In November, there was a letter attacking Mike Sigman (Letters, Herald, Nov. 7) I did not have space to address. It was from Tom Wishon (Letters, Nov. 13), who is wrong on so many levels. Conservatives do not deny global warming. In fact, we are grateful for the warming that has taken place since about 1850 because it was cold from about 1300 until then. It just happens more conservatives are skeptics than believers.
Wishon, quoting a Herald article (Nov. 7), went on: “the lead article reported ... that carbon dioxide content in the Earth’s atmosphere was recently measured at its highest level in centuries. The story went on to confirm that higher CO2 levels come from fossil-fuel emissions, known to contribute to atmospheric warming.”
We skeptics either do not believe that carbon dioxide has contributed to warming, or, if it has, we believe it is a minuscule amount of warming and cannot be expected to be a problem in the future. We do not believe the climate is nearly as sensitive to atmospheric CO2 as the alarmists would have us believe and that perhaps there is no CO2 sensitivity.
Wishon goes on: “...what’s the downside of working to reduce the amount of CO2 in the air? Isn’t it obvious to anyone that a centuries-high level of CO2 is just not a good thing and needs to be reduced?” It’s certainly not obvious to me! Pray tell, what is it that is obviously not good? There are so many benefits of higher levels of CO2. In combination with moisture and sunlight, in the process known as photosynthesis, CO2 builds plant matter humans eat as does the livestock that we eat.
Among the world’s poorest, the combination of warming and increased CO2 has resulted in higher standards of living. Their protein and caloric intake have both risen. That’s a benefit of increased CO2 and temperature.
George Thompson
Durango
