Dear Editor:
I take exception to your editorial cartoon of Dec. 16 which takes a poke at Al Gore and provides misguided ammunition for climate deniers.
As an editorial opinion piece, you are of course free to take lightly the efforts of Gore, but as a journalist I do not believe you have license to question the veracity of climate science without a clear grasp of the findings of that discipline.
Wikipedia provides the following for your discipline: "journalistic integrity is based on the principals of truth, accuracy and factual knowledge. Adherence to journalistic standards can also be of service to citizens by empowering them with the tools they need to participate in the political process."
An an ecologist, I have observed disturbing trends in our natural environment not readily explained by conventional wisdom.
Since retirement I have dug into the literature on climatology to better understand current knowledge of that discipline. The statistical proof provided makes clear that long-term trends are not random events and are therefore to be taken seriously.
There are also profound implications for me that the long-term well being of our civilization as we know it is imperiled, perhaps not for you or me, but for our children and our grandchildren, unless we act decisively now.
As one professional to another, I challenge you to rethink your editorial views for the common good.