Dear Editor:
A Pew Research Center analysis in late 2013 found 60 percent of the public accepts the idea that "humans and other living things have evolved over time." Thirty percent reject evolution.
Currently 54 percent of self-identified Republicans reject evolution. In 2009 that number was only 43 percent. There are no new facts about this most accepted scientific finding. The only difference from then and now is the election of a black Democratic President. Rejecting science has become a tribal tenant in the Republican Party for political reasons.
A series of Republican letters recently in this paper on man-made climate change which is accepted science among climate scientists demonstrates the injection of politics, tribalism and religion in treating science as mere speculation.
Steve Sampson needs to check his lesson plan. Theory is only step one. It is followed by gathering data, revealing conclusions and peer review. Based on these procedures, 2,000 plus international climate scientists (IPPC) have warned policymakers that man-made climate change is an alarming problem. It is a fact now, no longer theory.
Why is one of America's major political parties pitting itself against scientific knowledge? The simple answer is its constituents are averse to dealing with reality and nature. It's inconvenient to their beliefs.
The buffoonish Oklahoma Senator Inhofe says climate change is a hoax because it would cost too much. It's like saying a cancer diagnosis is a hoax because it will cost too much. Both findings could kill you.
Who understands authority? Would you get a second opinion on a cancer diagnosis from an optometrist? Apparently Nelson Otto would. His letter of Jan. 29 says a new study of scientists (two precisely) reveals the earth is cooling.
Google that and you find this is reported in the Daily Caller which is a political site run by self-described Libertarian Tucker Carlson. Two German scientists who are part of the European Institute for Climate and Energy (EIKE) supply the data. EIKE has worked in conjunction with the Heartland Institute supported by the Koch brothers who are oil billionaires. They are long time John Birchers. In other words, Mr. Otto, you are seduced by politics not science.
Carbon is the problem. Tax it. Return the taxes to the public as they do in Alaska. Increase the taxes each year to a predetermined level. Industry then can plan its future. They know it's coming. The days of clowning around on this issue are numbered.
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