Regarding the Wednesday letter, “Gov. Perry right; media shallow“: The writer states that “man-made” climate change does not deserve the label “established science”.
Most of us reality-based humans have encountered a fair number of climate-change skeptics. They’re usually clutching some tattered study about tropospheric temperatures from six years back, or muttering about sun flares, but they’re almost never carefully weighing the actual current science. The wellspring of their skepticism lies not in chemistry or physics but in ideology, and their syllogism goes something like this:
Markets solve all problems.
Markets are not solving global warming.
Therefore, global warming is not a problem.
This proof has certain logical shortcomings, beginning with the fact that it’s illogical. But it is emotionally comforting. For those who wanted to stop thinking about politics, responsibility, morality, science and all that stuff, the advent of Reagan-era market fundamentalism was a godsend and anything that threatens to disrupt it is an identity-challenging tilt of the psychic pinball machine.
Matt Linder
Freeland
Talk to us
- You can tell us about news and ask us about our journalism by emailing newstips@heraldnet.com or by calling 425-339-3428.
- If you have an opinion you wish to share for publication, send a letter to the editor to letters@heraldnet.com or by regular mail to The Daily Herald, Letters, P.O. Box 930, Everett, WA 98206.
- More contact information is here.
