Page M4 March 21, 1990. This Week ‘Dr. Tomorrow piece creates confusion on global warming’ SIR: I was amazed to read your Feb. 28 Future Watch article in which Frank Ogden suggests that “global warming might not be all bad.” Whether this suggestion is true or false, his words can only be confusing to people attempting to understand the huge problem of the environ- ment and how they can affect it in a more friendly manner. Even if the potential peril posed by global warming is overstated by the current liter- ature, all of the measures pro- posed to offset the effects are appropriate and beneficial to our society. Nothing is gained by suggesting that these meas- ures are unnecessary, and the confusion that results is akin to that produced by disavowals of the holocaust. Roger W. Smeeth 800 Yates St. Victoria ‘Nothing irrational about fearing nukes or greenhouse effect’ SIR: In the column Future Watch Frank Ogden seems to feel that concern over nuclear war or the greenhouse effect is simple paranoia. The world’s 50,000 odd nuclear weapons are very real, Mr. Ogden, and there is nothing irrational about being afraid of them. Concerns about the greenhouse effect are based on scientific evidence and are thus quite tational. Dr. Tomorrow has managed to oversimplify the issue of the possible global warming trend to the point where he has concluded that everything will be fine and that global warm- ing should be encouraged, ty- phoons, hurricanes, monsoons raising sea level and all. He states “this alleged global warming trend has not been sufficiently and scientifically proven.” Dr. Tomorrow reveals to us that he must have slept through some of his science classes if he believes that any- thing can be scientifically prov- en. Science only provides evi- dence for hypotheses or theo- ries, never absolute certainty. There are several factors which affect a planet’s temper- ature. The albedo (the amount of sunlight it reflects back into space) is one major factor, and it is one which can be subject to change during periods of in- creased or decreased glaciation or cloud cover. Also, all available scientifi- cally gathered evidence indi- cates that infrared absorbing gases (commonly called “green- house gases”) affect the tem- perature of a planet. The use of fossil fuels and destructive forestry practices produces roughly seven billion tons of CO2 each year, much of which accumulates in the at- mosphere. There is no scientific evidence which contradicts this. Carbon dioxide is a gas which absorbes infrared light, thus it is a “greenhouse gas” and thus it affects the tempera- ture of the Earth. Again there is absolutely no scientific evi- dence which contradicts this. There is a great deal of evi- dence that past increased cli- mactic temperatures have been associated with naturally in- creased quantities of COQ. The present scientific contro- versy about global warming is not over whether or not the “greenhouse effect” is real: it’s about whether or not the other factors which affect the Earth’s temperature will make man- kind’s enhancement of green- house effect insignificant. Slight warming of the Earth’s atmosphere and oceans may actually be more danger- ous than some studies now indicate. The oceans contain roughly 36 quadrillion tonnes of carbon in the form of dis- solved CO2 and biomass. If the oceans warm up they will like- ly release much of their CO2 into the atmosphere creating a “positive feedback system” which would augment the greenhouse effect even more. Perhaps the most significant point missed in Dr. Tomorrow's desert greening concept is that increased oceanic tempera- tures will almost certainly cause massive decreases in the amounts of algae and phytop- lankton. Fossil fuels are dangerous to recover from the ground, dan- gerous to transport, and dan- gerous to burn. The use of fossil fuels kills many more people every few hours than were killed at the Chernoby! acci- dent. The environmental de- struction caused by the use of fossil fuels (oil spills for one example) is nothing short of devastating. There are many economically viable non-fossil fueled energy options which mankind is perfectly capable of utilizing. Thus, even if the greenhouse effect was pure “humbug,” there are perfectly rational reasons for us to de- crease our use of fossil fuels. Karl Johanson 4129 Carey Rd. Victoria LETTERS : PHYSIOFIELD FOR PAIN JI Do you want relief trom your pain? J Are you seeking an alternative to drugs? 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