Published: May 06, 2008 11:37 am         

There's a difference between opinion, fact

I read the letter, "Global Temp has gone down" in the April 25 Times-News.

I did my own "research" (apparently, the same as the author's) and "Googled" for "global cooling threat." I got basically one hit - one scientist up in Canada - R. Timothy Patterson at the Ottawa-Carleton Geoscience Centre - who says it's so.

If I read it on the Internet, it must be true even if only one person says so. All the other "evidence" I ran across seemed to tie back to the same source.

Having written a few articles in refereed journals, I tend to respect what is printed in such journals more than what I find floating around on the Internet. The refereeing process means that at least a few peers have reviewed what is being printed. It seems I rarely find substantiation when I apply this "standard" to postings such as in the article cited above.

While I support free speech, there is a difference between opinion and fact and one should state which is being presented, in-my-humble-opinion.

Joe McDaniel
Grantsville