Climate change feeding frenzy

Shari Malloy’s letter (Jan. 28) was a prime example of today’s climate change insanity from the progressive left. First misrepresent the data, then blame the fossil fuel industry and the corporate world.

Weather and climate has always existed with natural variability and periodic extreme events. Ms. Malloy conveniently points to manmade CO2 emissions for recent disasters such as the Marshall Fire of 2021 and the 2013 flood, but what about the Big Thompson Flood of 1976 that killed 144 people? Or the record heat of the Dust Bowl era of the 1930s?

Ms. Malloy goes on to claim, “Last July was the hottest month in recorded history in Colorado.” As a local meteorologist and weather historian for the last four decades, I immediately knew this statement was not factual.

The Colorado Climate Center’s July 2023 statewide monthly summary noted, “Overall, July 2023 was tied for the 21st warmest (0.8°F above the 1991-2020 average) and 35th driest (0.45” below average) July on record.”

At the end of last year I was also quick to point out to the Times-call that Longmont experienced its wettest year in 2023 (21.10 precipitation) since 1923, or exactly 100 years.

In fact, five of the last six years in Longmont have officially had above normal annual precipitation. Yet all we hear from the local climate change crowd is excessive drought talk for the city.

The real objective from leftists citing corporations like Costco and Citibank for being environmentally unethical is actually not about climate change. It’s about destroying America’s capitalist system in favor of government control of how we live our lives and use our resources for energy.

— Dave Larison, Longmont