I am disappointed that you chose to run such a one-sided piece as the “Being Green” article by Hannah Elliott [Herald, Oct. 4]. I do not see evidence cited to show that humans are responsible for climate change, but I do see a lot of socio-political comment.
Climate change has been happening for at least 10,000 years, since the chunk of ice, on top of what is now Pennsylvania, began melting. If the ice were still there I, for one. would not be living in Virginia but rather in the South in a warmer spot.
Added to natural warming is the cycle of sunspot activity, the next 11-year period of unprecedented radiation from the sun to the earth, with the warming of the waters off the coast of Africa, etc. Should we try to stop the sunspot activity?
Humans have contributed to the pollution load of the atmosphere and I believe we ought to clean that up. Given data collected over the next 200 years it may also be possible to conclude that humans did actually influence the climate, but that data does not exist now. The Russians are claiming global cooling, after their coldest winter in decades, which they blame on Americans.
The egocentric nature of humans, breast-beating and shouting “I did that,” has been a problem for centuries. Perhaps a Baptist team can go down to the seashore and speak to the oceans and stop the waves. Then they can take on volcanic eruptions and finally earthquakes. All of that will take great quantities of money to perform the research required, competing with research on AIDS, cancer, etc. for funding. Which is actually a kind of exploitation when you think about it.
Perhaps you read in the press that Al Gore has hired a local advertising agency to promote his book and campaign. Notice it was not a scientific lab he hired to gather scientific information, but an advertising agency.
I think you ought to stay out of politics.
Leonard Morrow, Richmond