The island Krakatoa split apart and nearly disappeared in 1883 when the volcano Krakatoa spewed 20 million tons of sulfur into the atmosphere. The pressure wave from the explosion that broke eardrums reached 310 decibels, was heard 2,000 miles away, and traveled around the world more than three times. Ash was propelled to a height of 50 miles. The Northern hemisphere’s summer temperatures the following year were down 0.4 degrees centigrade, and Los Angeles received 38 inches of rainfall. The effects on world climate lasted several years.

Carbon dioxide in the atmosphere was lower in the 1880s than today. When earth’s temperature falls, so does the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere. Temperatures rose above NASA’s and NOAA’s arbitrary baseline (1951-1980) during World War II for the first time since records were kept (1880).

The first thing to think about is that the starting decade used for computations was abnormally cool. Volcanic eruptions are normal, and climate anomalies have been persistent throughout recorded history, so the decade used as the starting reference was cool, and not abnormally so.

A second consideration is that climate change is not affecting the planet on an even basis. NASA/NOAA agree that 2019 was the second warmest year on record worldwide, but that it was only the 34th warmest year for the contiguous U.S. Through its emissions, our nation partially creates its own weather, not climate, as do the Olympic and Amazon rainforests.

A third consideration is that identical amounts of CO2 in the atmosphere have consistently paralleled the fluctuation of earth’s temperature for the last 400,000 years. It is my contention that earth’s temperature variations are caused exclusively by orbital cycles and the Sun’s magnetic flux cycles, which all of science backs, and that changes in the amount of CO2 are the product of temperature fluctuations, not the cause of them.

Plant life is reduced in numbers during glaciations. Animal life, dependent on plant life, also diminishes. CO2 levels fall when the smaller life mass including microorganisms emits less CO2. As temperatures rise, the life mass grows larger, as does its CO2 release through respiration.

Before we throw the U.S. economy under the bus by sending fossil fuels to Asia and denying ourselves, an honest discussion, not a Democrat or Republican discussion, might be useful.

Rex Redden

South Brewster County