I find Emmett Bailey’s letter on climate change particularly interesting as he began the historical journey with the time of the Civil War. Had he gone back to the 300-year period ending at the time of the Civil War, he would have been confronted with what may be the most uncomfortable question for our current global warming scientists to confront: What caused the Little Ice Age? How did man and other animals contribute to about 150 years of lower and lower temperatures? There was no Industrial Revolution turned on its ear, for example. Conversely, what did we do to cause the recovery of warmth over the next approximately 150 years? There was no Industrial Revolution evolving.

Don’t get me wrong. The piece was refreshingly upbeat and optimistic. We need more of that. It’s just that there is so much misinformation and guesswork leading to misguided and economy-wrecking actions. For example, if a floating ice formation starts melting, the ocean level will fall, not rise. You can prove that with a mixture of ice and water in your glass, or remember your high school lesson on densities.

Maybe what the scientists are trying to tell us is: We have tried to connect the Little Ice Age with high incidents of solar flares but have not enough old data. We believe that a severe change in climate patterns can be caused by one thing one time and something else another time, such as the Industrial Revolution and its burning of fossil fuels. That sounds wishy-washy to some people who want to hear or read something more solid before taking a chance of destroying our economy, lowering our standard of living and weakening our nation’s posture against our adversaries.