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Ted Hinds, in his letter to the editor, "Global warming goes back ages before carbon use" alludes that we can know God is interested in us because temperatures have fluctuated and the earth’s current temperature is not as high as it has been. God has set a global thermostat yet to be triggered?
Yes, temperatures have been higher in the past than they are today. Carbon release from prehistoric slash and burn agriculture may have had an effect. There is a correlation with the decline of the earth’s temperature and more sophisticated agriculture. This argument is completely unnecessary though.
Climatologists are not saying humans are the only cause of climate change. The earth naturally produces carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. Earth’s climate has always changed, even before humans. Among other things, what is observed is a correlation between carbon dioxide and climate change. What climatologists are saying is that emissions are most likely playing a part in this particular climate change. They mimic natural processes.
If 9 in 10 doctors told me smoking would negatively affect my health, even if I don’t believe them, I’m acting irresponsibly if I continue smoking. Nine in 10 climatologists analyzing various data — including the well-known fluctuations of global temperature, that some icecaps are actually expanding, correlations between solar flares and global temperatures, and other talking points — believe human emissions are playing a role in the present climate change.
Nine in 10; I don’t like those odds. All assertions by scientists should be challenged, that is part of the process. Research more than a talking point before entering the debate.
Doesn’t Genesis instruct the faithful to be good stewards of the earth? Maybe Mr. Hinds is right: God is interested in us. To prove it, he gave some people the gift of loving researching and investigating the climate so that those of us who love other things would understand how the climate is affected and could know how to be good stewards of the earth. Is it not foolhardy to ignore those who could be God’s indirect messengers?
Mr. Hinds claims that when some politicians are confronted with the evidence of a pre-emissions warmer earth they bluster or name-call, covering for their corruption. I’d really love to see evidence of this. I admit it is feasible that there are politicians using global warming as a tool for increased government authority. That doesn’t mean climate change isn’t real.
It is also feasible that other politicians refuse to accept the opinions of 9 in 10 climatologists, because they are willfully ignorant or shills for corporations that would rather pollute and make a profit than face a loss of the bottom line now.
Let’s find a way to handle this problem that doesn’t involve giving the government more power but also reduces emissions and our dependence on foreign oil. This will make for cleaner air and keep more dollars here in America where they are desperately needed. What’s wrong with that?
Brandon Givens
Gainesville