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Apparently trying to be cute, another climate change denier quoted Chicken Little as the basis for his disbelief in climate science (Letters, March 16). In this case, the writer refers to past beliefs in a flat Earth and an impending ice age in 1979 to deny the validity of the current and best science on climate change. He also dismisses the consensus of 97 percent of scientists that global warming is a grave threat to our planet but provides no real basis for his doubt.
What this reader does not seem to understand is that, fortunately, science constantly improves and is peer reviewed to speed up the process. Thus, scientists know a lot more in 2017 than they did in 1979.
He also dismisses the potential effects of increasing carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere because those levels are "trace," failing to understand the fundamental "radiative forcing" property of carbon dioxide, other trace gases and cloud cover in creating the greenhouse effect.
It appears that some people will always cast doubt on the best science and debating with them is like arguing with a chair.
Barry Solomon
Waikapu