Letters to the Editor: Wind Power 08.11.16

Misleading Claims

Sag Harbor

August 6, 2016

To the Editor:

Three cheers for Don Matheson’s excellent “Guestwords” article on climate change. I’d like to highlight one point he makes, namely that the U.S. military regards climate change as a “threat multiplier.” In plain English, that means the changing climate will, if unchecked, make defending our country much more difficult than it otherwise would be. The last time I looked, our armed services weren’t populated by a bunch of liberal scientists conspiring to fool the public. If you don’t believe the scientists and you don’t believe the generals and admirals either, then I guess I can’t help you.

I’m sure the climate deniers will be writing in to you. Therefore, I’d like to expose their method of operation, which is quite simple. First, make a true statement. Second, draw a false conclusion. Here are three examples taken from my memory bank.

A retired professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology said the following on video: “We can’t predict weather a week in advance. How can we predict climate decades into the future?” As an M.I.T. graduate myself, I could only wince. This man may have been a scientist or engineer of some kind, but he wasn’t a climate scientist. If he were, he’d have known the simple answer. Climate isn’t weather; it’s average weather. If I’m in a roomful of people, I can’t predict with any confidence how long any one of them will live. However, by considering their ages and apparent states of health, I can make a pretty good estimate of how long they will live on average. Again, weather and climate aren’t the same thing. Case closed.

Another howler was the publication in National Geographic of a report by a Russian scientist that Mars is warming. No one’s burning fossil fuels on Mars, so if Mars is warming, too, then Earth’s warming is probably not caused by human activity. Rush Limbaugh made a lot of hay out of this. Well, the Russian scientist was reporting on just three sites over a limited period of time. When the data from all available sites were considered, it turned out that the average temperature on Mars wasn’t changing.

A third example was a letter that appeared some time ago right here in The Star, in which the writer pointed out that the percentage of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere of Mars is much greater than it is on Earth, and yet Mars is cold. That’s true, but the atmosphere of Mars is more than a hundred times thinner than that of Earth, which severely limits its heat-trapping ability. The climates of Earth and Mars are both consistent with greenhouse gas theory.

Unfortunately, these misleading claims keep popping up. Though they are often naively believed and innocently repeated, they are usually generated by people motivated by politics, greed, or worse. Knocking them down may be like playing Whack-a-Mole, but it’s something we scientists have to do. This is my contribution. 

JOHN ANDREWS

Brilliant Analysis

Hampton Bays

August 6, 2016

To the Editor:

I was moved by the brilliant analysis of the world’s climate dangers and, more important, hopeful suggestions for systemic change from Don Matheson in your Aug. 4 “Guestwords” column.

Thank you for running this piece. I hope to see many more, particularly emphasizing ways we on the East End can act to protect our precious environment — our beaches, our remaining natural lands, and our irreplaceable aquifers.

TINA CURRAN

Today’s Windmills

East Hampton

August 8, 2016

Dear David,

On Sunday, Newsday’s editorial board detailed the history of and support for Deepwater Wind’s proposed building of 15 wind turbines, 30 miles over the Montauk horizon. These turbines, today’s windmills, will return wind power to East Hampton’s 350-year history. But there is more.

In 2014, the East Hampton Town Board unanimously adopted the transformative goal that 100 percent of the town’s communitywide electricity needs shall be met with renewable energy sources by 2020. The town’s bold initiative reflects our community’s awareness that the carbon dioxide from burning fossil fuels continues to clog the earth’s atmosphere, warming the ocean, challenging the future of our town’s coastline security. The addition of wind power to a growing pool of renewable energy resources will make the town’s 100-percent goal achievable.

According to the Newsday editorial, “Despite the postponement of a vote two weeks ago, LIPA trustees are expected within weeks to approve the start of negotiations with the developer Deepwater Wind. The proposed project already has all federal approvals and is supported by East End officials.”

With the anticipated LIPA approval, according to Newsday, “the wind farm under contract to LIPA would be the largest in the nation to harness the power of ocean wind.” 

This is history! East Hampton history! Our history! Our future! 

And, according to Newsday, “That’s a powerful place to be.”

LINDA JAMES

Horrifying Scenarios

Southampton

August 7, 2016

To the Editor:

Don Matheson’s “Guestwords” (“River of No Escape”), dramatically depicts what will happen to life on earth if we don’t arrest climate change now. Droughts, famines, and floods are just a few of the horrifying scenarios.

No fewer than 31 scientific organizations recently wrote an open letter to Congress expressing their deep alarm at the rising temperatures, and asking for laws to cut carbon emissions immediately. We know that carbon dioxide in the atmosphere stays for hundreds of years. And yet, Donald Trump, a possible president of the United States, doesn’t believe in global warming.

 Evidence of climate change is all around us. Denial is not a river in Egypt.

 What are we waiting for? Time is running out.

DIANA LINDLEY

Turn Back the Tide

Orient

August 8, 2016

Dear David,

I was very encouraged that The Star offered an article about climate change detailing a realistic national solution that we can all applaud. The big payoff that Don Matheson wrote about is worth repeating. There is a bill drafted for Congressional review that would ensure a 50-percent reduction in fossil fuel emissions over a 20-year period. The pollutant fee being levied would be paid back to American households monthly for 20 years, steadily increasing from about $50 a month for a household of three. The article outlines how it is a jobs program, an economic stimulus, and a way to reduce rising health care costs. Economists who have endorsed this national solution say it creates 2.8 million jobs; small-town economies benefit the most. 

But will Congress lead? The good news is that one of our New York congressmen, Chris Gibson, has introduced a resolution acknowledging climate change and to act to stop it. It now has 13 Republican supporters, and Citizens Climate Lobby is working on more. Further, there are several bills similar to the C.C.L. Carbon Fee and Dividend proposal being introduced, with names like Managed Carbon Price Act and America’s Energy Security Trust Fund Act (H.R.. 972, H.R. 1027, H.R. 3283, H.R. 2202, H.R. 3104, H.R. 4283, S. 2399, S. 1548).

While we can all lower our carbon footprints by driving less and carpooling, turning out lights and using LED bulbs, and, close to my heart, buying from local farms to reduce “food miles,” we must all get involved in the big, number-one, top, real solution (says endorser former Labor Secretary Robert Reich on Vimeo: The Importance of Putting a Price on Carbon). To make this happen now, I’ve joined Don Matheson and our local Citizens Climate Lobby.

Together we can turn back the tide of dire predictions, including rising sea levels, and embrace a 21st-century, clean-technology, vibrant East End.

Join us!

MARY MORGAN

Carbon Tax That Works

Madison, Wis.

August 4, 2016

Dear Editor:

The scary facts in Don Matheson’s powerful article “The River of No Escape” (The Star, Aug. 4) might cause some to simply give up, even though the author offers an effective way to control the problem. Things are bad and will get worse, so why not just enjoy what we have while we can?

Well, because the longer we continue business as usual the worse things will get and the faster that will happen. It’s too late to stop climate change, but there is absolutely no justification for continuing to make it worse. The choice is between destroying civilization or keeping a climate and world that, however different from the one we know, is one worth living in. Long Islanders have more at stake than most.

I believe the prospects for the carbon fee-and-dividend are rosier than they appear. Many nations and subnational jurisdictions already have a carbon tax that works and respected economists worldwide advocate one. Bipartisan attempts to address climate change are strengthening in Congress and, depending on results in November’s elections, meaningful action is coming. Vote! And let your elected officials know you support the fee-and-dividend.

CAROL STEINHART