LETTERS: GLOBAL WARMING: GET CAKE, EAT IT TOO

To the editor:

Congratulations to the Missourian for fostering so lively a debate on global warming. Such debate is the essence of democracy.

Leonard Wille's Dec. 13 letter on the subject refers to a Reader's Digest article by Ronald Bailey. Wille quotes the article as stating that there is "more hype on this issue than any other." However, Wille fails to mention some Bailey's more important statements. For example, he says that "if climate models turn out to be correct, it may be prudent to limit carbon dioxide emissions in the future." Further, he states that "there is also time for scientists to develop less carbon-intensive energy technologies." While Bailey appears to base the first quote on an old model which does not include the effect of sulfates, he also acknowledges the logical consequences of a valid model.

Wille states, without substantiation, that global warming is a natural phenomenon. True, localized climates can change periodically due to natural causes, such as the sun or volcanoes. However, if we are warming the planet by polluting it, then we would produce a different pattern than the sun would. In the January 1966 issue of Discover, both British and American researchers report development of models which predict results that would not have occurred naturally.

Gary Rust implies in his Dec. 31 column that ratification of the Kyoto treaty will harm our lifestyle. He and others with this belief must still be dreaming about riding around in electric cars. However, they are too expensive and inconvenient to be practical. But, as they say, necessity is the mother of invention, and last year Arthur D. Little Co. announced development of an engine which gets twice the mileage of our current models. The beauty of this device is twofold. First of all, it uses the existing gasoline supply, so the oil companies will not be hurt. Secondly, the product of combustion is water vapor, which means that greenhouse gases and other pollutants will not be produced. So, contrary to what these conservative doomsayers are telling us, we can have our cake and eat it too.

STEPHEN S. SCHADE

Mt. Prospect, Ill.