Letters to the editor for Saturday, Jan. 30, 2016

Was it love at first sight? Did he repeatedly ask you out? Share your stories of love and the Nevada Appeal will publish them on Valentine’s Day. Submissions, 250 words or less, can be emailed to editor@nevadaappeal.com with the subject line “Love Stories,” or faxed to 775-887-2420, or mailed to the Nevada Appeal, 580 Mallory Way, Carson City NV 89701. Include photos if you have them. Deadline for submissions is 5 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 10.

Global warming is not yet an exact science

Al Gore predicted on Jan. 25, 2006, “Unless drastic measures to reduce greenhouse gases are taken within the next 10 years, the world will reach a point of no return.” (Chronicled by CBS News — Sundance Film Festival)

How accurate were the thermometers 100 or 200 years ago? Were readings faithfully recorded all day and night? Automatic temperature recording equipment is a recent invention.

It is insufficient to use spot temperatures on the globe to predict future global events. Carson City may have reached 75 degrees on a certain day 150 years ago, but where was that particular temperature recorded and how much of the surface area attained that temperature, and how long was that specific temperature maintained?

Not until satellites could look at the “total” globe, measure its true average temperature over time, can we use those figures to build a global model.

Also, carbon dioxide is labeled as the main culprit causing global warming. CO2 makes up about 0.03 percent of our atmosphere, water vapor (humidity) makes up between 0.1 percent and 3 percent, depending on time and location. That means water is between 3 to a 100 times as abundant while having the same effect on global warming.

The scientific method requires us to make observations, this lead theory, then we have to create a model that accurately duplicates the original observations. Until these steps are faithfully followed, the present alarm of global warming is only a theory.

Herb Jesse

Carson City