Editor:

I’m writing in response to Anastasia Niedrich’s column (“Be Proactive, Earth can’t take the heat,” July 9). Some corrections for her column are as follows:

“Some scientists believe that the Earth is flat.” False. Flat-Earth theorists are not regarded as scientists because their basis for their argument lies in antiquated 15th century biblical scholarship ideals and not modern physical or life science theory.

“Most scientists agree that climate change does exist and that it’s an epidemic that must be resolved in the next few years if we are to survive.”

False. The scientific community is about evenly split on the cause, and on whether or not it’s an epidemic or just part of a normal cyclical pattern. It’s just that scientists who believe global warming is most directly attributed to human-related causes are the only ones who get real media attention — therefore the general public thinks the scientific community is in almost full agreement on this issue.

“You owe it to yourself to see this movie, and research other opinions and evidence on the subject so that you can hear what various sides of the argument have to say.” No one should owe it to themselves to see any blatantly one-sided movie about global warming made by a man whose electric bill is higher than my annual income.

“The film was a sobering confirmation of my conclusions about the global climate change crisis.” Two things. First, if you need a film to confirm your own conclusions, you should not be talking about scientific thought. Second, in the ’70s the world experienced another global crisis, but it was a global cooling scare. American media brought the hype to the public and people were told to burn fossil fuels more often and longer in order to prevent an ice age.

Jonathon YoungSophomore, Asian Studies and History