To the editor:

Mr. Phil Drietz (re: It’s a cyclic thing. Dec. 20) claims that all the changes we’re seeing in our climate and our planet are cyclical, meaning that what’s happening now has happened over and over again throughout the eons. With this assertion, he uses volcanic activity as evidence.

So, let’s do a little math real quick. Estimations of CO2 expelled from all volcanic activity on Earth are from 130 million tons to 440 million tons per year. Estimations of CO2 produced through human activity currently stands around 40-50 billion tons per year. So, volcanic activity would have to increase by at least 100-fold to get close to what humans are doing.

Next, I’ll ask a simple question: Has volcanic activity increased by at least 100 times in the past 250 years? No, it hasn’t. It would be obvious to everyone.

What has happened in the past 250 years is the clearcutting of about a third of Earth’s forests, trillions of trees. Trillions of tons of carbon rich fossil fuels were dug up and burned, releasing millions of years’ worth of CO2 and other gases stored within these long-deceased life-forms in the span of just a couple centuries.

Will the continued excessive use of these fuels lead to the end of humanity? No, it won’t. But it will lead to more people getting cancers, diseases, and birth defects. It will lead to a warmer Earth which will burden future generations with the challenges that creates. It will continue to poison the air, water, animals, plants and the Earth itself, which we all rely on for survival. So, as Mr. Drietz uses his personal beliefs to twist the science in a way that suits his narrative, it won’t change the science or reality. Science and reality do not care about our partisan ideologies.

We have the technology, the tools, and the resources to drastically lessen the need to use fossil fuels to generate electricity in just a few decades. And if you think we Americans would sacrifice our national security, our economic edge or anyone’s personal freedoms to achieve this goal, you’re living in a fantasy world.

Anthony Studemann

Marshall