at earlier springs, melting glaciers, changes in rainfall, fewer cold nights, and more warm days a year. Look at more extreme weather events and changing lake and ocean levels. Look at in the migratory patterns of birds and total ice cover on the Great Lakes. Look at the data.

Global warming is real and not just another scam, but I do agree with Mr. Logan that there is still need for healthy scientific debate about manmade warming. The IPCC, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change was established in 1988 and is the best source of information and probably the best way to channel that debate, as well as through universities, government, and other institutions. It would be worth reading IPCC reports (if you can get through the thousands of page of data and documentation). They may not be as exciting a read as the fiction of Michael Crichton’s 2004 popular book State of Fear, but they do present scientific evidence.

It's a good thing the letters to the editor have a word limit. I could have gone on about this topic for a lot longer. But that's what this blog is for.