I feel compelled to respond to Mike Sigman’s letter (Herald, May 19) directed at “the sky-is-falling crowd.” If Sigman is expecting to see “dire effects” of climate change in 17 years, then it seems that patience may not be one of his virtues. While he does acknowledge that “climate has always changed throughout the history of the Earth,” he doesn’t seem to recognize that it could be happening now. Evidence indicates that most periods of major climate change in the past have occurred extremely slowly, often in the order of hundreds of thousands of years. The Permian mass extinction 225 million years ago is a perfect example.
Rises in atmospheric CO2 seem to have often played a significant role in many of these events. The changes to life and the environment brought on by these episodes were extremely slow, but they were dramatic. While many species went extinct, those best adapted to these changes survived to repopulate the Earth. Whether significant climate change lies ahead for us is not a decision that can be made by politicians, letter writers or TV personalities. It is not subject to polls or a vote. Obama can’t make it happen, and Fox News can’t make it go away. It is either happening, or it isn’t. Our only real choice is how we, the entire population of the Earth, choose to respond. It would be quite convenient if climate change did not exist. But if, as the scientific evidence suggests, climate change does exist, then we need to prepare ourselves for the changes ahead. Or I suppose we could just do nothing and see what happens. Good luck with that.
Donn Hicks
Durango
