CLIMATE CHANGE THREATS EXIST
Reprinted from the San Diego Union Tribune February 25, 2014
Regarding the Feb. 22 op-ed “Unsettled science,” by Charles Krauthammer, Krauthammer’s recurring sarcasm over climate change and biblical references to “whoring” puzzle me.
Climate science may be incredibly complex, but risks can be assessed. While modeling can’t predict all variations, 98 percent of peer-reviewed climatologists warn of danger.
Many models are remarkably successful, but none is perfect, especially in gauging exactitudes. (Will La Nina appear and cool surface air but swirl heat deeper into oceans?)
Krauthammer mentions a couple of misleading points. He may claim to be agnostic on climate, but he sounds uninformed, scornful and reckless rather than contemplative of threats nearly all climatologists, National Academy of Science, military strategists, reinsurers, oil industry, etc., say we face, and we already see.
Here’s a reasonable analogy: Modeling can’t say exactly which cigarette smokers will die and when, but the risks are scientifically settled.
John Reaves