Readers Skeptical of Climate Change

The following comments reflect the views of DW-WORLD.DE readers. Not all reader comments have been published. DW-WORLD.DE reserves the right to edit for length and appropriateness of content.

Recent research by Danish and Swedish scientists are blowing the CO2 emissions theory away, demonstrating the influence of solar cycles on earth's temperature. If you don't think it's worth waiting until climate science gets this right before severely impacting industries and the developing nations, then knock yourselves out. -- John Barnes, USA

I am not a scientist so I won't dispute whether the climate is changing or not. But as a layperson who likes to gather information on the issue myself, I am becoming increasingly disturbed by the amount of information I am finding (mostly Internet sources) from competent scientists who do dispute the validity of the "scientific" findings being drawn upon as a basis for the enormous commotion that we are seeing in the world regarding climate change and CO2. I think that, if there are valid scientific concerns regarding the validity/accuracy/reliability of the IPCC scientific data, world leaders should stop and consider before deciding to commit vast sums of money to solutions which may turn out to be totally wrong. -- Rick Tachek, Germany

If you wonder why some of us are so obtuse as to be dubious of the scenarios portrayed by the media about global warming, just look at the item on your newscasts today [Dec. 13] in which a group claims that sea turtles may die out if the beaches on which they lay their eggs are inundated by rising sea levels. Oddly, sea turtles have been around for tens of millions of years, and have survived several changes in sea level before, including one at the end of the last ice age 12,000 years ago. The people making up these scenarios seem to have no idea of the geological past. If they did, they wouldn't make such stupid claims, unnecessarily adding to the hysteria about the subject. -- Douglas Ort, Thailand

Denial is a natural human response when faced with very bad news or a serious prognosis -- even when the evidence is beyond proof. Think back to the arrest and prosecution of Galileo 300 years ago when he proved that the earth revolves around the sun. It took a long while for humans to accept that their old beliefs were wrong. It normally takes around 40 years for such a transition in belief to take place. Even the most brilliant brain ever -- Albert Einstein -- took some years to accept the theory of intercontinental drift, long after other scientists were convinced. I have pity on those few remaining folks who are having trouble accepting the news [about climate change], but I won't ridicule them any more than I would ridicule a person who cannot accept the news that their loved one has deceased. Denial is a natural response to a serious crisis. -- Chris Harries, Australia