Detroit News Rebuttal: Global warming science remains solid
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
http://detnews.com/article/20091215/OPINION01/912150317
Rebuttal: Global warming science remains solid
Daniel Howes’ recent column (“Obama uses fear to push climate goals,”
Dec. 8) on global warming is way off the mark. Global warming science remains solid, and the urgency of the problem demands swift action.
The controversy over scientists’ stolen e-mails doesn’t change the fact that nearly 2,500 scientists in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and 18 U.S. scientific institutions have concluded that human-caused climate change is occurring and significantly impacting on our environment.
In Michigan, more than 150 scientists signed a letter urging our legislators to protect people and the planet from the worst of climate change by limiting global warming emissions. The science is clear and the evidence continues to mount: 2000 to 2009 has been the warmest decade on record. Despite a cool year in the Midwest, 2009 is projected to be the fifth hottest on record. Polar ice is at its lowest ever recorded levels.
The sense of urgency from the Obama administration is not to pull the wool over our eyes but is an acknowledgment of the problem’s scope and an effort to make up for lost time. In the 50 years since scientists first recognized the potential of human activity to warm the Earth, evidence of the perils of unchecked emissions has grown dramatically stronger. Policymakers, however, have been slow to respond. Federal legislation and an international agreement to reduce global warming emissions have been a very long time coming.
The good news is that we can solve this crisis, and Michigan can lead the way. Our state stands to benefit from manufacturing the high-speed rail cars, advanced batteries, electric vehicles, solar panels, and wind turbines that will help us transition to a low-carbon economy. We need near-term action to get there, not “head in the sand” partisan obstinacy.
Alvin M. Saperstein , Professor of physics, Wayne State University, Detroit
J. David Allan , Professor of natural resources and environment, University of Michigan
Knute Nadelhoffer , Professor of ecology and evolutionary biology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
