Writer defeats own point

To the editor:

The laughable entry of Tom Harris into the environmental warming fray is a strange choice for publication by the Missourian. Harris' argument that only a few environmental scientists are qualified to judge the validity of Al Gore's position means that a mechanical engineer, such as Harris, has no business writing about the problem. Perhaps he is arguing that there is no scientist qualified to make any statements at all. If so, then the material he offered from "scientist" is specious.

Internet sources suggest that Harris' organization is really just a PR arm of business interests intended to appear "independent." I am fully confident that such "political arguments"' from a source of this type are just as scientific and just as dependable as the public statements we used to get from tobacco companies. Science is nothing without integrity and repeatability.

George Counts, Scott City, Mo.