This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2013, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Ed Firmage's op-ed, "Theaters, prisons, and denial" (Opinion, March 22), and the editorial "Not Stewart: Utah congressman denies reality" (Our View, March 23) both have a worthy point about "climate change," but they undermine their message by making unnecessary extreme and patently false claims, thereby undermining their credibility and persuasiveness.
Their demonstrably false claims are: (a) " climate change is 100 percent man-made. And there is good science to say that it is 100 percent solvable" (Firmage), and (b) "Humans are causing the uniquely rapid climate change" and there are "virtually no credible scientists who dispute this" (editorial).
Climate change has been going on since the beginning of our atmosphere, and it will continue after we are dead. Climate change happens — continuously — with or without us.
While the preponderance of evidence favors the idea of some human contribution to global warming (only one form of climate change) and might even constitute the straw that broke the camel's back, it is hardly the only significant factor. Nor is it true that all relevant scientific experts agree with the editorial's assertion.
Allen Lambert
Ithaca, N.Y., and Provo