In “Climate science or climate science fiction?” (FCJ, Monday, May 27, 2019), Jeff Erding recycles debunked anti-climate change disinformation. In his article, he states, “Here are some facts to consider, research them on your own.” I have, and this is what I found: Every single one of the facts Erding states is blatantly false or misleading. The article from the Washington Post of November 2, 1922, is real, but the article has little to do with climate change. As snopes.com, a leading internet myth-busting site states, “As interesting as this nearly century-old article might be from a modern perspective, however, it isn’t substantive evidence either for or against the concept of anthropogenic global warming. As documented elsewhere the warming phenomena observed in 1922 proved to be indicative only of a local event in Spitzbergen, not a trend applicable to the Arctic as a whole.” For readers who are unfamiliar with Snopes, it has been independently verified by the International Fact-Checking Network (IFCN), which lists its core principles as: “non-partisanship and fairness, transparency of sources, transparency of funding and organization, transparency of methodology, and open and honest corrections policy.” The Washington Post article example is just one of Erding making misleading claims. I don’t know whether Erding is duping us, or has been duped himself, but in any event his claims should be treated with extreme skepticism.
Kim A. Stelson
College of Science and
Engineering Distinguished
Professor
University of Minnesota
Minneapolis and Lanesboro, Minn.
Kim Wentworth says
Lil prof: the love you show in snopes.com is laughable at best. A couple examples: the story on the head of HUD, Dr. Ben Carson. A article was run saying he had ordered $31,000 in New furnishings. Snopes said “true”. The story was a lie. Later at the end of the same article, direct quotes backup Carson. In the article snopes references both NYTIMES, guardian. How do you explain that?? Sounds like trash writing (libtard) format.
When the claim that bill and hitlery had to return $200,000 in stolen furniture, art pieces, and China snopes said “mostly false”. The only argument that supported clintons was that the estimated value was too high in the story, WOW. What the heck does that have to do with the act of the theft? But it’s billy and hitlery, snopes in support.
I don’t know what part of your title is “distinguished” but keep trying I guess.