Skeptics use distortion, lies

In his recent column, George Will continues to push the skeptic lie that the 2007 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Fourth Assessment Report regarding climate change and the contribution of human activities is not supported by a scientific consensus. With that in mind, I'd like to ask Will and the skeptics several questions about what they demand before they would accept that there is a scientific consensus:1. What percentage of climatologists have to agree with the IPCC conclusions?

2. What percentage of professional scientific societies and national academies of science of developed nations have to agree with the IPCC conclusions?

3. What percentage of manuscripts submitted to the major scientific journal Science between 2000 and 2008 would have to support the IPCC conclusions?

4. What percentage of articles published even before 2004 would have to agree with the earlier IPCC conclusions?

Will also suggests that there should be a national commission to investigate climate change and its possible causes. Has Will (conveniently) forgotten that as a consequence of George Bush's skepticism, the National Academy of Science analyzed the IPCC Third Assessment Report and concluded that it accurately reported the scientific evidence? Since then, the evidence continues to become stronger.

Will and the skeptics (along with their corporate sponsors) use distortion and outright lies to obstruct appropriate governmental action, prevent the public understanding of science, and thwart public support for doing what needs to be done.

Quiz answers (sources available upon request)

1. 97 percent

2. 100 percent

3. 100 percent

4. 100 percent

ADAM GOHN, Cape Girardeau