Trending
To the editor:
In the Independent on Dec. 1, Mr. Phil Drietz of Delhi submitted a letter.
In martial arts, students learn to use their opponents strength against them. Mr. Drietz attacks science by using data provided by science. And, like a stage magician, he misdirects our attention away from the real science to help him make his point.
Mr. Drietz lists the amounts of water vapor, carbon dioxide, and methane in the atmosphere. But he avoids discussing the effects of each of these gases.
The percentage of water vapor in the atmosphere is hundreds of times that of carbon dioxide. The greenhouse effect of all the water vapor is only about five times the effect of all the carbon dioxide. All the methane is six times as effective as all the water vapor.
Even if we ignore that math, there is very little we can do to control the amount of water vapor in the atmosphere. We can have significant effects on the amounts of carbon dioxide and methane. Much of those gases are present in the atmosphere due to human activity. Humans can change those activities. We can limit the human activity effect on global warming.
Mr. Drietz pretends to be interested in providing valid information. He should be less interested in pushing his personal agenda. He could look at the changing the effects of human activity. Instead, he promotes the business-as-usual approach that got us into this problem.
Harold Shuckhart
Minneota