Local Editorial

Global warming. World's Editorial Writers. In a video prepared for delivery to a United Nations climate change conference in Durban, South Africa, Oklahoma's Sen. Jim Inhofe declared victory in his efforts to debunk man-made global warming as a hoax. The global warming movement has collapsed and is being ignored by its biggest allies, he said. The senator's declaration of victory may be a bit premature. While he may have persuaded some people that there is no need to spend money to deal with the consequences of the increased burning of fossil fuels, the preponderance of scientific opinion is, as it has been, that Earth's climate is warming and fossil fuels use is the main culprit. To deny climate change is to ignore the evidence. Sea levels are rising and the oceans are warming. Global temperatures are rising. Glaciers are retreating and ice sheets in Greenland and the Antarctic are decreasing. All these things are happening at unprecedented rates. While there are scientists and politicians on both sides of the issue, those who see climate change as a genuine threat are mostly scientists and most of those who deny it are politicians. Even if Inhofe has "won" the debate, as he says, it is a dubious victory. The climatological consequences of global warming are already upon us. Weather extremes are becoming the norm. More intense hurricanes and resulting flooding, record-setting temperatures, drought and wildfires are all symptoms. According to the U.N.'s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, "Scientific evidence for warming of the climate system is unequivocal. Disbelieving or discounting the facts simply delays the time when the nations of the world will take the steps necessary to address the issue..