LETTERS: GLOBAL-WARMING CLAIMS DEPEND ON FAULTY SCIENCE

To the editor:

An Oct. 26 front-page story in the Southeast Missourian has the headline "Report: Pollution promotes global warming," and The Washington Post's front-page story says "Global warming theory affirmed." I guess that just about settles it. Global warming is occurring.

There is great disagreement among climatologists over the term "global." Climate records indicate a regional warming. There is no dispute over a very slight warming trend in climates. The dispute arises over the U.N.-sponsored International Panel on Climate Change, which has turned the expression "global warming" into an exaggerated assumption that unless we do something, Earth is doomed. One should realize that climates have changed in the past, and climates will change in the future.

What is the International Panel on Climate Change? The news stories call it "the most authoritative scientific voice on the issue." That is a laugh. The IPCC is an organization of delegates from 163 nations whose agenda supposedly is to save the world from developed countries, their fossil fuel-burning industries and the internal combustion autos which are the cause of the so-called global warming. The IPCC sees a tremendous economic advantage in taxing (the IPCC calls its finding) the use of fossil fuels.

The IPCC are international politicians. The scientists employed by the IPCC are economists, environmentalists, biologists and other disciplines with a few climatologists. The science used by this group has been under question by many climatologists who openly declare the deceptive science of the IPCC to be flawed and based upon assumptions rather than science. It has been labeled as politics based on junk science.

There is another matter closer to home that needs discussion, and this is the U.S. National Assessment on Climate Change. Authorized by Congress in 1990, it was accused by many climatologists as being based upon flawed science, a political statement as opposed to a scientific statement. Even the Environmental Protection Agency complained that the NACC's summary has "an extreme or alarmist tone and does not appear to reflect the scientific literature and the historical record." The Competitive Enterprise Institute, several other business organizations and members of Congress have filed a lawsuit over the NACC, alleging the assessment violates the laws under which it was authorized.

Global warming is a theory. The computer climate models are theories, and they are constantly being evaluated as new data become available. Any who disagree are being subjected to a form of scientism that says scientific findings should take precedence over any other kind of knowledge. This is seeking political power and is a dangerous side of science.

KEN ALDRICH

Cape Girardeau