McClintock's denial
I agree with part of Rep. Tom McClintock's
column (March 12). Increasing California's water storage capacity is a
good idea, because as our climate warms, droughts may be more severe,
and precipitation will likely come more in the form of rain and less as
snow.But his denial of human-induced climate change is very risky
thinking. It stands in stark opposition to the opinion of the vast
majority of climate scientists. Instead, he chooses to believe the 3% of
climate scientists who think human activities have nothing to do with
our changing climate. Conservatives are not known as big risk-takers, so
this is a bit surprising to me.
We need to attack the drought
from both directions: conserve more water, but also address climate
change. Addressing only one facet of the problem would be akin to
getting an angioplasty for a heart attack, and then continuing to smoke a
pack a day. You may have fixed the short-term problem, but place
yourself at high risk of major problems down the road.
There will need to be concessions from both sides of the aisle to assure an abundant future for our children and grandchildren.
Don Gaede
Global warming debate
ReplyDeleteDon Gaede's March 16 letter, "McClintock's denial," references experts when he states: "as our climate warms, droughts may be more severe ..." and "(McClintock) chooses to believe the 3% of climate scientists who think human activities have nothing to do with our changing climate."
The trouble is his choice of experts. First, few climate scientists agree with the first statement. TV pundits do. Scientists agree that the severity of weather events has nothing to do with climate change, and a warmer planet would be a wetter planet.
Second, examination of the claim, obliquely referenced by Mr. Gaede, that "97% of climate scientists agree with Al Gore, the IPCC, and others that climate change is being driven by human activity, and that immediate, drastic action is imperative to stop or reverse it" is based on several studies of a survey by a British college student. The oft-claimed 97% figure represents 77 of 79 scientists cherry picked from the survey that had over 10,000 respondents. The studies have been repeated several times by others, and results have ranged from 36% to less than 3% consensus.
Is global warming a fraud? It's clear that fraud has been committed in its name.
Michael Caraker
Clovis