Consensus in climate science

By Thom Krystofiak, Fairfield

Based on Brad Fregger's recent letter [April 1], he appears to doubt the near-universal scientific consensus on climate change. We will of course never see 100% agreement from every scientist on any subject. One can still find, for example, a small number of scientists claiming that the coronavirus is a scam that we should not be worried about, or even that the link between smoking and lung disease is not well-established.

But when we have a nearly complete consensus of high-level scientists – as we have in the case of climate change, where every important scientific body in the world agrees that it is an urgent threat – that consensus can only be denied at our peril. Some of us may be attracted to bucking the consensus and holding a dissenting opinion, but denying or diminishing a danger as pressing as the climate crisis entails a very high price for us all.