Letter: It’s fact, not fiction

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There are many non-scientists who read about man-made global warming and are skeptical. In fact, there are just plain deniers that man has contributed to any temperature changes around the world.

In the Concord Public Library recently I found a book titled Energy for Future Presidents by Richard A. Muller, a physics professor at UC Berkeley and founder of the Berkeley Earth Surface Temperature Project. He has been active in the American Geophysical Union on climate research. Right about now, the deniers are wondering who would fund such a project. I refer them to the BEST website to find that the names Lee and Juliet Folger, Bill Gates, Charles Koch and others are listed. There is also the requirement for any BEST projects that they are funded by “unrestricted educational funds,” i.e. donors have no say over how research is conducted or what is published.

The BEST project used data from 36,866 weather stations worldwide. The data from U.S. weather stations reported one-third cooled, but two-thirds warmed. The data, which grew to 1.2 billion data points, going as far back as 1750s, when graphed versus time, clearly shows sudden dips following large volcanic eruptions. The graph also clearly shows a distinct increase in average earth surface temperature beginning around 1950.

The data, when graphed versus various other parameters, found its best fit with carbon dioxide levels. According to Muller, “The exquisite agreement between the warming and CO2 suggest that most – maybe all – of the warming of the past 250 years was caused by humans.”

Deniers are now probably suggesting alternative interpretations or what-ifs. I refer them to the book or publications of the BEST Project found at its website. I believe the BEST Project has clearly established that anthropogenic global warming is fact, not fiction.

WALT CARLSON

Concord