Letter to the Editor: Focus on climate change ‘totally unnecessary’

We have made climate a crisis in this country, and it is totally unnecessary. Stop with all the existential-crisis talk and wringing of the hands — humans cannot halt climate change.

The Earth is about 4.5 billion years old, and living organisms have been here for about a fraction of that time. The theory of climate change is that man is responsible for excess carbon dioxide and methane gas, which trap the sun’s radiation in the atmosphere, and these manmade greenhouse gases reflect heat back into the atmosphere, warming the planet.

Most, if not all, of the climate computer models do not take into effect the natural process that the Earth undertakes to remove excess heat and add it back as the Earth heats up and cools. Historically, we go through so-called cool and warm ages, where the Earth makes these adjustments. Man has little, if no, effect on this.

For example, one major volcanic explosion will destroy years of so-called manmade carbon saving. We have very little control over our natural cloud formations. We know that clouds can block the sun or trap its radiation, and scientists have attempted to measure and predict changes through modeling and observation. It has been proven that temperatures in the tropics have remained relatively constant, compared with changes in the tropics-to-pole temperatures. We fail to consider the Earth’s natural thermostat, which regulates the heat and cool of the Earth.

A recent study showed that high-level cirrus clouds in the tropics dissipate when temperatures rise. The thinning allows more heat to escape. This process is called “the iris effect.” When the Earth cools, the opposite occurs — increasing the cloud cover — a reverse effect on the Earth’s temperatures.

Can we stop the mandatory drive for electric vehicles?

William Witham

Dover