This letter is in response to “Many inaccuracies during Colorado River Basin talk,” (published Sept. 23 in the Summit Daily News).
The letter, written by Terry Thoem, is in poor taste and without justification. Thoem states, “His many inaccurate statements and omissions of pertinent facts about global climate change gave the attendees a false, biased picture of the extent of the climate change issue.” Seriously? Brad Udall gave an excellent presentation of a very complex topic with a wealth of information in a 1 1/2 hour time period.
Thoem goes on to list what he deems to be inaccuracies.
Udall: The planet is warming.
Thoem: “There have been two warming periods and two cooling periods in the past 100 years. CO2 concentrations have steadily increased; hence, no correlation.”
Thoem’s statement is not credible because it is a conclusion drawn from an oversimplification with no basis.
Udall: Hurricanes are getting more intense.
Thoem: “Udall claimed that hurricane Harvey dropped 60 inches of rain on Houston because the atmosphere is juiced because of climate change. Totally false. The amount of rain from a hurricane is primarily a function of the speed of movement. Harvey moved very slowly at 2 mph.”
Thoem’s statement is not credible because the amount of moisture needed to result in 60 inches of rain has to be in the atmosphere — regardless of the speed of movement.
Udall: China is conforming to the Paris agreement.
Thoem goes on to conclude, “The audience was left with the biased, inaccurate view of the extent of the global climate change issue.”
It is unreasonable that Thoem speaks for the audience regarding their take on Udall’s presentation. It appears that Thoem is the one who is biased and inaccurate.