Informant38

Global Warming Study

To the Editor:

Your March 18 news article "Study Disputes Idea on Global Warming" gives the impression that our research goes against the consensus scientific view that global warming is a serious concern. While our research does suggest that climate models are somewhat overestimating 21st-century warming, our work does not argue against the seriousness of the problem.

The predicted global warming over the 21st century is so large (up to 11 degrees Fahrenheit), and the potential effects so serious, that slight overestimates of this warming make little difference � just as reducing the size of a firing squad from 10 shooters to nine makes little difference to the person being executed. Our research should provide no comfort to those arguing against policies to combat global warming.

ANDREW E. DESSLER

KEN MINSCHWANER

College Park, Md., March 20, 2004

The writers are, respectively, an associate research scientist, Earth System Science Interdisciplinary Center, University of Maryland, and an associate professor of physics, New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology.

Copyright 2004 The New York Times Company

link from B'patch - The Village News