Skeptics' claims unintelligible

Despite media hype surrounding e-mails stolen from the University of East Anglia and the skeptics' claim scientists are altering data to support the scientific consensus on climate change, a closer look reveals this to be a totally false resurrection of a long-ago refuted claim. The climate-change skeptic arguments have been many and confused. Thus, they have claimed:1. Climate change does not exist. However, as the impacts of climate change became apparent in everyday life, ignoring the data became laughable.

2. There is warming, but water vapor is the cause. This ignores the fact that water vapor is a consequence of temperature (not a cause) and unlike carbon dioxide is very short lived in the atmosphere.

3. We should ignore climate change, because the increased concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere will be boost agriculture. They forget that nitrogen, potassium and phosphorous are plant-limiting resources. These are what we include in fertilizers, not carbon dioxide.

4. Climate change is happening, but it is a natural cycle. In reality, all the proposed natural cycles currently should be causing global cooling.

5. The climate is warming, but it will be good for us. In reality, increased carbon dioxide release will likely devastate our agriculture, forests and fisheries.

Recently, the skeptics returned to argument 1. The scientific consensus remains consistent while skeptical arguments continually change as evidence refuting each accumulates. Careful analysis renders skeptic claims unintelligible. The recent reincarnation of a long-refuted claim should be recognized as such -- and rejected accordingly.

ADAM GOHN, Cape Girardeau