I would implore VTDigger to refuse to publish commentaries with dangerous misinformation like the one written by Meg Hansen (“Bad policy begets worse; repeal Global Warming Solutions Act”).
Meg says “Serious critics … believe that Earth’s complex dynamical system of temperature is influenced by multiple factors rather than controlled by CO2 alone.” It is true that, over short time spans, multiple factors influence temperature and climate, but climate scientists have eliminated the possibility that anything other than the buildup of greenhouse gases influences the long-term temperature trend of the planet.
She says serious critics “disagree with the claims of imminent apocalypse, which originate from faulty computer models that have never accurately predicted any catastrophic occurrence.” No one is predicting imminent collapse. Rather, the problem is that what we do now will lock in catastrophe in the coming decades. Her claim of faulty computer models is nonsense.
On our present course, coral reefs will disappear, cities will flood, breadbaskets that feed the world will shrivel under withering drought, ecosystems will fail. In short, our children will suffer tremendous loss.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change bluntly states that “climate change is a threat to human well-being and planetary health. Any further delay in concerted anticipatory global action on adaptation and mitigation will miss a brief and rapidly closing window of opportunity to secure a livable and sustainable future for all.”
The falsehoods in Meg Hansen’s piece could lead some to question the fact of the climate crisis, making it even more difficult to preserve the hope of a livable future for our children and future generations.
Andrew Chalnick
South Burlington
