Confused science

Ms. Wasielewski's letter of Oct. 3 left me with my mouth hanging open. Her "scientific" explanation of polar warming is so garbled it is hard to know where to start sorting her out.

First, she is confused in her explanation of the former existence of "lush forests" where there are now deserts and ice. The earth, since its formation, has always undergone geological eras of changing climate. They take thousands, if not millions, of years to occur and their changes are very gradual. There was a period millions of years ago when the earth was substantially warmer and wetter and current geographical features did not exist as we know them.

Second, she obviously has also confused geographic poles and magnetic poles. She describes the geographic poles as moving. They don't. They are fixed in relation to the earth's equator. The magnetic poles do move, but they are invisible to the human eye. Neither type of pole has anything to do with the melting of Arctic and Antarctic ice.

The melting is due to increased ocean and air temperatures, a direct result of increased amounts of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. The geological eras do not explain the measurable atmospheric changes that have taken place in the last 100 years that result in global warming. It is well established that human activity, primarily in the form of burning fossil fuels and raising domesticated animals for food and by-products, is the source of the increased carbon dioxide.

In the future, please be sure to vet all letters for the accuracy of the "science" they contain. It is unfair to readers, particularly young readers, to mislead them with misunderstood or bogus "scientific" explanations.

Jamie Smith

Wheaton