CLIMATE: Ask those affected if it matters

I’d like to respond to the letter from Barry McElmurray concerning climate change.

Barry is apparently unaware that the glacial maximum of 20,000 years ago is only 11° F. Colder than today’s global average.

He thinks a few degrees makes no difference. Sorry, Barry. The 20,000+ published climate scientists in the world disagree with you.

He also dismisses the rate of change as a critical aspect of global temperatures, something which is often ignored when climate change is discussed.

The real offense of his letter is the tone of “so what if it’s warmer?”

Ask 40 million Americans who depend on the Colorado River for water if 27 years of drought in the west matters.

Ask midwestern farmers if 100 degree temperatures really matter that much for crop yield.

Ask any climatologist if precipitation falling as rain instead of snow in the arctic has ANY effect on the climate of North America, or the jet stream, or its fire danger, or its food production, or it’s frequency of severe weather events.

Ask any forester if excessively high temperatures have any effect on forest fire intensity and frequency.

Ask any family member of the 10,000 people in Europe who died in the first days of July if a few degrees mattered.

This “So what, I don’t care” attitude is just so typical of Americans, but that’s because the adherence to political rhetoric promoted by non-scientists is always easier than understanding the science and history of climate change. Get an education.

DAN STRAYER

Bonners Ferry