Howard County is near several headquarters and national centers for both NOAA and NASA, so we have many people educated in the climate, water and weather sciences. As a retiree from the NOAA National Weather Service with a background in both the weather and earth sciences, I feel obligated to respond to the Jan. 9 letter by Thomas M. Crawford, “Humans are not causing global warming.”
One of Crawford’s points — that without the small fraction of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, “worldwide temperatures would be 59 degrees Fahrenheit colder” — actually argues strongly against his case. That humans are causing the accelerating rise in planetary CO2 and other greenhouse gases, as measured at many stations such as Hawaii’s Mauna Loa Observatory, is undisputed, even by climate skeptics such as Anthony Watts. Therefore, it is clear that we humans, with our consumptive habits that aren’t always rooted in necessity, have added to Crawford’s “59 degrees.” In other words, we’ve put ourselves in a “too much of a good thing” situation for quite a while.
Crawford’s statement “man’s ‘contribution’ to total atmospheric greenhouse gases is between one tenth and one quarter of 1%” mixes apples and oranges. By including water vapor as a greenhouse gas (which it is, but holds fairly constant), the increase in greenhouse gases is made to look small. However, if water vapor were increasing over the last 200 years at the same rate as CO2 and methane (i.e., by about 50%), we’d be well on the way to a planetary sauna by now.
There are other problems with Crawford’s arguments, such as the fact that 97% of publishing climate scientists do agree that humans are causing global warming. However, a point-by-point refutation of each one isn’t likely to change anyone’s views. This is because studies are showing that the No. 1 predictor for one’s views on global warming is political affiliation, not one’s understanding of the science. Every global warming skeptic I know is politically conservative, including a few co-workers at NWS headquarters.
For those on the far political left, global warming is viewed as proof that we need to do away with the capitalist system. For those on the political right, doing anything about global warming is viewed as requiring government intrusion into our lives.
If we're honest with ourselves, politics cuts to the very core of who we are. We're all prone to giving politics higher priority in forming our views than truth, facts, and even faith. However, if we're ever going to do something about global warming, we're going to have to figure out a way to punch through political misinformation and hyperbole created by special interests.
Tim Helble
Columbia