Letter writer Michael Coughlin seems confused about the phenomenon called “global warming” (Voice of the people, June 10).
I understand his confusion.
This was a lousy name to use, but calling it “global pollution” probably wouldn’t have been politically correct.
The gases we have been releasing into the atmosphere cause the Earth to trap more heat.
What the atmosphere does with all that extra heat energy gets real complicated real quick.
Scientists are now studying the possibility that global warming will trigger the next ice age. I don’t know how amused we will be if 10 or 15 years from now we are shoveling snow in July and calling it “global warming.”
The bottom line is that our climate is going to get unpleasant in the upcoming years and will continue that way for several decades after we quit pumping all those hydrocarbons into the atmosphere.
I work in the auto industry and when folks quit driving, I’ll quit eating. But I have to admit, every time one of us starts a car, we are adding to the problem.
