Published: May 12, 2008 10:26 am      

Burning of coal and oil surely warming planet

It is quite obvious that when Garrett Humbertson did research for his reader commentary ("Global temp has gone down," April 25 Times-News), he only looked at information that has been manipulated by organizations who have only to gain from the unrestricted use of coal and oil.

First of all, global temp has temporarily increased due to the formation of an unusually strong La Nina in the Pacific Ocean. Climate scientists have looked at this pattern, and have determined this to be only temporary for a year or two. They are certain that the planet's temperature will begin steadily increasing again within 10 years.

The emissions of carbon dioxide from the burning of fossil fuels into the atmosphere has been proven over and over to be the main cause of Anthropogenic (man-made) Global Warming. These experiments went through the scientific method, the process of collecting data, formulating hypotheses, and testing those hypotheses, the same Scientific Method that we all learned about back in middle/high school.

As a result, the scientific method proved that the burning of fossil fuels, causing AWG is now considered scientific fact. It is not a theory purported by left wing nutjobs; it was a theory tried and tested for almost 40 years, until every apolitical climate expert came to the same conclusion: It is scientific certainty that our burning of coal and oil is warming our planet. In other words, it is scientific law. To deny that AWG exists would be the same as denying the scientific laws that the world is round and gravity exists. But indeed, there are people that deny both.

If you want to read what scientists, who have no connection to King Coal and Big Oil, have to say, go to www.realclimate.org or www.ucsusa.org/global_warming.

Also, a gentleman wrote in several weeks ago that I was misinformed on Carbon Dioxide. I would suggest he Google "Carbon Cycle" to learn how our burning of fossil fuels has put this natural occurring cycle out of whack, and now the excess CO2 is warming the planet.

Why is it that every Ph.D. in climate science, the head councils of every church denomination, President Bush, the CEOs of Exxon and BP, and countless other major corporations, all agree that Anthropogenic Global Warming is real, but Grumpy Old Rural White Males think they know better?

It's time for everyone to step up to the plate and do their part to stop the increase of CO2 into our planet's atmosphere.

Sam White
Mount Savage