Apr 30, 2019 2 min read

Climate change denials belie facts

Recent opinions in the Observer-Reporter about climate change (“Climate change ‘hoax’ comes to Pennsylvania” and “Why I will resist the new Green Deal,” April 21) highlight important issues relating to climate and energy.

The denials of climate change (“simply not true,” “shoddy and dishonest science,” and “nonsense”) belie certain factual conditions. Glaciers across the world are melting. The melting has taken place during the last several decades – not thousands or hundreds of thousands of years. This precipitous rate is astounding and not comparable to comparable processes known from the geologic record. If melting continues at the current pace, then ice in the Arctic Ocean, as well as ice caps in Greenland and Antarctica, will melt. Low-lying areas will be affected. Some islands in the Pacific Ocean are already jeopardized by rising water. Not only will many U.S. citizens who live close to sea level be affected but also the impact of rising sea level will affect millions of people living in other low-lying regions (e.g. the delta of the Ganges River in Bangladesh). If thousands of central Americans at our southern border present a human disaster, then imagine the impact of displaced Americans coupled with additional millions across the world. The problem is significant, independent of the cause.

If the emission of gases from burning hydrocarbons actually is a concern, then despite hot denials, a transition to other forms of energy becomes desirable. As noted in the letter (“Why I will resist …”), an increase in the use of nuclear power may be considered. If so then proper disposal of nuclear waste must be undertaken. Storage of the waste close to power plants or military sites as has been done commonly is not suitable because of the dangers of leakage and related contamination. Carefully prepared sites such as the nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain must be protected from becoming political footballs, as has taken place in response to the actions of Sen. Harry Reid of Nevada.

Not all the conditions that we face as a society are “spoken threats” from “madly uncertain predictions,” and it is essential that those which are evident and loom ahead are recognized and treated with clear-headed consideration.

Thomas H. Anderson

Washington

M.S., Ph.D. professor emeritus, University of Pittsburgh, former consultant to Nye County, Nevada