This page was last updated on May 23, 2017.
Don’t be misled; global warming is real; Thomas Loxley; Beaver County Times; May 22, 2017.
Previous Thomas Loxley (TL) letters I reviewed were “Immigration and defense polices are contradictory,” “Putin plans to destroy America from within,” “Can Americans accept the challenge of democracy,” “Will GOP overreach destroy the party,” “Election interference demands a runoff” and “Cracker plant will turn Beaver into Stinkville.”
Below is a detailed critique of the subject letter.
“Any global-warming doubters need only consider the rising sea level. Although it only rose 5 inches in the 20th century, this is steadily increasing with the global temperature.”
[RWC] It appears TL didn’t get the memo. Manmade global warming (MGW) believers have been embarrassed too many times by weather colder than they expected. As a result, they have mostly switched from talking about MGW to talking about climate change.
TL throws a lot of assertions around but doesn’t cite his sources. After about five minutes of Googling, it appears TL mashed up a bunch of stories then mixed them with his imagination.
Please read my paper “Manmade Global Warming.”
“The melting of ice deposits on land make the sea level rise as the water flows down to the sea. If all of the ice currently on land melted tomorrow, it would rise 200 feet. Low-lying cities, such as Miami, and many island nations are already facing major flooding problems.”
[RWC] Actually, “If all of the ice currently on land melted tomorrow,” the sea level would rise more than 200 feet. TL’s 200-feet rise is only from Antarctica land ice. Greenland would contribute up to another 60 feet, then there’s all the melt from ice/snow-covered mountains. I’ll bet TL would be upset he understated the sea-level rise.
“The scariest reality today lies in the threat posed by the melting of the Greenland ice sheet. Many don’t realize that temperatures are rising in the Earth’s polar areas at a rate twice as fast as in mainland America. Moreover, the ice sheet doesn’t rest on solid land. Instead, it compromises a unique ice bridge straddling three islands hidden from view.”
[RWC] I wonder if TL ever asked himself why a large, snow-and-ice-covered island mostly in the Arctic Circle was named “Greenland.”
If TL is correct that “the ice sheet doesn’t rest on solid land,” what’s the problem? As little kids know – let alone a “senior engineer” like TL, when floating ice melts it doesn’t cause the water level to rise.
“The rapid melting of this ice has scientists worried because they can’t see what’s happening underneath and have no way of gauging its structural integrity. NASA satellites have now recorded ominous cracks running around the coast and across the heart of Greenland. Should this ice bridge collapse dramatically into the sea, it would send a tsunami headed straight for New York City and raise the sea level by 6 feet.
“This could literally happen tomorrow and President Trump wants you to think it’s all a hoax. Think about it. How would we cope with all of the global-warming refugees then headed our way?”
[RWC] “This could literally happen tomorrow?” People like TL don’t help their cause with fearmongering and hysteria.
Why would “global-warming refugees … [head] our way?” Didn’t TL assert “Low-lying cities, such as Miami, … [are] already facing major flooding problems?”
© 2004-2017 Robert W. Cox, all rights reserved.