My Turn: Climate change is real, but ... - Salisbury Post

Monday, August 20, 2012 12:00 AM | Printer friendly version | E-mail to a friend | Comments

By Bruce La Rue

A few months ago a piece appeared on these pages outlining the author’s angst over the imminent demise of our planet due to manmade global warming. While I have no doubt that the author’s concern was genuine and sincere, some of his claims cry out to be refuted, or at least challenged. The online responses to the column sparked a lively debate, and a subsequent letter to the editor made some good points. The debate rages on, likely to continue indefinitely, but now it’s my turn.

First, climate change is real, as it has been since creation. Most scientists on each side of the manmade global warming discussion agree that the Earth has gone through periods of warming and cooling. As recently as the mid-to-late ’70s, we were warned of an impending ice age. Some scientists blamed industrialized nations for the global cooling, citing air pollution that was blocking the sun’s warming rays from reaching Earth’s surface.

When that didn’t pan out, they blamed said air pollution for preventing the sun’s rays from bouncing back into space. Either way, it was our fault. Along about this time we had to give up aerosol cans and Freon because of ozone depletion. It defies common sense that these agents could make their way miles above the Earth, battling colder air which should knock it down, or thinner air which should cause dissipation. Luckily for our planet, the environmentalists prevailed, and an ice age was narrowly averted.

The author of the aforementioned column seemed to insinuate that only the pro manmade global warming side of the issue was represented by serious scientists with unquestionable credentials. Anyone who dared to challenge the idea of human influence on the climate was dismissed as an ideologue, junk scientist or radio talk-show host.

The truth is, from the early days of the debate, there have been credentialed scientists who have debunked the notion that man is a major contributor to climate change. Many of these learned folks place humans quite a ways down on the list of global warming catalysts, far behind the sun and water vapor. Typically, we are battling termites for sixth or seventh spot.

The late Dixy Lee Ray was a marine biologist by training, and served as head of the Atomic Energy Commission. She wrote two books that argued the case against manmade global warming. She asserted, among other things, that a major volcanic eruption like Mt. Pinatubo in 1991 releases more sulfur dioxide and other greenhouse gases into the upper atmosphere than all of mankind’s contributions since the beginning of the industrial age.

Dr. Roy Spencer is a former NASA scientist and currently a climatologist at the University of Alabama at Huntsville. Over the years, he has provided compelling evidence to debunk the persistent claims of manmade global warming.

So why does the debate rage on unresolved? In large part, it is as simple as money. The big, mean oil companies are routinely vilified for trying to make as much of a profit as they can, but what about the saintly scientists? Could it be that they would prefer to reside in the relative security of their post-graduate bubbles, fearful that they may not be up to the rigors and expectations of the real world? The University of East Anglia scandal provided a glimpse into their world, and the lengths to which these honorable scholars would go to preserve a sweet gig, even resorting to fraud. Living off of grants must be easier than rubbing elbows with the private sector cretins whose taxes fund their research. As an example of how lucrative this policy can be, in an article published in “Environment and Climate News” in February 2007, Samuel Aldrich and Jay Lehr reported on the 10-year, $550 million study on the effects of acid rain. That’s $55 million per year for a study which showed almost no change in acidity of the observed lakes.

All of that aside, how about this for a little common sense, logic and reason? After the dust and silver iodide crystals have settled, it is the height of arrogance to believe that we can alter the climate. We cannot even make it rain when we need it.

Bruce La Rue keeps an eye on the weather in Mt. Ulla.

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