Global Warming

The following article appears in the Augusta Chronicle today:


Colleges fall for global warming hype
Letter to the Editor
Saturday, May 16, 2009



I was sickened and scared when I read David Skorton's (president of Cornell University) guest column "Save economy -- stop global warming" (May 7).
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He says he represents a consortium of 600 college and university presidents representing 5 million students. He states manmade global warming is a proven fact, and that President Obama's stimulus package will save the economy and the climate. He is proud that he and 599 other university leaders are going to delude our students into the notion that their perception is the right one.

Hogwash. There is not a consensus among scientists on the cause of warming, which has reversed since the peak in 1999; the Earth's temperature has varied for 5 billion years. And there is definitely ample evidence that forced efforts to "green" our country with carbon credits, and mandatory solar and wind power goals, will be unattainable and will have horrific negative impacts on our economy for years.

But the most damage this kind of university group-think will have is to squelch the creativity of our future. Colleges are supposed to educate our children so they can investigate, evaluate and make decisions for themselves. Yes, they should teach climate science, economics, government and other basics -- but without bias. This drivel is indoctrination and an abomination to education. They should be embarrassed, and it should not be allowed.

On the Climate Commitment Web site, I was saddened to find that Bud Peterson, president of my alma mater Georgia Tech, has signed on to this social agenda. It is a travesty that the premier engineering university of the Southeast is pursuing this instead of focusing on teaching proved scientific and engineering techniques and letting Tech's graduates evaluate and confront reality.

It kills me to say "Go Dawgs," but according to the Web site, the University of Georgia's president has resisted the pressure to succumb to this politically correct organization. Good for UGA; our flagship liberal arts university is staying true to education and avoiding politics.

Steve Sheetz, Martinez