I find the global warming arguments of Thomas Gale Moore presented by Joan Beck’s piece “Global warming verdict still up in the air” (Commentary, July 9) dangerously unconvincing.
Contrary to Beck’s implications, the vast majority of scientists do believe that global warming is a real phenomenon and a pressing concern. As any student of geology knows, the Earth’s climate has varied greatly over its 4.6-billion-year history, leading to episodes such as the ice age. But major differences exist between natural and anthropogenic climate changes, namely the rate of current change and the destruction of natural habitats.
In the geologic past, during periods of heating or cooling, species migrated to friendlier regions from regions that were becoming hostile to survival. Due to the incredibly rapid rate of human-induced climate change, however, and to the scarcity of natural areas, these mass migrations will be virtually impossible for most tree species. It will be difficult for trees to move through major metropolitan areas (via seed dispersal) and keep pace with global warming.
The presumption that a global warming would benefit humans is preposterous. As the icecaps melt, the oceans will flood coastal regions, around which the majority of the human population is concentrated. A warming climate will reduce the growing seasons in many regions of the world, along with destroying a vast amount of biodiversity on which human life depends. Polluting our environment with dangerous chemicals will, in the long term, not only hurt people but all creatures of this planet.
It would be ingenuous for us not to try to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. We need to stop capitulating to big business and realize that it is our duty to protect our one home, the Earth.
