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Three Facts Prove Global Warming Is Happening

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: June 20, 2008

Since Lorne DeWitt apparently considers the bulk of the scientific community to be "environ-whackos," he probably doesn't really want an answer to his question as to why it was so cold in the 1940s, given global warming. But here's one anyway.

He is confusing climate and weather. Weather is local and short term. Climate is regional and long term. The weather was unusually cold in Europe during the Battle of the Bulge and the Battle of Stalingrad, but in the South Pacific, where my own father was fighting at that time, the weather was quite warm.

Sometimes the weather is warmer in Alaska than in Florida, but nobody would deny that Florida has a warmer climate than Alaska.

Global warming is, well, global.

Three clear facts lead reasonable people to believe that global warming is happening: First, it has been known for more than a century that certain gases in the atmosphere, including carbon dioxide (CO2), keep heat from escaping into space. Second, measurements show that there is more atmospheric CO2 now than there was before humans started using fossil fuels. And the amount of CO2 is increasing year to year. Third, measurements show that the Earth is heating up.

There are hotter and cooler years but the long-term trend is that the average temperature of the Earth is rising by fractions of a degree per year.

Serious people are concerned about global warming because the long-term effects are catastrophic. The short-term effects are no fun either. The simple fact that warmer air can hold more water vapor means more frequent and longer droughts, as well as more severe floods. This leads to a less reliable food supply and higher food prices (as you're about to find out very soon). It also hurts our ability to produce energy. U.S. hydroelectric output fell by 14 percent last year due to drought in the West. The diversion of water from Lake Lanier to drought stricken Atlanta threatens to shut down a nuclear power plant in Alabama. As coal and nuclear power plants require water for cooling dry rivers are a problem.

But that's nothing compared to what happens if a city runs out of drinking water.

I don't really expect any effective action against global warming. People just won't make changes to help future generations or save lives in distant lands. But it's dishonest to pretend that there is no problem. It's naive and foolish to accept the word of paid propagandists and ridicule the scientists who actually study the problem.

Dallas Dunlap

Brooksville

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