[Vision2020] global warming letters

[Pat Kraut]

I pulled these out of the Idaho Statesman just to offer an opposing
viewpoint.

It's propaganda

Enough already with the global warming propaganda. The article by Ms. Wood
"Demand global warming legislation" demands a rebuttal. Unlike the lawyer
Ms. Wood, I actually have a four-year degree in science (physics) and have
more than a passing familiarity with the scientific method.

The Earth has been heating and cooling for many millions of years, for
reasons we cannot know. Humans burning hydrocarbons was certainly not among
the causes of past warming periods. Therefore, we can be assured that some
other factor caused the climate to warm, a factor that is neither identified
nor eliminated as a cause of the current warming trend. Until alternative
explanations are identified and eliminated, there can be no scientific proof
that human activity is causing global warming.

The "science" behind human-caused global warming is about as sophisticated
as predicting the Dow based on the earned run average of the Yankees
pitching staff. Anyone who has studied statistics or science can tell you
that correlation does not prove causation. Most of the scientists espousing
thehuman-caused global warming theory are funded by government grants. In
fact, most are biologists who have no training in climatology. It is time to
get this debate out of the political realm back into the scientific realm
before real damage is done to our economy.

Jack Wood, Star

Inconvenient questions

I was unable to attend the global warming speech by Al Gore at Taco Bell
Arena because it was sold out. However, I do have some inconvenient
questions on this subject.

. Did Mr. Gore notice that the low temperature on the day of his
presentation was 3 degrees below normal?

. Did he notice last week that $1 billion of California citrus fruit was
lost because of freezing temperatures?

. Did he notice that much of the Midwestern United States was without power
for a week in January because of ice storms?

. Did he notice that public schools in western Washington state were closed
for a week in January because of snow and freezing temperatures?

. Did he use public transportation to get to and from Taco Bell Arena, as he
encourages each of us to do?

. Does he donate 100 percent of the earnings from his movie, book and
speaking fees (in the millions of dollars) to organizations researching
alternative fuels?

To the impartial observer, it would appear that Mr. Gore's greatest concern
is not global warming, but rather how to stay in front of the TV cameras as
the 2000 presidential election fades into history.

Daniel Johanus, Boise

Counter points

I am not an expert on global warming; I don't pretend to be. Al Gore claims
he is, but his claims were recently countered in the Wall Street Journal.

He states that Nairobi was established right where it was because it was too
cold for malaria to occur; but global warming will cause rampant epidemics.
However, the World Health Organization states that Nairobi suffered regular
epidemics of malaria in the 1920s and '30s when the temperatures were lower.
Today, Nairobi ismalaria-free.

He points to the shrinking sea ice in the Northern Hemisphere but ignores
the increasing sea ice in the Southern Hemisphere. He presents pictures from
2 percent of Antarctica that is dramatically warming and ignores the 98
percent that has cooled.

He ducked an interview with Bjorn Lomborg, author of "The Skeptical
Environmentalist," who has provided a clear counterpoint to Gore's movie.

Should I believe the Wall Street Journal or the "man who invented the
Internet"?

Jacqui Shurtleff, Boise

Money maker

This global warming hysteria is a very good money-making scheme. Gore is
making millions with his movie, speeches and books. If he was really
concerned about global warming, he would advocate nuclear power generation
to replace fossil fuel generation. He should advocate to produce fewer
children all around the world. Humans produce a lot of carbon dioxide. So do
cows, pigs and chickens. Stop eating them! The Chavez family should sell
their cars and ride bicycles, sell their television sets and read books by
candlelight.

Frank Lonyay, Boise

Take a hike

For those of you worried about human involvement in global warming, I have
three words for you - "Take a hike." That's right, walk up to Table Rock and
read the information on the way that explains how all the land you are
looking at for miles was recently under water. Less than 16,000 years ago,
the entire country was under ice. Earth has been in a warming trend the last
2 million years, which included 60 glacial advances and retractions. During
Earth's billion years of existence, there have been four ice ages, all
before mankind drove cars and burned fuels.

Humans don't control Earth's orbit, Earth's axis or the precession of the
equinoxes. We also have no way of managing plate tectonics and continental
uplift. Take the time to read a little nonpolitical science and you will
find those are the true variables that cause the always changing conditions
of the planet and the reason 97 percent of all species that have existed are
now extinct. Global climate changes are a constant and natural condition of
the planet due to factors that are impossible to control due to their
immensity, whereas your minds evidently are easy to manipulate and much
narrower.

John Bartels, Boise