In his column “The catastrophe du jour” (July 6, TribLIVE), Cal Thomas offers ample servings of scientific misunderstanding spiced with unfortunate attempts at humor. He mocks everyone from King Charles to the Green Party as hapless dupes of of a conspiracy of climate “experts.”
Referring to climate predictions, he asks “whether any of them — even just one — has come true.” I can assure him that climate scientists accurately predicted more than three decades ago the nearly 2 degree Fahrenheit global temperature rise the planet has now experienced. The Canadian forest fires he cites are just one small consequence.
Thomas goes on to question the effectiveness of worldwide investments in clean energy. The same science that correctly predicted our current climate predicament shows that we would be much worse off now without this century’s rapid expansion of solar and wind power. It’s hard to imagine a wiser investment.
Thomas ends with a reference to W.C. Fields. I conclude instead with Erik Conway and Naomi Orestes. Their excellent book “Merchants of Doubt” highlights charlatans who once questioned the smoking-cancer link and now spread climate disinformation. Unfortunately, it’s all too easy for a pseudoscientific conspiracy of doubt to fool millions — including the comically gullible Cal Thomas.
Robert R. Mitchell
Murrysville