J. Paul Brown’s recent remarks to the state legislature (Herald, May 4) regarding human-caused climate change reveal him to be an ill-informed and irresponsible representative of Southwest Colorado.
Scientists and their work published in peer-reviewed scientific journals are the bedrock upon which mankind’s incredible achievements have been built. The polio vaccine, chemotherapy, the fact that the earth orbits the sun, semiconductor chips, GPS satellites ... almost no one questions these discoveries made by the scientific community. Why? Probably because most of these things are immediately tangible: your phone and computer with semiconductor chips do amazing things before your eyes. It is easy to say “my pastures don’t look any different,” and think that the global climate isn’t being affected by greenhouse gas emissions.
But science tells us that, undeniably, carbon dioxide is what re-radiates the sun’s energy back toward the Earth’s surface, keeping our planet warm. Science tells us that burning fossil fuels produces CO2, and that we produce over 20 billion tons of CO2 per year by burning them. The vast majority of Earth’s glaciers are shrinking, high temperature records are being broken at double the rate of low temperature records, and the Arctic sea ice continues to shrink nearly every year.
Science tells us that when the long-term weather stations around the world were averaged, 2014 became the warmest year since records have been kept. And then 2015 shattered that record to become the warmest.
But it is difficult for someone like Mr. Brown to understand these facts because it still snows on his pastures every winter. That’s why he should leave the science to the professionals; 97 percent of climate scientists agree that humans are causing climate change.
Instead of turning to farcical sources that recirculate the same paid non-experts and debunked claims to “refute” climate science, J. Paul Brown should examine some legitimate scientific literature and consider the future of our corner of the state.
Peter Veals
Salt Lake City
Editor’s note: Peter Veals, a 2007 Durango High School graduate, is an atmospheric scientist and Ph.D. candidate at the University of Utah.
