Climate of fear

In a letter mainly about electricity supply, Dr Charles Wardrop slips in an aside about “the unproven hypothesis of anthropogenic climate change” (Letters, 21 September).

Hypotheses cannot be proven but they can be supported by evidence; in this case the evidence is overwhelming.

Malcolm Parkin (Letters, 25 September) is another example. Variations in the

I’m afraid that Malcolm Parkin is confusing climate and weather. The latter is a short-term period of specific atmospheric conditions, whilst climate is a measure of these conditions over a much longer period of time.

The earth has been orbiting the sun for billions of years, and the earth’s temperature has fluctuated greatly over that vast time scale. The difference between past changes and recent climate warming is the sheer rapidity of change, which coincides with the adverse human impact on climate which has been steadily increasing since the Industrial Revolution.

If rational fear drives people to make effective changes to their lifestyles, then highlighting our contribution to climate warming is more than justified.

CAROLYN TAYLOR

Gagiebank, Broughty Ferry, Dundee