Stop the Obama smear campaign

Dear editor:

I believe that some people are getting bent out of shape about Barack Obama’s “typical white person” comment because they can. It’s not the usual white person saying something stereotypical about blacks this time. It’s a half-black, half-white guy saying it. It just isn’t probable for Obama to be a racist against whites. That would mean he dislikes his mother and his grandparents as well. It just doesn’t make sense. Granted, he made a gaffe making that remark, but he clarified it by saying he meant people of his grandmother’s generation. There is no reason whatsoever for people to think that he made that comment on purpose. In regards to the Rev. Wright, there are videos on YouTube, put up by Trinity United Church of Christ, that show that Wright was indeed taken out of context. There were things said in those 30-second clips that should not have been said, but to define a man with a 30-year career with clips is absurd. Do your research, Ted Hamilton, and learn to look at the entire picture instead of participating in the smear campaign against Obama.

Ranisha Dixon

English major

Scientists do believe in global warming

Dear editor:

This is in response to the column published by Matthew White:

The gist of Mr. White’s opinion column, titled “Some scientists cool to global warming theory,” in Monday’s Stater is that there exists widespread dissension in the scientific community regarding global climate change. He argues that climate change proponents invoke images of “polar bears on shrinking ice caps” to appeal to the emotions of the general public.

One immediate hole in White’s argument is that the scientific community has come to a broad consensus on global climate change. The acclaimed International Panel on Climate Change, consisting of thousands of scientists from more than 130 countries, issued a report last year which details their findings of 19 years on the subject of climate change. The conclusions of the report are that warming of the climate is unequivocal, this warming is likely caused by the activities of man and that the consequences of such warming will be far reaching and costly to counteract. The IPCC shared the Nobel Peace Prize with Al Gore last year for their work.

Mr. White argues that climate change skeptics are “struggling against a movement that’s driven by ideology rather than facts, by emotion rather than logic.” The aforementioned IPCC report is a prime example of a fact based report on which climate change proponents base their opinions. Historically, it has been the critics of climate change theory whose arguments rest in ideology rather than on facts. Indeed, there is little peer reviewed scientific literature which supports the position Mr. White takes.

Mr. White says that it is unlikely that corporations are conspiring to downplay the problem of climate change. Unfortunately, again Mr. White is incorrect. Major corporations have a large monetary stake in regulations which would make the cost of doing business higher. Since any action to reduce the impact of business on our climate is certain to be expensive, it is easy to see why they would be interested in perpetuating the belief that humans are not the cause of climate change or that it even exists. It should be noted that the Heartland Institute, which Mr. White mentions in the article as being “unaffiliated with any political party, business, or foundation,” is affiliated with big business. Members of this organization also represent General Motors, ExxonMobil, and Philip Morris. In the past, the Heartland Institute has been involved in, among other things, limiting restrictions on smoking.

Certainly, there is bound to be a difference in opinion on the matter of climate change. One although must weigh the available evidence for both sides (as well as who is making such claims) and make a decision on what they choose to believe. In the case of climate change, the evidence clearly points to man having an impact on our environment. It is Mr. White who should look into what the other side is saying.

Jeremy Neal

Chemical physics major