Editor, Gazette-Journal:

Dr. Gregory Haugan’s letter to the editor last week, “Bad news from the scientists,” cites yet another report by Dr. James Hansen, this time warning about the “earth’s energy imbalance” (apparently the newspeak for global warming). This is more alarmist propaganda to convince the populace that we are facing a man-made catastrophe and must make extensive sacrifices and hand over our freedoms to the elites who know what is best for humanity and the earth.

Where to start—first, the false alarm. Contrary to the claims, the earth has not been warming for the past 15 years, despite continuing worldwide increases in CO2 emissions (Those my age can recall the “scientists,” as recently as 1975, issuing calamity warnings of the impending ice age).

Second, it is the variation in solar activity, augmented periodically by volcanic eruptions, that drives the earth’s temperature. Al...