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The Threat of Global Warming It cannot be denied: the science is clear on this matter, and we must act now to reduce the heat-trapping gases that cause global warming. We the People and our leaders in government and industry must make the investment in clean, renewable energy sources, fuel-efficient transportation and energy efficient technology our highest priorities. It is possible to reduce our emissions two percent per year through 2050 as called for by leading scientists. We can do it. States and local governments are already moving forward. It is time for Congress to act. We can improve the quality of the air that we breathe, the food that we eat and the water that we drink. People should not have to wear surgical masks to keep from inhaling pollutants that make them sneeze. Pregnant women should not have to avoid eating fish because of high mercury levels. We can save our planet, and if the United States is truly the world’s leader, than we must be the leader in this endeavor. A recent letter to-the-editor that I read included the Limbaughesque distortion that, “In 1998 more than 17,000 scientists signed the ‘Oregon Petition’ expressing doubt about man-made global warming. Of the signers, 2600 have climate science credentials.” However, according to the Seattle Times, many of the names were fake. The article also includes a statement by Scientific American: “Scientific American took a sample of 30 of the 1,400 signatories claiming to hold a Ph.D. in a climate-related science. Of the 26 we were able to identify in various databases, 11 said they still agreed with the petition – one was an active climate researcher, two others had relevant expertise, and eight signed based on an informal evaluation. Six said they would not sign the petition today, three did not remember any such petition, one had died and five did not answer repeated messages. Crudely extrapolating, the petition supporters include a core of about 200 climate researchers – a respectable number, though rather a small fraction of the climatological community.” The truth is that the bulk of the scientific community embraces the reality of the impact on global warming by human activity and the threat that it poses. In preparation for the 2007 G8 Summit, the statement was made by the Joint Science Academies (Brazil, Canada, China France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Russia U.K, and U.S) that, “It is unequivocal that the climate is changing, and it is very likely that this is predominantly caused by the increasing human interference with the atmosphere. These changes will transform the environmental conditions on Earth unless counter-measures are taken.” Most of the world’s reputable scientific organizations are in agreeance. It is irresponsible for our leaders in the United States not to take every conceivable action to minimize our deleterious effect on the planet. It is the People of the United States and of the world whom they must serve, not the greedy interests of the energy companies who would rapaciously deplete the earth of its natural resources and continue to derogate our habitat to greedily fill their coffers. Copyright © October 2007 Michael D. Kerrigan To learn more about what you can do to halt the advance of global warming and to save our planet visit these websites: Greenpeace Sierra Club Union of Concerned Scientists
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