“Global warming” is not in itself a science, true. It is the conclusion reached by meteorologists and contrary to Goodrich’s assertions, 97 percent of all peer-reviewed climate science papers that state a position agree that global warming is occurring and is human-caused. The equations that predict warming from greenhouse-gas increases are as valid as the equations that describe gravitational force and the speed of light.

Last year’s growth in Arctic ice looks dramatic only when expressed as a percentage. Despite its climb from 2012’s record lows, this year had the sixth-lowest Arctic Sea ice extent on record. We can’t determine whether Arctic ice is truly recovering until we have many more years of data, but everything we know suggests last year’s increase is because of natural variability, and the overall downward trend is unchanged.

It’s true that anthropogenic carbon dioxide is a small percentage of the total. But natural emissions are balanced by natural absorption. The steady increase in human-caused emissions have thrown off this balance. And carbon dioxide is not the only greenhouse gas we are adding to the atmosphere.

La Plata Electric Association’s directors have confirmed that the base rate increases of 2012 and 2013 were unrelated to climate-change policy. Base-rate increases are opposed by environmentalists as this discourages conservation and alternate-energy generation.

While a warmer world will certainly have some benefits, as Thompson suggests, negative effects on agriculture, health and the environment far outweigh the positives. Increased flooding and worsened droughts will disrupt irrigation, and tropical areas may have lower yields and more crop failures because of too-high temperatures. Drinking water supplies, particularly from glacial sources, will diminish. Malaria and other mosquito-borne diseases will spread. As carbon dioxide dissolves, acidifying the ocean, reefs will die, affecting the fish and so on up the food chain.

Finally, Goodrich is wrong that no climate scientists write to the Herald. I’m one.

Ilana Stern

Durango