Alan Yoder’s letter to the editor (Herald, Sept. 19) is unbelievable, as it should be.
He is making a political argument on behalf of J. Paul Brown. Both are skeptics about global warming (Yes, it’s all right to use this term if we are referring to the constant and unrelenting increase in global temperature). Yoder and Brown try to convince you, the residents of Durango, that the warming is not occurring, and that human interference with our environment should be of little concern.
The mean global temperature constantly and dramatically increased since the year 2000, continuing the steady rise seen throughout the 20th century. Fifteen of the 16 hottest years ever recorded occurred since 2000, and this year, 2016, is set to break all records. Google this information as suggested by Yoder, but as always, be careful of the websites you choose.
All of you, other than Yoder and Brown, are wise enough to use only “peer reviewed” scientific articles. I suggest you go to a NASA or NOAA source, e.g., the Goddard Institute for Space Science or the University of Alabama Huntsville. I assure you these are not rigged data sets and have not been altered by politics.
I wish Yoder would tell us what temperature record he prefers. I agree with him that 1998 was a hot year, due in large part to the extreme El Niño that year, but it doesn’t approach what we are experiencing today. Yoder tells you that the sun is a likely cause of climate change. I can tell you categorically that is not true.
How can I be so sure?
I spent my 35-year career at the University of Colorado – Boulder studying the sun. My final venture there was launching the Solar Radiation and Climate Experiment (SORCE) in 2003, a satellite that continues today measuring the sun radiation. Google it if you like. The best minds studying the solar/terrestrial connection believe no more than 15 percent of global warming is attributable to the sun.
I agree with Yoder that we must all consider carefully our vote in November.
Gary Rottman
Durango
