In his column published Jan. 11, Cal Thomas uses verbal tactics similar to those made popular by the current administration and others who want to deny or bend the truth, or at least claim to present their opinion as truth, by branding opponents to their way of thinking with some demeaning term. In this case, Thomas brands those who accept the overwhelming science behind climate change as a “cult,” when, in fact, that term would be better applied to climate-change deniers. Much like those who believe the world to be flat, the conclusions fly in the face of scientific analysis.

Sure, scientists can be found who support anyone’s beliefs, especially if their conclusions are taken out of context or their findings are applied to a small piece of the puzzle. Thomas did just that when he quoted meteorologist Roy Spencer to point out that global temperatures declined for the past two years, implying global warming was not real. Any intelligent person would know two years does not make a trend in geological history.

Ironically, the New York Times published an article on the same day quoting from an article in the Journal of Science that ocean temperatures are warming 40 percent faster than estimated five years ago. Oceans absorb 93 percent of the heat trapped by greenhouse gasses, according to the article, which makes the rest of the globe appear to be warming more slowly.

Ocean warming can have as great an impact on our lives (and our economy) as what we narrowly argue as climate change (the temperatures we feel). Food supplies are affected by the death of coral reefs and warmer ocean temperatures may lead to more powerful ocean storms, causing more damage (and more taxpayer money to repair that damage).

People need to think about the “truth” as it is presented by any extremist on either side of the political spectrum before accepting as fact what is simply an unproven belief.

Robert Limoges, Poland

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