After reading Al Fonzi’s opinion piece in the July 20 edition of New Times titled, “What makes a skeptic?” I felt compelled to fact-check some of his assertions. I went to the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) website and found lots of factual, useful information. It describes how the emails associated with the so-called “climate-gate” scandal was misunderstood by the media and public, and how the scandal was debunked years ago. This website posted a new article titled, “We fact-checked a bogus ‘study’ on global temperature that’s misleading readers,” dated July 21. In this article, a senior UCS climate scientist reviews the “study” Mr. Fonzi had referred to in his opinion piece. The UCS article points out several major flaws contained in that global temperature database “study.”
The Global Warming section of the UCS website provides climate change articles and links that I think you will find enlightening. I encourage everyone to check out this website to conduct your own fact-checking journey on climate change.
Regarding Mr. Fonzi, once again, he has made wild and baseless accusations intended to de-legitimize mainstream, peer-accepted climate science and create public confusion/inaction. He also associated those who call climate skeptics “deniers” with Nazi Holocaust deniers. How low will you go, Al?
Dean Arrighi
San Luis Obispo
This article appears in Jul 27 – Aug 6, 2017.
Going to the union of concerned scientists is a bad start to fact check. They are political and not primarily scientists, unless you count social scientists. Try climate depot…..you will not like what you find! When facts come against popular delusions they are never easy to read and understand.
When you consider just 2 facts; 95% of the greenhouse effect is from water vapor alone and CO2 is only 4/ 100th OF 1% of the atmosphere you have to be pretty gullible to think that CO2 controls anything.
iT IS THE GAS OF LIFE AND MORE WOULD BE BETTER!
Fred is exactly right. Increased CO2 has greened the planet over the past 50 years. That’s right, the earth is greener because of increased CO2 in the atmosphere. Don’t take my word for it, look it up. This isn’t a projection based on computer models based on theoretical assumptions. Its a fact based on satellite images. We have more food due to manmade CO2. Strange how that never gets reported. Then consider the recent admission that climate models are not tracking global temperatures as accurately as expected in a paper published in Nature Geoscience entitled “Causes of differences in model and satellite tropospheric warming rates.” Strange how that didn’t get a lot of media attention either. Don’t be a denier or a believer. Do your own research and be a thinker.
After reading Fred’s response I took his advise and looked up the “climate depot” Its founder Marc Morano has a degree in political science. He worked for Rush Limbaugh before going to work in the Bush administration to try to suppress scientific reporting on climate change. Add working on the false “Swift Boat” accusations to his credentials and you have a good idea of what kind of information he is peddling…….Tom, I cannot do my own research I don’t have my own satellites, and observation facilities around the world. I havn’t spent my life in study of climate, and I don’t have combined experience and peer revue of a scientific community. Instead, I will listen to them. They say that Global Warming is real, its happening now, and our use of carbon based fuels is causing it………p.s. Yesterday Canada announced that they will be instituting a national $15.00 per ton Carbon Fee and Dividend program to combat Global Warming starting in January of next year. Hats off to this wise and courageous decision.