What snowpack decline in West?

Published 4:29 pm Thursday, February 14, 2008

I am writing in reference to the Feb. 1 article, “Global warming to blame for decline of snowpack in West.”

There have been many articles in The Herald about the record snowfall in the mountains throughout the West. In the Feb. 7 edition, it is noted that Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, has beaten the old mark for snowfall set in 1915-16. The same issue reports the huge amounts of snowfall in the Washington mountains. In Oregon, the snowfall in their mountains has been at record levels … the same in California. In Oregon, government officials are concerned about spring flooding due to the huge snowpack. How can you print a headline reporting that global warming is to blame for a non-existing decline of snowpack in the West when we are having record or near record snowpacks throughout the West?

My concern is that the news media is hyping up global warming by only reporting on one side of the issue. The subject article is just one example where the press is being less than honest in its reporting. I am all for a clean planet but not by using scare tactics. There are hundreds of climatologists who have a differing opinion about the reasons for global warming. Why aren’t we demanding an educational debate between the two sides? Isn’t this an important enough issue to be debated by the two sides?

I would really like to see someone in the news media take a lead role in resolving this issue. The answer is not telling the public that the noted scientists with a differing opinion than that being fostered in the press are being influenced in some conspiratorial way. Defamation of a person’s character is the worst way to solve important issues!

Please, let the debates begin.

Gerald Keenan